5 tips to get you through the Xmas period guilt free

Christmas. One of my favourite times of the year in terms of eating… Fresh seafood, food hampers, trifles, champagne; the list could go on. It’s also a time when all that eating and drinking results in some unwanted weight gain, as I’m sure you’ve experienced during festive periods in years gone by.

While overeating will feel an inevitable outcome for some (although they are willing to accept the consequences), others can feel overwhelmed with guilt after the new year rolls in knowing they jumped off the wagon. To limit the overall damage both physically and mentally, I’ve compiled 5 tips which will help you indulge and enjoy a festive, guilt free Christmas.

1. Accept the fact you will likely consume more.

I’ve seen plenty of strategies online with the aim of ‘limiting the damage’ over Christmas with tips such as saying no to dessert, limit carbs, and a whole lot of other restrictive crap to ensure you stay within your calorie goals. That’s definitely not what you are about to read. Accept the fact that during this period you will attend parties, you will have big dinners and lunches, and you will have plenty of left overs. Cherish this time you will spend with your family and friends, be mindful of what’s enough to eat, and don’t stress about calories! The sooner you can accept that and not be so hard on yourself, the less guilty you will feel.

2. It’s OK to skip meals.

Christmas lunch with my family is my favourite meal of the year, and I’m sure many of you reading will feel the same way about your Christmas Day meals. Due to the amount of food I know I will be eating, usually I’ll skip breakfast beforehand to save room. This type of strategy could be used at anytime during the year, when you know you’re about to over-indulge, or when you unexpectedly over-indulge. Balance yourself out by eating smaller meals before or after if you need to.

3. Make better bad choices.

This is pretty straight forward. Just because you’re eating more than you normally do, doesn’t mean you need to completely blow your intake out of the water and consume as much as you can. That’s just silly. By all means enjoy what there is on offer, but you know when you’re full.

4. Keep moving.

As hectic as this period can be, try and schedule some activity in during those few weeks. I’m not saying you must go to the gym everyday, but it would be beneficial to keep yourself active to some extent, even if it was just walking along the beach or doing shorter workouts throughout your break.

5. Do the above and simply enjoy your break!

Enjoy the time you spend with your family, enjoy seeing your friends, enjoy the functions you attend with your work colleagues, and enjoy the fact you have a couple of weeks to do whatever you want! Keep up points 1 to 4 and you should be able to relax and enjoy everything that Christmas and New Year’s brings.

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Take the above tips into consideration before the festive break, and you should feel in a good physical and mental state come the new year.

From the JS-PT team, have a very Merry Christmas and wonderful New Year! See you in 2015.