How to avoid gaining weight during Christmas time? - a few useful tips

Let's be honest. We (almost ) all eat more than usual and definitely more than we need during Christmas. Why is that? This holiday is part of our life, our tradition and culture and we just love it. We get together around the table and enjoy long lunches and dinners. 

But we don’t need to eat too much to have  good time! I am going to share with you a few tips how to avoid overeating and weight gain.

1- Use healthy ingredients only! Modify your traditional recipes, believe me, you can make them even more delicious.

Personally I don't use any added white sugar and I try to avoid also other added sweeteners like xylitol, erythrit, dates and unrefined cane sugar, as much as possible.  I substitute wheat flour by much tastier ingredients like different nuts, chestnut, tiger nut, coconut, so the cakes or cookies taste better and are healthier.

2 - As always, avoid sugar, wheat (and grains in general) and unhealthy oils (like canola, sunflower or soy)! This recommendation is valid also for Christmas meals. Eat a lot of fresh veggies, a decent amount of lean protein and plenty of healthy fats. Vegetables should take up the largest portion of your plate always!

3 - Avoid eating late at night. Keep night fasting as long as possible but at least 12 hours. If dinner is late, delay breakfast or skip it simply. 

4 - Eat slowly and chew your food well!

5 - Move!!! If you have a dog, it is easy (obligatory) to go for a few walks daily. If you don’t, imagine that you do;) Go out, even if the weather is bad or you have other things to do. Do stretching, a couple of push-ups and squats if you can’t make it to the gym. Do these every day! It’s fun and you’ll feel much better, believe me.

6 - Make sure that you drink enough water and some unsweetened tea and don’t overdo alcohol.