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Christmas is the synonym for cheer, festivities, gifts, food, family, friends and a whole lot of fun.
The excitement that goes into preparing for Christmas can be exhilarating, the magic of being with people you love, and surrounded by plenty of great treats for the soul as well as for the body. And soon it will be the 26th. Your weighing scales give you a new high, dental cavities take a deeper plunge and your love handles seem to be getting heavier!
Here are some exciting tips to stay happy and healthy throughout this Christmas holiday season, without compromising on anything good but staying in shape for the New Year’s Eve party.
Tip 1: Count to Six
The Christmas buffet is loaded with everything you have ever loved. It’s made worse if your favorite person made all these delicacies. So, you feel obliged to gorge, after all your mom or your aunt or your distant cousin may be disappointed if you ate too little. Of course, the great taste does edge you on to relish some more.
If this has always been the reason behind your excess binge eating during Christmas then it’s about time you set it right. Forget about anyone feeling upset over your poor eating habits and focus on what’s good for you.
A great tip to follow when you are out and enjoying a great Christmas buffet is to count to six. Eat six bites of anything that you love in the buffet, even if it is the dessert you love. This way you will feel satisfied instead of deprived.
Tip 2: Sleep Well
The last minute holiday shopping, baking Christmas cakes and treats, visiting relatives, and more will keep you tied all through the day and into the wee hours of the night. This could eat into your sleep time, a much-ignored part of the holiday schedule but with worse repercussions than most holiday blunders.
Lack of sleep could give you dark circles under your eye, leave your mood crabby, affect your sense of judgment and worse, lead you to eat more than what you set out for.
Get your 8 hours sleep during the entire holiday season and wake up to enjoy some very special moments.
Tip 3: Save the Wrapper to Save You from Dental Caries
Idling over homemade sweets and chocolates are extremely bad for your teeth. Most damage to teeth occurs when you are lost in conversation with your loved ones and you find yourself emptying the chocolate bowl.
Not only is gorging on chocolate bad for your waist, but they can also affect your teeth. To remind yourself to stay away from too many chocolates, keep the wrappers with you. Watching the pile-up of wrappers will prove to be a deterrent, so keep it in your direct line of vision, not under the table or behind the cushions but in front of you.
Tip 4: Eat a Healthy Snack Before You Step Out
With all the talk about additional weight gain during the festive season, most people tend to stay away from eating between meals and then binge tirelessly leading to excessive eating. Instead, opt for a small healthy snack about 30 to 45 minutes before you go to a party. This way you will be hungry enough to eat the meal but you will not gorge on all the appetizers even before others can get to it.
Tip 5: Drink Abundantly
While it goes without saying that there will be plenty to drink at the parties you will be attending, the caution drink abundantly is for water. Water - simple, plain and a calorie free refresher. Large amounts of alcohol can leave you dehydrated, leaving you drained and your skin looking dull. It is important to flush all those toxins out with plenty of water, hydrating your entire system and leaving you looking fresh and ready to party.
Tip 6: Eat Before it’s Too Late
There is this big spread in front of you, filled with plenty of high-calorie appetizers and desserts. You have been the most restrained person in the room and stayed away from all the ‘good and the high fatty foods’ till it’s 10.00.
Eat before it’s too late, not because the buffet may run short of food but because your temptation could get the better of you, especially after all the alcohol. Remember, eventually, you are going to head to the table and you will eat. However, the later you eat, the more fat you are going to store, the more hungry you will be and the more guilty you will feel the next morning.
Instead, eat early, this way you are less hungry so you eat less and your body has more time to digest before you hit the sack, so you pile on less weight.
Tip 7: Eat Slowly
Your body won’t feel full till it’s a good 20 minutes later. In the meanwhile, you may have polished a couple of servings of the Christmas pudding and returned hoping for more.
Bite into each morsel of food and relish it. Don’t merely gulp it down. Take a break and move around, speak to people you haven’t met in a long time and then get back to nibbling. Include fruits and salads, especially Kale and Artichoke, they will taste best this season, as they are rich in vitamins and minerals and keep you feeling full.
Tip 8: Keep a 'Healthy' Christmas Tree
Some people suffer from Christmas tree allergies, which can lead to watery eyes, runny nose and plenty of sneezing. This is due to having the Christmas tree within four walls and being exposed to the molds on the tree.
Wash the tree well before you bring it in to decorate or go for plastic versions that may actually be more eco-friendly as it is one less tree cut.
Tip 9: Don’t Keep Raw Food with Ready to Eat Food
Raw food like meat carries a lot of germs which can be transferred to the ready to eat food, causing contamination and upset tummy. To keep your tummy and your taste buds happy, keep raw food away from the ready to eat food. Use separate cutting boards too as they are other points of contact.
Tip 10: Pick up a Gorgeous New Year’s Eve Party Dress Before the Holiday Season
Select a fancy outfit that fits well even before the holiday season begins and place it strategically in your wardrobe. This way you will be forced to reign in the calories and eager to wear the dress. In fact, it will motivate you to exercise every day or whenever you can.
Stay healthy this Christmas without missing out on all the fun so that it keeps you happy the whole year round. Merry Christmas everyone !
