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5 Tips for Staying on Track During the Holidays
Christmas and New Years can be a time of year when we overindulge and throw our healthy habits out the window, undoing a lot of the hard work we put in throughout the year.
But it doesn't have to be that way.
You can still have fun, eat delicious food, drink alcohol, and participate in all of the holiday activities while staying on track with your health goals.
Here are 5 quick tips to keep you on track during the silly season.
Stick to your routine
Try to maintain your routine as much as you can leading up to Christmas and during the holidays. Dial back your gym sessions if you’re busy with festive functions, but try not to fall off completely.
Just because you’re on holiday doesn’t mean that you need to completely forget about your healthy eating routine. Try and stick to at least one healthy meal per day and keep your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables as high as you can.
Control those portions
A simple trick to enjoy all the treats that Christmas brings without the guilt is to reduce your portion size. It allows you to indulge in all the foods that you fancy without eating too much and feeling uncomfortable afterwards.
Weight gain = eating more calories than you burn in a day. By putting less on your plate or using a smaller plate, you will consume less energy and thus be less likely to gain weight.
You could also try intermittent fasting, which involves restricting your calorie intake to a smaller window, which not only reduces your calorie intake over the course of a day but also provides much-needed rest to your digestive system in the midst of all the feasting.
Prioritise Protein
During the festive season the temptation is high to load up on carbs – cakes, cookies, sweets, puddings, chips, snacks and booze – the list goes on!
Try shifting the balance more toward protein. Protein is essential for maintaining muscle mass and increasing metabolism so you can burn through all those holiday treats faster.
Christmas dinner is often centred around proteins, whether it's a roast turkey, chicken, or ham, a fillet of salmon or beef, or even prawns or sausages on the BBQ, so there should be plenty of opportunities to prioritise protein on your plate.
Stay Hydrated
Drinking plenty of water is a top tip to staying healthy over the holidays. Proper hydration is essential for your body to function properly and keep your metabolism in check.
Try to drink water frequently throughout the day, especially as the weather warms up. If you have a particularly boozy event coming up, alternate alcoholic drinks with water to avoid dehydration.
Water also has the added benefit of making you feel fuller, which may reduce your desire to overeat on all the festive treats.
Plan Ahead
Christmas is a crazy time of year when everything seems to speed up. In between all the social events and shopping you might find it increasingly hard to find the time to meal prep.
Allow yourself some breathing room by storing a few of our meals in the freezer for those times when you simply don't have the time to cook a healthy meal.
It’s generally advisable to try and keep 80% of your meals aligned with your goals so that you see results, while treating yourself 20% of the time.
If all the delicious treats mean that you can only eat healthy 60% of the time, or even 40%, it’s still better than eating 100% pavlova!
Stock up for the holidays by placing your order by midnight on the 18th and receive your meals in time for the holidays!