Top tips for a healthier Christmas
1. Just because the shops will be closed for a couple of days, don’t buy up your local supermarket and stock up on loads of unnecessary Christmas food and drink, which may still be hanging around after Christmas. It only leads to temptation.
2. Make a plan of your menus and requirements for the holiday period and stick to it.
3. If you buy nuts, always buy them in their shells. You will probably get fed up with struggling with the nutcrackers, after a couple of attempts. The ready shelled packets are just too tempting and all nuts are loaded with fat.
4. Eat your main Christmas meal at around 2 pm. If you eat it in the evening, you will eat more during the rest of the day.
5. Unless everyone else in the family enjoys Christmas cake, don’t buy one. It only adds to temptation.
6. Open only one box of chocolates or Turkish delight at a time – and be extremely generous in offering them around so that they disappear quickly! Try not to eat more than two chocolates a day. Any boxes that remain unopened after Christmas could be given to a local hospital where patients could do with the extra calories as they recover from their operations.
7. Make it a rule not to eat between mealtimes. Always leave the table feeling satisfied. Fill up on vegetables if necessary.
8. Have a low calorie drink prior to each meal. This will help fill you up and make you feel satisfied more quickly. Also remember that the more alcohol you drink, the weaker your willpower becomes, so beware!!