It’s Christmas time!! Mistletoe & WINE!!
ANDDDD
CHOCOLATE!
MINCE PIES!
GIN!
FANCY COFFEES!
FOOD! FOOD! FOOD!
It’s everywhere! But when we are trying to be “good” and stay on track, it's our worst nightmare!
So what should you do?
Well firstly remember, IT’S CHRISTMAS! First and foremost, ENJOY!!
We only do “excess” maybe 3 times a year, and the other 2 our birthdays and our summer holidays.
I really do try to encourage clients not to focus on weight loss over Christmas but instead look at weight maintenance or accept a small gain. Due to the types of food and drink we consume at Christmas, a lot of us can see the weight on the scales jump up and it can have a negative affect on our mindsets.
Often most people will see this weight gain as body fat gain. However, that is completely wrong! The majority of the weight will be water retention(from high salt/sugar foods), the physical weight of the food and liquid being digested in our bodies, before we go to the toilet and maybe a couple of grams of body fat, but if we haven’t moved much for a few days! Try weighing yourself over different parts of the day and around meals, you can often see KGs of difference! (Ladies will have even more variable numbers depending on where they are in their menstrual cycles).
We don’t lose or gain large amounts of body fat in a few days/weeks, it takes consistency over time for both directions.
The main point to take away is, don’t stop yourself enjoying the food and drink we get at this time of year, but if you are worried about your weight and how to manage it, here are a few tips.
Don’t Skip meals! Often, skipping meals can lead to over-eating later, especially when we crave sweet things. Keep eating regular healthy meals and then still enjoy a sweet treat as well. This will ensure that you don’t overeat the sweet stuff. Although it may be less food in physical size, sweeter foods are often much more calorific and make us easily exceed our TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) without realising.
Drink plenty of water. Staying hydrated is important, full stop. But drinking plenty is a useful tool to make us feel fuller. Aim for at least 2-3 litres a day.
Eat low calories snacks. If you find yourself craving food a lot, often calories can add up. Often people find themselves hungrier between meals at this time of year. It is due to them eating more sugary foods, more often. Our insulin level rises and falls much more as a result and often can affect our natural rhythms and systems of the body. Remember our bodies like homeostasis (being in a stable equilibrium), so rapid rises and falls can be unsettling. Therefore, eating low-cal or low sugar snacks allows us to eat more, and more consistently, to avoid excessive spikes in insulin.
Move More! Exercise is awesome, we know! But try keep your movement up! As nights get darker and cold, we know it is hard! But sticking to your routine and keeping movement as much as possible is the best thing to help with the excess calories we consume at Christmas!
We always eat more at Christmas, and it gets harder for us to move with cold temperatures. But staying disciplined is key and will really limit any possible weight gain.
But remember the final thought so always be.
Christmas only comes once a year. Make sure you enjoy it the best you can!
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