Overindulging Over Christmas - How to Avoid It?

Yes, it’s that time of the year again, when we all tend to eat and drink more than we should. We then move into the New Year feeling a little less than happy with ourselves for overindulging over Christmas.

Now I’m not going to stand here up on my soapbox and tell you not to enjoy yourselves over the holiday period! I will most definitely be enjoying myself too! Life is not always about strict eating and regular exercise, is it?!

But I do have a few tips that will allow you to enjoy quality time with family and friends, and enjoy some lazy days with a few extra calories.

After all, you do not want to end up overindulging over Christmas and turning your holidays into a bloated mess that you’d rather forget!

Tips on How to Prevent Overindulging Over Christmas

1. If you know you will be eating more than usual, try skipping breakfast and maybe have water with some lemon juice in it instead. Or you can even try it with some apple cider vinegar. This means you’ll be burning calories from stored body fat all morning leading up until lunch. If you’re not doing a Christmas dinner, and it was all about the lunch, why not skip dinner altogether!? I’m sure you’ll have ingested enough calories at lunch to sustain yourself for the rest of the day.

Additional Tip: If you are on medications that are required to be taken with food, this tip may not be suitable for you.

2. If you can couple this morning of fasting (Tip 1) with some exercise (cardio or an exercise circuit), you’ll increase the caloric burn and put yourself in a caloric deficit. This means you can have a little more to eat than usual come lunchtime.

3. After you finish your gluttonous feast, it may feel great to lounge about and let those calories get slowly digested and then stored. However, it is best to do some exercise. It doesn’t have to be much, even a lazy 30-minute stroll down the beach or around the block will do the trick. This might be a good time to take a friend or family member for a walk too and catch up on old times!

4. Why don’t you put your hand up for making some of the food you’ll be eating? If so, opt for the dessert which I’m sure everyone will be eating. And if you manage to score the dessert-making, you can be a little sneaky here and opt for a low-sugar option. Or you can even use some natural sweeteners such as stevia or erythritol instead. No one will know the difference, I promise!

Check out some healthy dessert recipes here. The caramel slice looks awesome!

When you’re having a tipple, try a low-carb/calorie option. It’s also a good idea to drink water in between your alcoholic beverages to avoid dehydration and a dreaded hangover.

Check out these low-calorie alcoholic drink options.

These suggestions will help you make healthier decisions. And of course, avoid the typical overindulging over Christmas. 

Enjoy your Christmas and holiday period, but without having to feel any guilt!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Heath.