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Christmas
comes but once a year and it's a time to eat drink and be merry,
but as the parties start so does the temptation to overindulge on
both food and alcohol.
So
is it possible to enjoy the Christmas festivities without suffering
from an expanding waistline?
Sally
Whitcombe, a dietician from Gloucester, believes it is and shares
with us her top tips on how to stay healthy over the Christmas period.
Eat,
drink and be healthy
"Believe
it or not it is possible to over indulge slightly but also stay
healthy," said Sally.
"I
think a lot of people end up feeling rotten at Christmas, when you
get that sluggish feeling when you know you've over indulged and
your energy levels go down and you feel like you need a detox."
One of the things to realise is to know
what actually puts the weight on, which a lot of people misunderstand.
People think it's just fat, and think that by avoiding fatty
food they will avoid weight gain, but in fact it's carbohydrates
that put on most of the weight.  |
| Sally
Whitcombe |
On
average people gain the equivalent of two bags of sugar in weight,
approximately four and a half pounds, in the four weeks over the
festive period, and Sally
thinks the problem is because people are unaware of what they can
and can't eat.
"One
of the things to know is what actually puts the weight on, which
a lot of people misunderstand.
"People
think it's just fat, and think that by avoiding fatty food they
will avoid weight gain, but in fact it's carbohydrates that put
on most of the weight.
"It's
actually the overindulgence of the mincepies, the crisps, the cakes,
and biscuits that are the biggest problem."
Healthy
options
According
to Sally even the traditional Christmas dinner can be a healthy
option.
"A
turkey dinner can actually be a healthy dinner, if you cut down
on the potatoes and load up with vegetables.
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Even
a Turkey dinner can be healthy
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"Most
of us would tend to binge on Christmas Day but if you think over
the longer period and try to keep your carbohydrates down it's better
for you."
Alternate
healthy days
One
trick that works for Sally is the one day on, one day off option.
"Some
people will look at their diary and see what work do's they have
in the run up to Christmas and they'll eat a lot on that day but
cut back on the following day.
"If
you eat something healthy like a salad or a stir-fry that cleanses
the body, then it prepares you for the next onslaught the following
day. It's like a mini detox in-between."
Who's
at risk?
There
is no particular type of person prone to weight gain but exercise
is a key factor in keeping unwanted weight off.
Sally
said: "Anybody
is at risk who doesn't exercise much and who regularly eats a lot
of carbohydrates, increases the intake of them and adds the alcohol.
"Smokers
are at more risk because the alcohol effects are stronger if you
are a smoker. Age doesn't really affect it but in terms of health
it's mainly dependent on exercise."
So
what can we do if we want to avoid the post Christmas bulge?
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If
you are coming up to Christmas rather than let the stress stop
you exercising try and keep that up, go to the gym, go for a
walk and prepare yourself for the possible overindulgence at
Christmas.
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| Sally
Whitcombe |
"Taking
a nice brisk walk can do wonders and help make you feel refreshed.
"Coming
up to Christmas, rather than let the stress stop you exercising
try and keep that up - go to the gym, go for a walk and prepare
yourself for the possible overindulgence at Christmas."
Because
the festive period can be quite a long time of overeating and drinking,
Sally suggests a bit of planning is what is needed to keep your
waistline in check.
"Just
think about what's healthy and what's not. For example if I know
I'm going to be going to a lot of buffets, they usually have a mix
of things that just sit in your stomach, doesn't go down and ferments.
So if you get to the buffet early you can go for the salads, raw
vegetables, dips and cheese rather than solid stuff like sandwiches,
sausage rolls and other pastry based food types."
Look
after your blood
Another
trick for a healthier Christmas is to keep your blood sugar as even
as possible.
According
to Sally "When your blood sugar is high you produce more of
the hormone insulin, which is a fat storing hormone. So if you can
keep your blood sugar levels even then that helps, and one of the
tricks for doing that is to eat more protein.
"Many
people will go hours without eating protein until late in the evening,
which causes havoc to their blood sugar levels.
"If
you add to that the general Christmas stress and pressures which
increases the hormone Cortisol, then this throws more sugar into
the blood, which in turn produces more insulin, which in turn stores
fat."
"The
trick for ongoing weight loss, or should I say weight management,
is to learn to keep your blood sugar balanced through diet, then
you can help yourself enormously and keep the weight off."
What
to eat?
Think
healthy and BE healthy this Christmas by eating lots of fruit, vegetable
and protein.
Good sources
of are protein:
- meat
- fish which is easier on the digestion than red meat
- nuts and seeds which are protein rich.
"Lots
of people are scared of nuts because they think they're fattening
but they contain loads of things that speed up the metabolism which
helps you lose weight," continued Sally
What
not to eat!
The
temptations at Christmas are everywhere but what try and avoid all
those chocolate treats.
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If
your body is strained from overindulging at Christmas anyway
then chocolate will only add to the problem. |
| Sally
Whitcombe |
"Chocolates
can be a problem because they are loaded with sugar and additives
unless they're organic. The cocoa bean is the most sprayed crop
on the planet so you may enjoy it but you're getting a high cocktail
of chemicals which your body has to deal with.
"If
your body is strained from overindulging at Christmas anyway then
chocolate will only add to the problem."
One
drink or two?
OK
so we all know food and nibbles aren't the only temptations at Christmas.
So what about the dreaded alcoholic haze that can often creep up
on us at Christmas?
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Avoid
the hangover this Christmas!
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Sally
offers us a few words of wisdom: "If
you're going out boozing don't go out on an empty stomach. Have
a small snack with protein or complex carbohydrates before you go
out.
"Also
try and sip a bit of orange juice between drinks and make sure before
you go to bed at night you drink lots of water to rehydrate yourself."
So
it seems the key to a good Christmas is still to eat, drink and
be merry - just do it in moderation.
Merry
Christmas everyone!
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If
you would like to comment on this or any other story in this section
get in touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk
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