Guilt-Free Christmas
I could give you all the usual advice at this time of year about moderation, staying active and all that stuff you already know.
After all, it seems that most people put on around half a kilo over the Christmas period. One year I went back to the parents for 3 weeks and put on 5kg (nearly 10% of my body weight!) That’s when I realised I wasn’t as young as I used to be, that stuff adds up!
Moderation and activity is key, don’t get too carried away with all that food, its common sense right? Christmas is about family and friends, relaxing and recharging, letting loose and living large. There’s no point feeling guilty about it. So my advice this year is this: stop the guilt. It’s not helpful.
Yes, there’s heaps of Christmas functions to attend and lots of food and drink around, after all we’re celebrating the end of another successful and fun year. The decisions you make to partake in the offerings will impact on your health and your advancement towards your overall health goals, it goes without saying. But to partake and then feel guilty about it really defeats the purpose of it all, so if you want to be all in, be all in. You can moderate your intake and be sensible about it, choose healthier options at the next meal, do something helpful for your recovery the next day, or increase your activity levels but don’t let the guilt of your decisions eat you up. The problem is if you decide to be all in, all the time. In that case, I’d suggest taking responsibility for that decision and dealing with the consequences.
On Christmas day itself, yes, that extra serve of Christmas dinner will be delicious but your decision is either: eat it, enjoy it and feel like you’re going to explode or don’t eat it and have some leftovers next time. You’re not going to miss out. Either way don’t feel guilty about it – it is just one day and one meal (or two). You know that it may set you back from your overall goal lose weight, be healthy, and look slim in your bikini but laying the guilt upon yourself will not help you to be any closer to your goal.
All that leftover food, it would be a shame to let it go to waste…but that doesn’t mean you should eat it. I mean, you can if you want to, that’s your decision and if so, make sure you enjoy it but there’s other options too. You may decide ahead of time cook and serve smaller quantities of food – you know there’s always too much – choose a smaller cut of meat, make a smaller dessert or increase the vegetable and salad options. Non-perishable food items not needed on the day like those Christmas chocolates/shortbread/wine etc someone (like your employer) gave you could be donated to a food bank or charity (even better if you do it before Christmas so someone can enjoy it on the day). That way, not only will you not feel guilty, you can feel good you helped someone else add to the day.
Lay off the guilt this Christmas and enjoy yourself.
