Posted on November 14, 2013 by Jenny Cromack

It’s that time of year again, the days are getting colder and you’re wearing ridiculous amounts of layers to keep warm. It’s the run up to Christmas so that means party time where everyone throws aside their usual boring work clothes and wants to look fabulous in their smartest suit or their new fantastic dress. A lot of our gym members, personal training clients and anyone striving to achieve their fitness goals see these Christmas parties not only as a goal but can also often be daunted by the prospect of gaining weight over the Christmas period.

But why is this? People seem to associate Christmas with putting on weight and then January being a new start. But, let me let you into a secret there is no reason why you can’t enjoy the whole festive period without gaining weight! Just because it’s Christmas it doesn’t mean that you have to set your diet aside completely. It also doesn’t mean that you have to deny yourself a little holiday spirit either.

The problem that most people have is that they completely put their diets and training on hold for up to 2 months as soon as the Christmas lights go up in November and supermarkets are playing Cliff Richards! People begin to change their eating and exercises habits to get into the holiday spirit but it doesn’t have to be this way. Here are some tips on how to survive the holiday period without becoming festively plump.

1) Planning Your Diet . Everyone needs to let their hair down and spend time with family and friends however this can have significant complications on your goals if you see every day as a treat! You need to get out of this mindset……just because you ate badly one day doesn’t mean you have to give up the next! If you allow yourself a day or two to eat more leniently, it’s not going to ruin your diet, but pigging out for a whole week will! The key is to plan, plan and plan!! Think about the days when you have meals out planned, are there any other meals where you can be super healthy that day? Can you fit an extra workout in? Plan a menu for the rest of the week and commit to following it….anything you can do to keep you focused will make sure those extra pounds don’t creep on.

2) Exercise Regularly It is crucial to maintain your exercise routine to maintain your weight however be conscious of the fact that every Christmas treat you eat or drink needs to be burned off in order to maintain your weight. Why not go for a nice family walk on Christmas day or Boxing Day to burn off the extra festive calories

3) Food Portion Control. So you’re at Christmas party and your great aunt Aggie offers you one of her traditional mince pies and she is insulted that you don’t take one, but you need to explain to her why it is important that you eat healthy. Be sensible and ensure that you are in control of what you eat. If you have to eat out a lot ensure you make sensible choices to stay on top of your diet, if you’re having Christmas dinner minimise high carbohydrates such as mash potatoes, roasties and Yorkshire Pudds and eat more of the meat and vegetables. If you know you are due to eat out a lot ensure you eat smaller portions and only order a main course.

4) Minimise alcohol consumption. Believe it or not you don’t have to be intoxicated to have a good time. Minimise yourself to a couple of drinks. Remember that there are a lot of calories in alcoholic drinks which are all EMPTY calories. Next time you want to top up your glass remind yourself that for every extra 100 calories you consume you will need to run 1 mile to burn it off!

Don’t ruin all your hard work you have achieved so far during your training. Even though it is coming up to Christmas ensure that you still work hard setting special occasions such as Christmas Day and New Year as treat days but even still be conscious of how much work you will have to put in to maintain your weight. You can maintain your body weight over the festive season rather than gaining weight if you focus on maintaining your healthy diet and exercise routine.