As you all know, it is Christmas tomorrow and that for me (and most other people) means food, family and fun. I want to concentrate more on the family and fun parts of those three. Christmas Day is not an excuse to eat everything in sight. I have been researching for the past few weeks on how to overcome the issue of eating too much on Christmas.
No one likes the feeling of being bloated and having eaten so much they feel like they are going to explode so why do we do it? Is it just because it is in front of us? Is it for our family or parents who have slaved for hours prepared vegetables and meat for YOUR benefit. Benefit? No. It is no benefit. It’s to your detriment.
I have compiled a list of hints and tips that I will be following for tomorrow so that although I will eat a lot, I will eat less than I otherwise would have. I will put them in a constructed order too, to show you what my ‘plan’ and routine will be.
1. I will EAT breakfast- this is a good idea (honest)! I will probably eat porridge/oatmeal with raspberries and almond extract which is my absolute favourite at the moment as it tastes just like marzipan which is my arch nemesis in terms of cravings and gluttony.
2. I will drink green and peppermint tea throughout the day. The green tea will increase the speed of my metabolism, in the hope of digesting any bad foods I have eaten quicker. The peppermint tea will act as a mild laxative, acting on my bowel walls to contract and move the food faster through my body. I also find that peppermint decreases my appetite and hence, I will drink it after breakfast, the christmas dinner and any other snacks.
3. Stay away from alcohol and other high calorie beverages. I know this is hard (I’m a student- I KNOW). This has been the cause of all of my weight gain which I then had to lose again. I vow right now that I won’t be drinking any alcohol tomorrow, nor ‘nice’ drinks like J20 or cokes or anything. NO. I was lucky enough to find a 1 calorie per 330ml of ginger beer that I will be drinking throughout the day as well as water and my teas! This will save me 500 calories at least, opposed to years before.
4. Stay away from the chocolates and crisps. These two are the main culprits for high calorie intake on christmas. Even when people are full to beyond belief, they still feel the need to gorge on a ridiculous amount of crisps and chocolate. I would know- I have done this EVERY year up till now. So now, all I can imagine is the years of damage I have done to my body and it makes me so angry. How could I be so ridiculous? No one likes a girl who weighs 11stone 5lbs at 5ft 5! (My highest weight). I neglected my body and now I need to apologise to it by eating good things. As a substitute to chocolate I will be eating nuts which may be high calorie but are full of good nutrients. As a substitute for crisps I will be eating vegetables dipped in various dips which (of course) are also a lot healthier. I will be keeping all of these snacks to a minimum though in preparation for…
5. I’m sitting at the end, in the corner of our big table for dinner, slightly out of eyes view of everyone and slightly away from the HUGE bowl that will inevitably sit on the table FILLED with roast potatoes. Not eating any. I swear, now. I am not eating ANY potatoes because they are the most unhealthy thing on the menu in our house. If anyone disagrees then please let me know.
6. Fill your plate with VEGETABLES and TURKEY/PROTEIN. I am staying clear of the roast potatoes BIG time! I am going to take a photograph of my plate tomorrow in the hope it will motivate me and also so that I can record the calories at the end of the day and upload them to here like I said I would.
7. Have one pudding or one serving of pudding. I don’t know about anyone else but in my house, tomorrow, there will probably be at least five different puddings available. There is christmas pudding, lemon mousse, sticky toffee pudding, trifle and pavlova. So FIVE! That’s not even including the christmas cake. That is ridiculous considering there are only eleven of us adults eating it. Hopefully a lot of it will be taken home by my family and it won’t be lingering in my house. I have just remembered too we have a bunch of other frozen desserts in the freezer too- banoffee pie, lemon cheesecake, after eight ice cream and clotted cream ice cream. Bloody hell. Kill me.
8. Always have a drink of some kind near you, it’ll keep your mouth stimulated and people won’t suspect anything.
9. If the worst happens and people question why you aren’t eating anything then just say you don’t feel well. That’s my plan.
10. Make yourself look pretty and wear tight clothes. No one wants a food baby in a tight skirt or dress. Maybe I’ll show you a picture of me if you’re lucky ;-).
11. Weigh yourself throughout the day, that’ll stop you!
12. Encourage other people to eat more, or offer them food. I will be helping my mum in the kitchen, in the hope of it putting me off eating. Especially if I chew gum, which I will be.
13. Wait for your stomach to rumble before eating anything after christmas dinner. If your body wants more food, it will tell you so just wait for the signal!
Anyway, there are 13 (unlucky for some) tips to get you through Christmas day and just remember eating doesn’t equal happiness. You can have a lovely fun filled family orientated day without food being a buzz killer for you. So maintain your weight loss and don’t be tricked into eating the ‘average’ 6000 calories that every talks about eating.
Good luck,
Jessicana xo
jessicanablog 