Christmas is traditionally a time for over-indulgence and enjoying the finer things in life. In fact, throughout winter our bodies are genetically programmed to take on more food and conserve energy. This survival tactic and spirit of “treating” and “enjoying” oneself over the festive period can play havoc with diet and exercise regimes, and leave people battling the bulge in the new year.
However, cosy nights in away from the cold and Christmas dinners with all the trimmings, not to mention after-dinner tipples, do not necessarily mean extra pounds and more flabby bits.
By taking simple steps throughout winter, and especially over the Christmas period, weight gain can be minimised and a healthy and active lifestyle maintained.
Avoid Piling on the Pounds
The key to staying in shape over winter is to keep up with your regular diet and exercise regime – don’t let your activities and healthy habits slip by the wayside and continue your weight loss and muscle-building programmes as much as possible.
It’s easy to think of excuses not to exercise, but don’t let the cold weather and dark nights get in the way of staying active. Adjust your routine so it works over winter. If you normally run outside in the evening do it on the treadmill in the gym instead, or have your session at lunchtime. If classes are cancelled then don’t use it as an excuse to sit on the sofa, but do the routine at home with the help of fitness DVDs. At the very least, keep moving around the house and enjoy walks or sledging.
Maintain your sensible eating habits too. By all means enjoy the great food on offer and do treat yourself to Christmas pudding and brandy butter, but don’t go overboard. Keep all meals well-balanced with plenty of protein and only eat normal-sized portions. Eating regularly throughout the day is the ideal way to keep metabolism up, but don’t snack on chocolates and mince pies – have fruit or nuts instead. There is no need to avoid the family meals and amazing food on offer, just be sensible and listen to your body. Know when you are full and avoid the temptation to eat just because food is there.
Extra Steps to Avoid Weight Gain
You may also want to try something new to avoid overloading the scales, such as tinted sunglasses to help counter the effects of abnormal levels of chemicals in the brain and trick the body into not entering hibernation mode.
Low serotonin levels can be a problem over winter, as this hormone is associated with mood and a lack of it can cause people to crave sweet and starchy foods to boost the brain chemical. Furthermore, not enough serotonin can allow melatonin to take over, which causes tiredness and, as it is produced during darker hours, there is more of it present in winter.
Weight gain is often seen as a result of cravings for carbohydrates and sugars as the body aims to boost serotonin levels. To help combat this, can be worn to trick the eyes into believing they are getting more natural light, in turn aiding mood and chemical levels. The tinted sunglasses block the blue light rays and alter the circadian rhythm – the human body clock that tells us when to eat and sleep – avoiding the urge to “stock up” on food and over-indulge.
have also been put forward as a way to suppress appetite, with the suggestion that the blue tint they give to food make it look unappealing. Advocates of this theory point out that there are very few foods that are naturally blue.
Recovering from Christmas Excess
Even if you have picked up some bad habits over Christmas it is important to get back into a healthy, active routine as soon as possible. Continue to exercise as you did previously and ramp-up your efforts to boost weight loss if the scales have moved the wrong way.
All these things will help ensure any weight gain over Christmas is kept to a minimum and by maintaining good habits it will be easy to get back into your usual routine when spring arrives.
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