Finding your balance over Christmas and New Year
When we talk about finding a balance, we don’t mean how to stand up after too many Baileys and a stomach full, we simply mean finding middle ground between enjoying and over indulging.
It doesn’t feel too good rocking up to the New Year feeling three stone heavier with the motivation of a slug. All that Christmas food and alcohol might taste fantastic at the time but it leaves us feeling groggy if we go overboard. Here are ways to enjoy festive food and drink whilst keeping a healthy balance.
- For some of us, the only fruit we see over Christmas is the stuff in our pudding, or a slice of lemon in our drink! If you have a feeling you probably won’t be eating much fresh fruit over the next week or two, at the very least make sure you take some vitamin supplements every day so your body doesn’t suffer too much. If you can, stock up some frozen fruit, so you can always make some smoothies and healthy desserts even when the shops are shut! As for veggies, don’t dodge Brussels sprouts, they are packed with goodness and may also help you feel fuller as a good source of protein. Plus they contain much needed fibre!
- Think feeling bloated for days after Christmas lunch is inevitable? Not so! If you listen to your body and stop eating when you’re full, your stomach will thank you for it. If you think to yourself, ‘I’m full but it tastes good and it is Christmas’. Ok you’re choice, just don’t complain when you feel like a sloth tomorrow! By allowing some space to breathe between your meal and dessert for instance, you can enjoy it all and feel more satisfied. If you eat your Christmas meal and dessert quickly, you may be more likely to carry on with the Ferrero Roches afterwards. Weird but true.
- Most of us enjoy a tipple at Christmas, just remember to sip water regularly if you want to greet the New Year feeling fresh.
- Sleep. I hear you roar with laughter but seriously, there is nothing more testing than the effects of poor sleep for days or weeks. Spending time with family, socialising, or being up early and playing all day with excited children, means sleep is regularly nudged to one side over the festive season. If you don’t have a good night’s kip, try to take a power nap during the day, even just 20 minutes will revive your body and mind.
If you are determined that 2016 will be the year that you shape up and feel happy with your body, then hold that thought in your mind! As Mind Trainer, Caroline Ferguson, explains in the Size HH book, if your motivation is about moving towards a vision of a healthier or slimmer new you, rather than thinking about moving away from your current state, then the motivation will be more sustainable. If you regularly think about your motivation and feel excited and good when you think about it, it will happen.
Any time you start thinking oh I feel fat now so might as well enjoy Christmas doing what I want then thinking about changing January 1st, replace that thought with. Wow I can’t wait to start feeling fabulous when I try on new clothes and when I look in the mirror! I can’t wait to feel more energetic and positive about my body. Consciously thinking these kind of thoughts about moving you towards something will make you in line to meet your goal without breaking even a hint of a sweat! It all starts in the mind…
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