Christmas Cheer Without The Extra Kilos

I love Christmas! I love the happiness it brings, the reminder to us that peace and goodwill are what we really strive for and the mad rush of catching up with family and friends to celebrate. I love the extra few drinks, the puddings, Christmas cakes, roast potatoes and hams, the mince pies and pigs in blankets. I just salivate dreaming about it all and can feel the extra kilos piling on just thinking about it!

I’m no party pooper, so I’m not going to tell myself, or you, to eat carrots and ignore all the fun, but I also don’t want to have another New Year’s Resolution to lose the three kilos I just spent the last four weeks accumulating. So I have some suggestions to enjoy the fun while dodging the kilos:

- If you’re planning to be out for the evening, eat healthily throughout the day and don’t starve yourself. The worst thing you can do is turn up to a function starving. I know we’ve all done it but it’s undignified to stalk waiters at a cocktail party, and to hover outside the kitchen waiting for the next nibbles to arrive. Not only will the waiters get an AVO on you for stalking them, but you’ll eat more than you planned. Drinking on an empty stomach is also unadvisable as the alcohol will hit you faster giving far more opportunity for you to make a goose of yourself.

- Alternate between an alcoholic drink and a low-calorie non-alcoholic drink like water, mineral water or diet-soft drinks. Not only will this keep you sober longer, you’ll only drink half as many calories.

- Remember the power of exercise. The basic equation of weight loss is to use more energy than you consume. So if you’re like me and plan to enjoy a few tasty treats during the day, then plan to do some exercise as well. Even a small amount can make a difference and you’ll feel better about yourself.

- Look for healthy options – in Australia, with Christmas in summer and so much great cuisine, there are often healthy options available at parties. So avoid or limit the fried stuff and think rice paper rolls and sushi instead – delicious, low fat and great for you.

And my final word of advice is to enjoy yourself! While it’s great to be disciplined, there’s always the New Year to make up for a few indulgences, so if you have a blow-out don’t beat yourself up, life’s far too short for that. Just look forward and think about what you can do instead of what you should have done.