Christmas time is filled with the most delicious and delectable treats and for most of us it’s a time to push those diets aside and over indulge on the foods we love to eat.
Weight Loss Queen, Annette Sym, believes enjoying the Christmas treats doesn’t mean destroying those weight loss goals that you have worked so hard to achieve.
“By following a few simple tips Christmas can be a time of enjoyment and fun without having to put on those extra kilos you worked so hard to get rid of,” says Annette.
The festivities, food and parties that come with the Christmas season can often result in starting the New Year with unwanted extra weight and regretting those December indulgences. Annette encourages you to be smart when it comes to this year’s Christmas.
“The festive season can be a battle for all of us, we have so much food to choose from and this can often result in eating too much of all the wrong things” said Annette.
“Having a good time does not always mean eating the wrong foods, when going to Christmas functions look for the healthy alternatives such as:
- Don’t arrive hungry and avoid the deep fried fatty appetisers if possible
- Choose the low fat options if available such as low fat dips
- Load your plate with fresh salad and avoid those covered in high fat mayonnaise and dressings.
- Lean meat, chicken roasted instead of fried and fresh seafood are ideal choices
- Avoid high fat desserts and instead indulge in the wonderful summer fruits available.
- To lighten the Christmas pudding add low fat ice-cream or custard instead of cream.
It’s the surprise package that nobody wants – a scale that displays extra kilos after the festive season is over. Annette believes this does not have to be the case, and by following a few symple steps you can give the gift of good health to yourself instead this Christmas.
“If you have successfully lost weight over 2010, the last thing you will want to do is blow it all in December,” Annette said.
Annette’s top five seasonal tips are:
- Increase your exercise time or level to help compensate for overeating.
- Avoid overindulging when attending functions. If you don’t want to be tempted then make sure you eat before you go out, and then you can still enjoy a small amount of what is being offered at the function. Arriving on an empty stomach may set you up for overeating and a weakened resistance when out!
- Take your good intentions when dining out and remember that little pickers wear big knickers.
- If you go to a luncheon, then have a light dinner that night to help balance out.
- Reduce or avoid having too much alcohol. Alcohol is wasted calories and also can be the cause of an undisciplined attitude that makes you eat too much or the wrong type of foods.
- Try to have more good days than bad. Write down how much you are eating on the days when you have outings and then reduce your food intake over the following days to counteract it. This is how I manage and it works really well.
Annette’s cookbooks SYMPLY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and the new Book 6, are sold in all good newsagencies and Borders bookstores or visit Annette’s website www.symplytoogood.com.au.
