How to survive the season of indulgence

By Emmet Rushe • 6 years ago

Dec
2018

Emmet Rushe has four tricks to controlling your diet during the Christmas nibble-fest.

The Christmas Party season has officially begun, and holiday nibbles will be everywhere.

Every house, shop and workplace will start to be filled with ‘Pringles’, ‘Roses’ and any other number of treats that either staff, clients or friends leave in.

It doesn’t matter how good you are, you would need the willpower of a Tibetan monk to avoid sneaking even one nibble this Christmas.

The inevitable is upon us, so do we give in completely or do we try and have a bit of control over our hand to mouth interaction?

For some of you, the Christmas break will be a time to recharge the batteries and you should use it as such.

If you have an event coming up in January, or you just don’t want December to be a complete binge fest, I have some simple tips below that can help.

Here are a few things you can do to prevent the inevitable spillover that comes from too much Christmas cheer.

Don’t turn up to a party hungry.

If there is one sure way to end up sitting in the corner, surrounded by empty Roses wrappers and with a chocolate ring around your mouth, it is this.

Turning up to a party hungry is a recipe for disaster.
As soon as the party mix is set down on the table, you will be on it like a lion on a gazelle.

Before you go to a staff party or house party, try and have a good meal with plenty of protein in it.
Protein is very satisfying and you won’t be hungry after eating it.

If you are already full and not hungry you are less likely to binge on everything in sight when you get there and don’t forget that you will probably be indulging in a few alcoholic beverages, so your calorie count will already be higher than normal.

Don’t sit at the nibbles table.

Everyone wants a comfy seat.

No one wants to turn up to a party and have to stand all night.

But the weigh up between standing and sitting can be a table full of nibbles right in arm’s length.

If you are anything like me, then you can’t be left alone around a tube of Pringles or a bowl of nuts.

If you are trying to be a bit good this year, try and not put yourself right in the danger zone by sitting in front of the table of snacks.

You will be mid conversation with all the other party goers and won’t even realise that you’ve polished off the bowl of ‘Bombay mix’ or that tube of Pringles all by yourself.

Pace your alcohol intake

This is a good piece of advice for a few reasons.

Firstly, if you pace your drinking, you are less likely to get the alcohol munchies early on in the night, therefore, lessening the damage that you could do.

You are also taking in fewer calories through alcohol, especially if you like cocktails with high sugar mixers. Check out: The five lowest-calorie drinks to have this party season

Secondly, if you pace your alcohol intake, you are less likely to make a shambles of yourself in front of your work colleagues and have reminders of your antics on Facebook the next morning…Like singing karaoke, when there was no karaoke, or waking up remembering all the hilarious conversations you had with everyone, only to realise they were hilarious to you, at that time, while a bit drunk and they were more offensive than hilarious, but we won’t talk about that now!

Avoid excessive drinking and tasting when cooking.

When preparing meals this Christmas, try and avoid having the bottle of wine beside your glass.

You will be less likely to keep topping up your glass and the bottle might last you longer than the time it takes to stuff the turkey.

When cooking, try to limit the amount of tasting that you do, a taste shouldn’t be eating a whole turkey leg while basting.

Walk it off

Finally, if you are going to indulge yourself over the festive season, try at least to get up the following morning/afternoon and go for a walk.

You will be burning up a few of the previous night’s treats and it is something that you and your partner, friend or family can do that might just last into the new year and become a habit that you could keep.

Lastly, remember that Christmas only happens once a year and unless you have good reason to monitor your food, you should relax and enjoy the festive season!

My New Lean in 2019 Transformation Challenge kicks off January 7^th.

There has been a huge amount of interest in these classes this year and are sure to sell out.
Don’t leave it too long to book.