During the holidays, you can eat whatever your heart desires. crispy cookies,aromatic stollen, mulled wine and other delicacies are lurking everywhere during the Christmas season. And who can resist all the temptations? Then the cold and cloudy weather often tempts us to eat heartier foods. Unfortunately, it can quickly happen that the scale suddenly shows a few kilos more. And after training hard and paying attention to our diet for the remaining 11 months, we don't want any nasty surprises. So what should we do so that we don't gain weight at Christmas and can still enjoy the festival of love without damaging our figure? Before you panic, read on to learn how to stay in shape during the holidays!
Don't gain weight at Christmas: Watch how much you eat
Don't get us wrong: Christmas is about celebration, togetherness and enjoyment - just in moderation. The holidays are known to be gourmet days and that's a good thing for us, because sometimes you just have to treat yourself. Luckily, there are a few very simple tricks to help you avoid gaining weight over Christmas. Crispy goose, hearty side dishes, fatty duck – Christmas dinner is usually very sumptuous. It would therefore be advisable to take smaller portions and not overload your plate to the brim.
You can actually eat whatever is put on the table as long as you portion it correctly. We're not saying you should count every single calorie. Try to notice the food. Pay attention to a balanced distribution of healthy fats,Protein sourcesand carbohydrates and treat yourself to a huge portion of vegetables. Also take your time to eat and enjoy the dishes at your leisure. As you know, the feeling of satiety occurs only after 15-20 minutes. So if you cram everything in quickly, there's a big risk that you'll overdo it and eat more than you actually need.
Adapt the recipes and experiment with the ingredients
Ob Fondue, Enteor Christmas goose– When it comes to food, there are a few classics at Christmas that are simply part of it. But do you really need this every year? If you are the host, feel free to vary the ingredients a bit. How about turkey or salmon, for example? Not only do they taste wonderfully delicious, but they are also very rich in protein and significantly lower in calories than fatty duck. Prepare several vegetable side dishes and salads and eat your fill. You can actually significantly reduce the calorie content of most recipes with a few tricks.
Taste like thisKeto cookiesor aLow carb stollenjust as good as the original, but without harming our figure. And here are a few suggestions on how you could replace the ingredients.
Bake:
- Replace butter with pumpkin puree, applesauce, or mashed bananas.
- Instead of sugar, use a low-calorie alternative such as erythritol, xylitol or stevia.
Cook:
- Instead of frying everything, use healthier cooking methods like baking, grilling, or steaming.
- Cream can be easily replaced with low-fat milk.
- Avoid sour cream, mayonnaise and cream cheese and use Greek yogurt instead.
We've all been there before - after a sumptuous meal we usually go straight to the couch. Getting a little out of step with our normal workout routine at this time of year is actually completely normal. However, if you don't want to gain weight over Christmas, you should still do some physical activity. And no, that doesn't mean you necessarily have to go to the gym. Instead, take the whole family on a long nature walk or find new ways to exercise while having fun. Go swimming, do some yoga, or dance around the house a little. Even a thorough house cleaning is a great option for burning a lot of calories.
Don't go hungry and snack wisely
Maintaining a normal eating routine over the holidays is no easy task – we know that. And yet, you should try not to eat any differently than usual. Most people will only eat a little breakfast the day before the big Christmas party and skip lunch completely in order to save a few calories for the evening. Unfortunately, this is not a good idea and can ultimately lead to binge eating. So that you don't eat more in the evening than you actually need, eat as usual throughout the day and listen to your body.
To further support the feeling of satiety, drink enough water or tea. Try not to see Christmas dinner as a free pass, but rather as a wide selection from which you can choose something delicious. If you don't want to gain weight at Christmas, you should definitely learn to say no. It doesn't matter if your aunt has spent hours baking cakes and cookies - if you don't feel like eating them, you don't have to eat them.
Always have healthy snacks with you
To avoid gaining weight this Christmas, we recommend having healthy snacks on hand. Whether homemadeEnergy Ballsor protein bars – don’t leave the house without them. The little treats taste good and are a great way to resist all those cookies. And here's a little tip: out of sight, out of mind. If treats are lying around everywhere, it can quickly happen that we eat too much of it. The solution? Put it in the cupboards, all the way up and to the back. A scientific study has already shown that the chocolate hidden in the cupboard is actually less tempting than the plate of cookies on the table.
Don't drive yourself crazy
Have you eaten significantly more than you wanted? Don't panic right away. The Christmas season is all about celebrating and spending time with our loved ones. Just as eating a salad doesn't make you slim, eating too much once doesn't automatically make you gain weight. However, if the scale shows two or three kilos more the next day, the initial shock is quite big. In most cases this is only due to increased salt and carbohydrate intake and is water retention. As a rule, there are actually only a few grams that have accumulated as fat. And believe us - you'll get rid of them faster than you think! So enjoy the holidays in peace and treat yourself to something delicious!
