How To NOT Gain Weight Over The Holidays

Christmas is fast approaching! And we all know that means more parties, alcohol, food and less time for consistent exercise. You don’t have to skip the parties and social events all together to stay healthy. Here are some tips to help you stay healthy and not gain weight while still enjoying the festive season.

Any Workout Is Better Than None

Only have 30 minutes to fit in a workout? That’s fine, do it anyway! Some of my best workouts take less than 30 minutes. Check out these for ideas:

In the lead up to Christmas when there are parties on every weekend, try to fit in your workouts in the mornings before work. That way you don’t have to worry about it after work when you might have events on. If you know you’ve got a party on one night, do a super intense cardio or HIIT session the night before or the morning of.

I know a lot of Christmas is spent at home with your family and it can be hard to leave to go to the gym. Why not go for a walk or a jog with one of your family members? Or convince one of them to do some butt and ab workouts on the living room floor with you. I know my mum and sister would be up for that!

Every Meal Counts

Just because you had an unhealthy morning tea at work, does not mean that you can consider today a write off, eat bad for the rest of the day and then start again tomorrow. Every meal counts. It doesn’t matter that you ate a bad morning tea. That is just one tiny portion of your day, and won’t make much difference. But if you ruin the whole day by eating bad, this will definitely make a difference, and it will make it more difficult to get back on track and stay that way.

What Should I Eat?

If you’re at a function or if it’s your Christmas family dinner, always fill up your plate with lots of vegetables first. They should take up the main portion of your plate. Roast chickens, turkeys, etc are delicious and good for you so stack that on too, just try to avoid skin and stuffing. There will most likely be potato too, and that’s fine! Add a small amount of potato. Even better if it’s sweet potato (which has about half the amount of carbs as white potato).

Finally, drink lots and lots of water! Carry a water bottle around with you to make sure you never forget. And save any sweet foods until around 1 hour after lunch / dinner. You never know, you might be so full that you no longer feel like sweets!