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Beat the Christmas Bulge
Written by The DietsToday Team   

healthy dieting

Finally the festive season has arrived, a time to be merry and overindulge. It is certainly not a popular healthy dieting time of the year. Typically people eat far too much at Christmas and on average put on an extra 5-7LB in weight. Maybe our Online Calorie Counter can help... From mince pies to selection boxes there is something for everyone at Christmas and it all usually amounts to excess. In fact surveys have shown that people can almost triple the recommended daily calorific intake on Christmas day alone.

It doesn’t have to be this way. You can still enjoy all the delights of Christmas food and drink without going overboard!

I can honestly say that December is the only month of the year when I eat chocolate every day thanks to my advent calendar!

It is the excessiveness of eating at Christmas time which leads to unwanted weight gain. Our diets can also become slightly erratic in that any sensible plan and typical eating times go out of the window in favour of snacking, whether that be bowls of peanuts lying around to grabbing little foil wrapped chocolates hanging from the Christmas tree. There is also an increase in the amount of energy providing carbs we eat at Christmas due to extras such as mince pies, biscuits and crisps. With a lack of exercise the excess pounds are bound to creep on.

Tips to beating the bulge at Christmas

Chocolate

Try to avoid eating too much of this, which I know is easier said than done. Chocolates have a high sugar content which can send the blood sugar levels soaring; The result being a boost in the production of insulin, a hormone which stores fat.

Snacks

Get Christmassy with dates and figs and other dried fruits as snacks instead of the typical snacks of crisps which are high in carbs, salt and saturated fats.

Christmas Dinner

Could it be the most indulgent meal of the year? Pile on the veg and not the pounds. Try to fill your plate with seasonal vegetables, like sprouts, peas and carrots and try to avoid the temptation to smother them in butter. Roast potatoes dripping in goose fat and stuffing maybe immensely tasty but try not to let these take over the plate. Turkey is actually the basis of a good healthy meal; it’s full of protein and is a low fat meat.

You can even follow your dinner with a portion of Christmas pudding and brandy sauce; it is Christmas after all but keep it small.

Buffet Blues

I’m sure we all attend at least one house party with a delicious buffet during the festive season. As tempting as the sausage rolls and vol-au vents are try to cover at least a quarter of your plate with raw veggie sticks and light dips such as tzatziki.

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…..

Seasonal and tasty and much lower in fat than other typical nut snacks such as cashews and salted peanuts. They are easy to get hold of around Christmas time, so why not try roasting a few.

Exercise Opportunity

You may not realise it but any time off you get from work during the Christmas season is a great opportunity to get active. Instead of sitting at a desk all day you can be out and about, shopping for Christmas presents until you drop, cleaning the house, going for walks or runs or even to the gym. The hustle and bustle of Christmas is a good time to get up and go.

We hope you find our tips helpful, have a Merry Christmas from the Dietstoday Team.
 
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