It is December again! A month of parties, family get-togethers and the alternating periods of stress and joy. We feel almost legally bound to indulge in food and drinks! The downside? An American study has established the fact that we almost never lose those extra kilos that we gain over the Christmas break L …

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So what we can do is minimize the impact of this? Here are a few tips:

• Watch your portion size. Try and go for an entrée plate instead of a dinner plate.
• Have a light snack before you leave your place – fruit, nuts, yogurt, raw vegetables (sliced carrot, celery, cucumber…). That will make a whole lot of difference to your hunger when fronted with temptation!
• Avoid creamy sauces and dips, gravy, pies, sausage rolls, creamy cakes…
• Enjoy in your vegetable sticks, rice crackers, hummus, tzatziki, avocado and beetroot dips.
• Watch your glass size. One study has established that people drink 20-30% more from short, wide glasses. Drink from tall, narrow glasses;
• Finish your glass before you top-up. That way you will have an account of how much you have drunk
• Alternate the alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Mix wine with sparkling mineral water, dilute spirits with lots of ice;
• Drink a lot of water to avoid dehydration. Sometimes it can be mistaken for hunger, so you might reach for food and compound the problem.
• Mix water with lemon, ginger or mint, to make it more appealing.
• Dance, dance, dance… And laugh a lot… One hour of dancing burns around 1200 KJ.

 

Merry Christmas!