It can be difficult to eat well at Christmas time. Enjoying yourself shouldn’t mean undoing all the positive changes to your gut health made throughout the year.
It’s not about depriving yourself of all the fun stuff, it’s about keeping the good practices in place while celebrating.
These are our top tips for maintaining a healthy gut this Christmas!
Keep active
Go for a morning walk before others wake, an evening stroll with the family, or play a game of cricket.
Hydrate
It’s easy to over drink alcohol and sugary drinks around Christmas. Make sure you have tasty, hydrating drinks on offer. Try coconut water, fruit in your water or homemade iced tea.
Snack well
We are often standing around eating and snacking before the main event. Make sure there are cut up vegetables with dip and fruit platters for snacking. These are gut-friendly Christmas snacks.
Don’t feel obliged to eat everything on offer
Be polite but assertive. If you really want to try many things, cut things into smaller pieces, and opt for a little taste.
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Avoid the ‘hangry’
Don’t go to parties on an empty stomach, chances are you will eat later than expected and be so hangry you’ll smash the snacks and overeat.
Step away from the food
Choose a seat or stand away from the food table. Go socialise away so you are too distracted to continuously eat.
Fill up on the good fuel
Fill up on nutrient dense foods and protein. Vegetable sticks, add hummus and sauerkraut; breakfast, have eggs and avocado. Bulk up on salad and fruit salad.
Be prepared
Chances are, yes, you will overeat and usually feel bloated and over full. Take digestive enzymes to avoid the discomfort and digestive symptoms which are sure to come with the sudden change in diet. Also, if you are dairy or gluten sensitive then make sure you’ve stocked up on your enzymes, you know it’s inevitable, you are going to indulge!
Finally, cut the guilt
Christmas is just one day and between Christmas and New Year is one week. It matters more what you do the other 51 weeks of the year. Let go of perfectionism, have fun, and enjoy the season. Christmas is more about the people than the gifts and more about the fellowship than the perfectionism and dieting. So, relax and enjoy the season with those special to you.
