Here at The Fit Retreat we are strong believers in balance but understand that balance and the Christmas season don’t always go hand in hand. So we have complied a list of our Top Ten Healthy Christmas Tips to help you tackle the festive party season.
It’s that time of year again, dust off your flashing elf jumper and dance the night away to Mariah’s 1994 Christmas banger, that you publicly love and don’t care who knows it! By now you are knee deep in the the happiest season of the year. The morning after the office Christmas party has already been dealt with, and hopefully you are still employed at the job you love. But wait, what happened to being “good” this year? Trying not to devour every drop of alcohol in a five-meter radius or not trying to break the world record of how many cupcakes a human being can eat in a one hour window?
Relax all is not lost, The Fit Retreat has got your back.
Read on to prepare for the jolliest season of the year and how, not only to keep the health wagon on track, but to stop it veering off, colliding with a Christmas tree and bursting into festive flames.
Top Ten Healthy Tips... Here we go !!!
10. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER.
Ok let’s start with the basics. Water does not only keep you alive but is also a perfectly healthy way of keeping your appetite suppressed. By staying hydrated at all times you will have the feeling of being fuller, therefore reducing the risk of overeating at the buffet/dinner table. Apparently it can also help with hangovers. Who knew?
9. DONT GET HUNGRY.
Did you read number 10? Don’t Get Hungry! The hungrier you get the more likely you will make bad decisions when it comes to the crunch. One way to prepare for this is to start your day with a good breakfast in the morning to set you up for the day. Build your breakfast around healthy proteins, fats and a smallish amount of carbohydrates (portion size dependant on how much physical activity you will do in the day). Poached eggs, avocado and rye toast isn’t just something that looks cool on your favourite Instagram fitspo feed, its’ actually pretty good for you, get on the healthy food train!
8. LIMIT THE HANGOVER.
Notice I said LIMIT, let’s be honest it’s coming. The hangover from hell, the one when you ask yourself “did I actually lick the carpet before I got into bed last night?” What happens when You wake up? You run down to the local shop, empty everything they have into a wheel barrow, push it quickly home and consume the contents in the darkness of your living room in front of the Netflix series you can’t stop watching, accompanied with a dash of self-pity. But wait it doesn’t have to be like that! Don’t mix your drinks, stick with Vodka, Bacardi or Gin. They have fewer toxins and impurities than dark liquor, mix with soda water to help you hydrate while you drink, and throw a wedge of lime or fruit in there to help with the flavour. This will not only help limit the insane dehydration headache and huge hangover you usually feel the following morning, but it will also help you to make better food choices the following day.
7. MAKE A PLAN TO MOVE.
‘What a night! and thanks to The Fit Retreats Christmas Healthy Hack No8 I’m actually not feeling too bad!’ Your welcome…. Now let’s make a plan to avoid nursing that hangover all day. This is completely up to you and how you are feeling, the scale probably starts somewhere around walking the dog around the park to competing at the CrossFit games. There is no way around it, it might sting a bit but you will feel better if you get out of the house and do some physical activity. A great way of making sure this will happen is to pre plan some physical activity and make sure you don’t back out. Arrange to meet with some friends to go for a stroll, take part in a class at the gym, go for a jog with your partner, whatever you like.. But move. This will give you the motivation to actually do it and you will feel better, not just physically but mentally too.
6. DEAL WITH YOUR LACK OF ROUTINE AND MOTIVATION.
Your off from work and visiting family and you are already tired and stuffed full of all the gorgeous food you have already consumed. You are out of your normal routine, throw in a couple of bottles of Baileys and tin of Quality street and before you know it it’s January, christmas is over and you definitely feel heavier and unmotivated. Don’t worry, It’s not over yet and your still in the fight! It’s Christmas, you are not a Robot and you should enjoy yourself but mitigate the damage. The Fit Retreat believes best way to deal with lack of routine and motivation is to try something new that you wouldn’t normally do. Regular Gym goer? clear the living room and tackle some workout videos on YouTube. Marathon Man? Go lift some weights in the gym. Hard-core CrossFit savage? Get yourself down to the local yoga space and get some Zen in your life. A change is as good as a rest. Suck it up and get outside your comfort zone and get that motivation back.
5. MAKE AND TAKE.
Let’s face it we’ve all been there, you rock up to the party, check the snacks, and it’s a straight up twiglet and prawn cocktail crisp nightmare. Come on now it doesn’t have to be this way! That’s right make and take your own healthy snacks to the party for everyone to share, not only will you be contributing but, everyone will want a photo with you as a memento of the time YOU saved the party of the year from a complete and utter snack disaster, thus making you the coolest person in the room. I know, again. Your welcome!
Ok some quick and easy ideas:
Cucumber, carrot, baby corn, broccoli platter with homemade hummus/guacamole/chutney.
Sweet potato and mini sausages wrapped in pancetta.
Wholemeal pinwheels with roasted cranberries and goats cheese
Swap the salted nuts for fresh nuts like, almonds, cashews, brazil and chuck some cranberries and raisins into the mix.
Swap the crisps for tasty fresh lightly salted popcorn.
Cut some seasonal vegetables and roast them with olive oil, these taste lovely with a bit of dip.
Sweet treats?
Take a look at our recipes from The Fit Retreat kitchen blogs. The Salted Carmel Chocolates are insane and will make a perfect party treat.
Eat healthy and be a party legend, check !
4. SELECT YOUR POISON
Its Christmas and you want to stay on track or remain in some way healthy over the coming weeks. Here’s an idea, instead of eating and drinking everything in sight how about picking your poison. Rather than indulge in everything, have THIS but not THAT? I personally could make a huge list of things that I only really drink or eat at Christmas, but I won’t because this isn’t about me. So one example will do. I hereby state that there is no possibility on Planet Earth that I will not drink Budweiser and Guinness in great quantity throughout Christmas 2017, But because I know this, I will not be eating a whole family selection box on Christmas day as well (this has definitely happened before on numerous occasions) you can still enjoy your treat time over Christmas but without the guilt and self-loathing the following day.
3. MEAL PLAN
Don’t panic, I’m not suggesting to walk around all day with an oversized cool bag filled to the brim with plastic containers packed with chicken, rice and broccoli. No we’re talking stepping up to the buffet table or into your mum’s kitchen, plate in hand ready to attack the choice of delicious cooked food in front if you.
Ok, if overall weight maintenance/body fat percentage levels is something you’re thinking about over this Christmas period let’s make things easy for you. In this instance vegetables are your friend. I’m fairly sure no one has ever gained a substantial amount of weight in a short period of time by overeating vegetables, so get in there! About two fist size portions is good. Not only are they packed with vitamins and healthy minerals which are important for fending off illness’ and chronic diseases but will also help fill you up, so you’re not going to go in too hard on the carbohydrates, heavy roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings. Protein, ok, meat is also your friend but in moderation, it is not ok to eat a whole turkey in one sitting.
It would be impossible to generalise a perfect portion size for every one reading this so you will have to use a bit of common sense, but as a guide line:
WOMEN one palm sized portion of lean protein (150-175g) per meal.
MEN 1.5-2X of the women’s amount per meal.
Carbohydrates, don’t be afraid of carbohydrates just make good decisions based on portion size. Again a palm sized portion should suffice, a little more if you have taken part in in some moderate to high level exercise that day, roast potatoes are ok, boiled would be better, but again it is christmas so have what you love but concentrate on portion size. Have some condiments if you like, but if you can, make your own as you will know exactly what is going in to them. (my mouth is watering while I’m writing this thinking of Christmas dinner) GET IN MY BELLY !
2. BE SRTONG WILLED
Quote- ‘A strong willed person is determined. Your will is your desire or drive to do something, so a strong willed person is someone with powerful will.’
If optimal health and weight management is something you care about over the Christmas period or at any time in life then dig in, prepare and be strong, temptation is everywhere, it always is and will always be. Your will and desire got you where you are today, in your career, as a parent, as a hard working student, apply that same determination to your health and wellbeing and you are unstoppable.
you are strong get after it.
1. UPS AND DOWNS
Like anything else in life you can try as hard as you like but sometimes things don’t go to plan and life throws you a curve ball (or a whole chocolate yule log cake your way) . When this happens don’t freak out it’s very easy to let a bad food choice day slip into a week, to a month and before you know it your back at the bottom of the hill. Whatever you do don’t let the time between Christmas and New Year turn into one big gluttonous party, you won’t feel good for it and it will only make turning over a new leaf in the new year even harder. Use all of our top ten tips to help you combat the temptations that surround you over Christmas and New Year, but remember you are only human and you should enjoy the nice treats in life.
Everything in moderation....
So that’s it for The Fit Retreats Top Ten Healthy Christmas Tips.
It’s Christmas enjoy yourself, but stay in control.
Merry Christmas to you all from all of us at The Fit Retreat.
See you in the New Year for one of our 2018 fitness and wellness holidays!
