How to Survive Christmas Day

Here it is a our final post to get you through the holiday period! How to battle the day of days when it comes to eating and drinking, the big one, Christmas Day! 

Do a workout! As mentioned in last post, your body will more effectively burn calories consumed after doing some decent resistance training. It doesn’t have to be long either! See the 20 minute workout below to try.

Eat breakfast as usual. Break the overnight fast, refuel the body and kick start the metabolism with eating a normal breakfast.

Put out small portions of nibbles and include healthy ones. The smaller the bowl of nibbles you put out the smaller the handful you will take. Good options are nuts, veggie sticks, rice crackers and healthy dips such as tzatziki and hummus.

Avoid bread. Do you really want to waste room and calories on bread? Save your appetite for and enjoy the beautiful prepared foods in your main meal and dessert!

Be smart with your portions! Remember the Chinese proverb ‘The less you eat, the more the taste, the more you eat, the less the taste’ The majority of your enjoyment will come from the initial mouthfuls! So by all means, enjoy the different beautiful foods, but in moderation.

When dishing up your plate, think of the ratio rule. ¼ meat or protein, such as turkey/ham ¼ starch, such as roast potatoes/pasta, ½ vegetables, such as steamed greens and salads. That way you’ll be loading up on fresh veggies rather than the rich, heavy foods.

Help clear the table as soon as everyone finished eating rather than sitting and picking at leftovers. Eat what is on your plate, enjoy it and allow yourself to digest and process it.

Plan to not have too many leftovers or if at someone’s place, don’t take any home! Try make enough for everyone but remember how many your catering for and don’t go overboard. Or else there’ll be food wastage or extra lingering calories to consume days after rather than starting with a clean slate.

Remember, it is Christmas only once a year, so allow yourself treats and enjoy! And whatever happens it isn’t a disaster. Enjoy your day and then get back on track!

Katrina Rotunno

4 U Body Fitness 

Mobile Personal Training Specialist