How not to gain weight at Christmas? 6 tips
Are you on a diet and don’t want to lose all the efforts made due to Christmas lunches? Here are 6 useful tips to stay fit anyway.
Following a healthy and balanced diet cannot prevent us from celebrating Christmas with our loved ones. However, it is necessary to take action and try to maintain the good work done even during the holidays. In fact, ideal weight is achieved by continuing good eating habits over the long term and is normally not altered by a few high-calorie meals during holidays. However, we can follow some simple advice that allows us not to throw away the efforts made so far. Here’s how not to gain weight at Christmas!
Arrive prepared for Christmas
Eating a little more during the holiday season is inevitable. After all, these are festive days when you meet up with your family around a table and it’s right to enjoy every moment without feeling guilty. It is therefore normal to subject the body to a high calorie load, with glycemic peaks and an excess of fat. For this reason, the first thing to do is to prevent Christmas excesses and arrive in good shape for Christmas by following a restricted, healthy and balanced diet in the days preceding the holidays.
Here, therefore, are some small rules to follow in the days before the holidays: first, reduce the consumption of complex carbohydrates , such as bread and pasta, and favor the consumption of a second course at lunch and dinner, accompanied by a side dish of vegetables ; again, limit the use of oil to 2-3 tablespoons per day (preferably to be used raw); have mid-morning and afternoon snacks with a portion of fruit or low-fat yogurt so as not to arrive too hungry at the main meals and, finally, eliminate all extras ( various sweets, alcohol, carbonated drinks, appetizers…).
The days of celebration
As regards the holidays , the important thing is to eat more freely only on the actual holidays: Christmas Eve dinner , lunch on the 25th and 26th , New Year’s Eve dinner , January 1st and 6th. These are therefore the occasions in which extras are allowed at the table, while on all other days it is important to maintain a controlled calorie intake.
How not to gain weight at Christmas: the right portions
The golden rule at the table? Taste a little of everything, because nothing is forbidden, just don’t exaggerate with the quantities. We also learn to savor the dishes, chewing each bite well and slowly: this little secret will allow us to feel the sense of satiety first and settle in at the table.
Abundant with vegetables
The empty plate is sad and makes us feel like we are on a diet: if we want to reduce the portions of the main dishes we will have to abound with vegetables and thus fill our plate. A good rule is also to start the meal with a salad of raw vegetables: they are satiating and rich in fiber and thus help us reduce our appetite. Follow, as far as possible, a diet rich in vegetables, especially bitter vegetables, to purify the liver. For some ideas, here are our winter salads .
Limit salt and seasonings as much as possible
A good remedy to reduce salt consumption is to use herbs and aromatic plants that enrich the flavor, do not make you bloat and give you a greater sense of satiety. Let’s remember to prefer raw extra virgin olive oil, rather than butter, lard or margarine. The consumption of lemon or orange juice is also a good remedy for seasoning meat, fish and vegetables: this limits the use of fatty condiments and at the same time vitamin C helps the absorption of important elements such as iron present in meat.
Watch out for drinks
It is inevitable that these are days in which, in addition to eating more, you also eat tastier, and this causes an increase in fluid retention. It is therefore a good idea to consume more water during the day and drink at least 2 liters of water a day, perhaps also helping yourself with the consumption of herbal teas.
Let’s avoid buying or putting carbonated and sugary drinks on the table. They do nothing but add empty calories, they are only rich in sugars but not in nutritional substances beneficial for our body. For alcohol: yes to the glass of wine at the table and to the glass of sparkling wine for the toast; no to high-calorie spirits or digestives which increase the total daily calorie count with the risk of weighing us down even more at the end of the meal.
Get rid of leftovers
Another good rule is to avoid consuming Christmas sweets at the end of the meal, but allow yourself a taste at breakfast, perhaps replacing the classic milk with a cup of tea, or in the afternoon snack. The secret then lies in the amount of dessert we eat. It is no coincidence that the term tasting is used , if we do not exaggerate with the portions of panettone, pandoro or nougat we will be able to satisfy the palate and avoid feeling weighed down. Once the Christmas holidays are over and between one party and another, avoid having open packages of Christmas sweets at home. The temptation to nibble at all hours of the day would be too strong to give up. A good idea might be to use the leftovers to make recycled sweets to donate to relatives and friends.
A chapter should be spent on dried and dried fruit : walnuts, almonds, peanuts, dried figs or dates are always on Christmas tables. Their beneficial properties are undisputed (source of antioxidants, vitamins and good fats ), but let’s remember that they are also foods with a high caloric density. Yes then to the daily dose of 30g and this means limiting yourself to eating a handful and keeping the rest away.
Never forget physical activity
What to do after the meal? The temptation is to doze off on the sofa, but the right move is to go out for a walk: by walking we facilitate the digestion of food and activate our metabolism, preventing the excess ingested from accumulating in the form of fat. If we can’t go out immediately after the meal, it’s also fine to take a long, brisk walk (at least 40 minutes) in the morning or late afternoon.
