Holiday tips to stay on track.

When the holidays come around so too do holiday parties, holiday foods and holiday drinks. So how can you prevent gaining weight in excess over the holidays?

1. Don’t restrict yourself from food during the day.

Lets put ourselves in a situation. You have a Christmas party tonight. You wake up knowing the excessive amount of food and alcohol that will be at this party. So you think, ‘its okay, I’ll just eat a salad and coffee all day to make up for what I’ll eat tonight.’

WRONG!

I will never ever promote this approach. Although the intention is to reduce intake and compensate for the food eaten at night, the execution is what hardly ever works. Instead of going to the party, eating a plate of delicious food, one or two drinks and being SATISFIED, something else will occur.

You have restricted your body from food all day, so by the time 7pm rolls around you will be absolutely starving. Instead of having one plate of food and sampling a few desserts you will not be able to get at the food quick enough. Overloading your plate (and probably going back for seconds or thirds) because your hunger cues for the day will be completely off, and your body will think it is hungrier than what it is, leading to fill it with excess fuel it has been missing all day.

INSTEAD:

- Eat small meals throughout the day. If you know you are going to be having a big night and want to cater for that, plan to eat small balanced meals with healthy carbs, fats and protein throughout the day. This means you will eat like normal, you will be content and satisfied and not feel the need to eat the whole table once you get to the party.

- Drink lots of water. Make sure to keep hydrated throughout the day helping to keep you full from snacking.

2. Choose your treats wisely.

Is there a certain treat your family only makes at Christmas time? Choose to have a piece of that rather than a handful of chocolates you can have any time. Embrace the seasonal food! But also remember to eat mindfully, not mindlessly. A few treats you never normally have – fine. But there’s also another thing to consider: Alcohol.

If you plan on having a few drinks alcohol is something you can easily alter. Instead of a full strength beer try for light, or instead of that can of cider a vodka soda water. Each has less than HALF the calories of the previous. Something to remember: an espresso martini has over 1000kj of energy whereas a vodka soda water has around 200kj. This means you could have five vodka soda waters for the same amount of calories as one espresso martini! (This is only for reference – not promoting binge drinking!) And also means if you plan on drinking, the calories can add up extremely quickly. So take it easy, enjoy yourself and try out the lighter options.

3. Don't skip the gym.

With family in town or a crazy Christmas time schedule it can be hard to see gaps in time you can fill with the gym. Just remember you don't have to train for an hour a day. Changing your workouts to a few 30minute HIIT sessions (High Intensity Interval Training) per week either using machines, the outdoors or body weight circuits, can ensure you have extra time for fun ventures while also keeping your activity levels high and getting in a good session. Try going early in the morning when the gym opens so that everyone else is still sleeping and you can have the rest of the day for plans. Or you could even try and convince a family member to come along and motivate you both to keep active over the season.

4. Don't beat yourself up.

The holidays are a time to spend with family, friends and delicious food. Remember that the likelihood of you gaining a few kilos is possible, and you're not the only person in the world celebrating. Also as long as you get right back on track to eating a balanced diet and exercising once they are over you will be back to your previous weight in no time.

5. Be realistic!

Don't set impossible goals for yourself. Going to a family dinner and vouching that you will not touch a piece of your nana's famous caramel slice or your aunties sticky date pudding - well that is setting you up for failure. You will sit there staring at it and giving the rest of your family evil eyes for enjoying it all without a care. Instead eat mindfully. Go in knowing that it is okay to enjoy some cake, just not the whole thing. Eat a piece, be satisfied, enjoy time with your family and friends and get back to your goals the next day. Just remember your progress will not be ruined eating this foods a few times a week over the holidays, but if a few days turns into everyday and a few weeks turns into a month, it may definitely have a longer lasting impact on your nutrition and health goals.

That being said, remember that you have been working hard all year and it is possible to gain a lot of weight in a few short weeks if you change your habits completely. So be mindful, set realistic goals, eat healthy meals when you can and enjoy yourself in moderation.