With the festive season rapidly approaching, we thought we’d take a preemptive swipe at the bathroom scales in case they try and tell us things we don’t want to hear come the New Year.
We all know that Christmas time is the Season of Goodwill and usually good eating and drinking too. The shops are packed to the rafters with a bewildering array of tasty festive treats that quite frankly, are hard to resist. It’s that time when we love to stock up with all those naughty things that we may not normally buy during the other 11 months of the year.
TEMPTATIONS
There are bargains galore; two for the price of one offers, Himalayan-sized mountains of tinned chocolates, cheese selection boards the size of an oil rig helicopter pad, and to make matters worse, the supermarkets are practically giving away the alcohol to get us to do our Christmas shopping in their particular store.
Whilst having the occasional blow-out when we’re celebrating is fine, sometimes we can go a bit overboard and string out our ‘celebrating’ for an entire month. With this is mind, we’ve put together a bite-sized list of our top 5 seasonal tips to help you avoid throwing the scales out of the bathroom window in disgust on January 1st.
1. DON’T BUY YOUR CHRISTMAS FOOD TOO EARLY
Many stores seem to start their Christmas campaigns earlier and earlier each year and it’s not uncommon to see festive deals appearing on their shelves as early as September. Try not to be tempted into buying things earlier simply because they’re calling out to you from the supermarket aisle, or because the store is offering a good deal on food items that may not even last until Christmas.
2. GIVE AWAY FOOD AND DRINK THAT’S LEFT OVER AFTERWARD
We normally end up with plenty of leftover items that we’ll slowly munch or sip our way through for weeks after Christmas, simply because they’re there. If you can, give some of all of these away to friends and relatives so you can more easily slip back into your normal routine. Your friends and relatives will love you for it, and you’ll probably love yourself more for it too.
3. EAT SOMETHING BEFORE GOING OUT
Parties and social gatherings provide a great opportunity to pile on the pounds. If you have a busy social life at Christmas and your diary is choc-a-bloc, you’ll probably be eating and drinking more than you usually would during a normal day. Having a healthy bite to eat that goes some way to filling you up before you go out can help you avoid picking endlessly at those peanuts and other party goodies that will no doubt be on offer when you arrive.
4. DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!
It’s no secret that exercise is a great way to lose weight and Christmas time is the best opportunity to dance your socks off and keep in trim at the same time. No boring gyms or jogging required – Go and strut your stuff on the dance floor instead!
5. DON’T DRINK TOO MUCH ALCOHOL
Most us grossly underestimate the number of calories that are in the alcohol we consume. It’s only liquid so it can’t be that fattening, right? Well, according to the NHS, one standard glass of wine contains roughly the same amount of calories as a chocolate mini roll, and a pint of lager has the same as an entire packet of crisps.
We hope that these top five tips will help you plan ahead for the holiday season and help you if you’re struggling with your weight or eating habits over Christmas.