It’s all too easy to pile on the pounds over the Christmas period but here are 10 tips to allow you to enjoy your food this Christmas without starting the New Year looking like Santa Claus! One thing to bear in mind: I don't think anyone has ever eaten anything by accident, what we decide to put in our mouth is our choice: make the right choices this Christmas.
1. Go easy on the starches. Cereals, bread, rice, pasta,, cakes, pastries, biscuits as well as vegetables such as potatoes, yams, carrots, parsnips, swede are all starchy carbohydrates. These foods cause our insulin levels to ‘spike’ resulting in our bodies storing fat (particularly around our waist – “muffin tops”). Have an extra slice of turkey this Christmas but try not to pile-on the starchy veg. Great alternatives are cabbage, kale, runner beans, spinach, brussel sprouts, leeks, broccoli and cauliflower.
2. Go for the red wine or mulled wine rather than white wine, beer or spirits. Red wine contains less “empty” calories and is higher in the good stuff (flavonoids, non flavonoids, polyphenols and heart-protecting reservatrol) than the other alternatives. The evidence surrounding this issue is mixed – the bottom line is that no alcohol is best, but let’s face it: it’s Christmas!
3. Eat protein at breakfast every day. We've heard it before but breakfast really is the most important meal of the day, it facilitates detoxification, boosts our metabolism and sets-up our neurotransmitters for lasting energy throughout the day. Always include protein with your breakfast – avoid large bowls of cereals and fruit as they’ll spike your insulin (see point 1). Consider taking a high quality fish oil at breakfast time, to help regulate your insulin throughout the day.
4. Drink a large glass of cold water before bed and on waking. At night this will ensure you’re hydrated while you sleep and will help to flush any alcohol through your stomach. In the morning it will boost your metabolism and rehydrate you after several hours without a drink.
5. Have your Christmas meal at lunchtime rather than in the evening. Eating a large meal in the evening will encourage your body to store more of it as fat than if you eat it at lunchtime.
6. Make your own mince pies and Christmas pudding. Shop-made pies, cakes and puddings are often full of stabilizers, emulsifiers and preservatives not to mention loads of sugar and a raft of chemicals you won’t be able to pronounce. When you make your own, use less sugar then the recipe suggests (you won’t notice the difference) and use high quality animal fats such as butter or lard instead of vegetable oil or margarine as these convert to bad trans fats in the high heat of the oven.
7. Accompany your mince pie or Christmas pudding with clotted cream! Sounds crazy but adding a little good quality clotted cream will cause the sugar to be absorbed more slowly and reduce the insulin-spiking effects. Good news!
8. Choose dark chocolate with a high coco content. Coco has been found to contain flavonoids than may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. One study that compared the total antioxidant activity in single servings of cocoa, green tea, black tea and red wine scored cocoa markedly higher than the rest. The more cocoa in a chocolate product, the higher the antioxidant flavonoid content is; dark chocolate is more concentrated in cocoa content (choose 70% or higher), it is higher in flavonoids than milk chocolate. White chocolate has no cocoa content.
9. Try to avoid snacking between meals or late at night. This may be difficult, especially at Christmas time but if you must snack go for a slice of meat or cheese rather than crisps, cakes or biscuits. Snacking between meals really is the way to pack on the pounds – ensure your meals are sufficiently dense in nutrition to last you until the next one.
10. Go Organic. Last but by no means least! Avoiding the fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides is important as these toxins get stored in your fat tissues. The more toxins, the more fat that needs to be created to store them. Also, some of these chemicals mimic the hormone oestrogen in men and women, upsetting your hormone balance and increasing fat storage around the pectoral area in men - “man boobs” and around the hips and thighs in women.
Enjoy, and Merry Christmas!
