Christmas and New Year Festive eating can make it easy to put on weight. On the back drop of our longest lockdown can this be the time to reverse the trend? Some suggestions to keep your weight stable over the festive period:

Use a smaller dinner plate and keep the potato or other carbohydrates e.g. pasta/noodle/rice salads/bread to ¼ of the plate. Enjoy another ¼ of your plate as roast turkey, ham, beef or seafood. Pile up the remainder of your plate with lots of colour from salad vegetables.
Choose a small dessert/pudding, and fresh fruit when available.
STOP when you feel full.
Try mindful eating; eat slowly and enjoy the tastes, textures, temperature and smell of food. Mindful eating can help reduce the amount of food you eat.
Keep finger foods to a minimum. Choose your favourites instead of selecting everything. Go for fruit or vegetable sticks and grilled rather than fried food.
Drink at least eight cups of water each day, and try having a glass before you eat.

What about alcohol?
Wine, beer and spirits contain lots of kilojoules that can stack up the weight. Drinking can also increase your appetite so that you eat more than usual. Some tips which can also help with any hangovers:

Start with a glass of water to quench your thirst.
Try to limit to two standard drinks (a standard drink is about 100mls of wine or a middy of beer or a nip of spirits).
Alternate each alcoholic drink with a glass of still or sparkling water.
Fresh mint, ice, lemon or lime with sparkling water can make a refreshing drink with or without a spirit mixed in.
Avoid sweet pre-mixed drinks and soft drink mixers as they can add lots of sugar. Had lots of late nights?
Limit sugary energy drinks to stay awake. Opt for skinny coffees if having milk coffees.
Try black teas and healthy snacks, e.g. fruit or a low fat fruit smoothie.

Lastly, keep moving…do those 10000 steps a day…check out the local Christmas lights after dinner or put on your favourite tunes and start dancing!!

If you have any questions or would like to chat to a dietitian, call reception at The Albion Centre on (02) 9332 9600 to make an appointment (both Telehealth and face to face are available).

– The Albion Centre Nutrition Team

Published in Talkabout #200 December 2021