Stick to your diet this Christmas

By Nelly Obadha

The Christmas season is characterised by many festivities that threaten to undo your health and fitness efforts throughout the year. The many parties, plenty of drinking and yummy food will tempt you to throw caution to the wind and indulge, but it is time to exercise discipline and stick to healthy and moderate eating.

Here are guidelines to ensure you remain healthy and fit this festive season.

Choose wisely

You are the only one who knows the health goals you have set and it is upon you to ensure you achieve them. When you attend a function where food is served in plenty don’t eat everything that is served. Choose foods that fall within your healthy diet plan. Ensure what ends up on your plate is balanced. When it comes to meat, go for white meat, as it is healthier.

Portioning

When food is served buffet style, there is temptation to try everything, which means you end up with a heap at the end of serving. If you want to sample everything, ensure you serve a little of every food. This ensures you end up with just enough as you head to the table and you don’t have to worry about adding unnecessary calories.

Plan ahead

If you know you will be tempted to eat too much, plan ahead. You can counter this by eating something small before you go for the party or function. This will prevent you from eating excessively at the party.

Do not forget your workouts

For many people, the festive season means shelving all workout sessions. This means you ingest more than the usual calories and do nothing to burn them, which will be a major setback to your health resolutions. The least you can do is stick to your 30 minutes workout three to four days a week; otherwise, increase the workout period because of the increased consumption of food. You can do this by opting to walk instead of taking a bus or using your car to cover short distances.