Christmas is a time for indulgence and celebration, and it’s inevitable that many of us might find our trousers a little tighter come January. This piece from the Guardian reveals that reports suggest the average person will eat 6,000 calories on Christmas Day alone.
Whether that’s completely accurate or not, it’s a frightening insight into how our eating habits and discipline can be completely relaxed at Christmas. And while it’s easy to give in to temptation and just tell oneself that ‘it is Christmas, so I’m allowed’, a few simple tips can help to ensure you eat relatively healthily over the festive period. Just another few things to bear in mind in the hectic run-up to the holidays, along withviewing appliances that are available online if you need a late-minute chest freezer for all that extra food, stocking up on presents and filling up the social diary.
This excellent guide from the NHS takes a look at the typical elements of a traditional Christmas dinner and suggests less calorific alternatives. It’s pretty simple stuff – removing the skin from the turkey, eating the leaner breast meat rather than the heavier leg or thigh and draining the fat from the bird before resting and carving. This is done by pricking the skin, so that the fat drains out.
Other tips include choosing a chestnut-based stuffing instead of one with sausage meat, using semi-skimmed milk if you’re making a bread sauce to accompany the main meal and refraining from stirring butter through vegetables. The AO Christmas Cookbook has other suggestions for preparing the dinner.
Christmas pudding is rich; if you can’t contemplate going without it after your dinner then stick to a small portion. Still quite full after eating turkey and all the trimmings you’ll probably find that you can’t manage much anyway. What also helps is what you eat it with. Try it with a low-fat custard (also made with skimmed milk, like the bread sauce) or even a dollop of crème fraiche instead of a generous helping of double cream or brandy butter.
If this all sounds like too much of a sacrifice and you are determined to enjoy Christmas dinner without any compromises whatsoever, you’re going to have to make some adjustments in other areas. That means eating normally throughout the rest of the day.
It does not mean cooking up a large English breakfast on Christmas morning and lazily grazing on chocolates, crisps and nibbles throughout the day until dinner is served. You’re just racking up the empty calories before the main blowout. Instead, as this article advises, start the day with a healthy and filling breakfast such as a bowl of porridge or chopped fruit topped with low-fat yoghurt or fromage frais. If all of this sounds a bit too normal and dull for what is one of the most special days in the calendar year, a bagel spread with low calorie cream cheese and smoked bagel is a good option.
Sensible eating always balances diet and exercise, and Christmas Day should be no exception. While even the keenest of fitness fans might consider an early morning run to be a step too far on December 25th, a post-dinner stroll for all the family should definitely be on the agenda. While it might be tempting to hit the sofa and stay there – tuning out to a movie – it’s way more beneficial to go for a brisk walk. You’ll feel much better for the fresh air and it will help you to digest a heavy meal. Then you can relax afterwards, feeling slightly less guilty.
Of course once Christmas has ended we all start to contemplate our new year goals and aspirations, and being healthy, exercising more and eating better may well feature on our resolution list for many of us. You can learn more about this here.
