Christmas may be a time for celebration, but if you’re dieting, navigating the various treats and delicacies around the dinner table can make for a difficult challenge. While a little indulgence is ok, too much holiday feasting can completely derail your dietary efforts and set all of your progress back weeks. Thankfully, with a few simple tricks you can get the most out of Christmas without impacting your waistline.
Retail Cardio
Finding that perfect gift has never been easier thanks to online shopping. While buying presents from the internet might be a timesaver, it’s also, unfortunately, a missed opportunity. If you want to balance out your holiday snacking with a little extra cardio, consider hitting the mall this year. An hour spent casually walking can burn upwards of 200 calories, meaning you can lose weight over Christmas just by shopping. If it’s close enough, consider ditching your car and walking or biking to the store as well to take off another 300 to 600 calories.
Don’t Drink Your Calories
From hot chocolate to egg nog, most Christmas menus are packed with delicious beverages. Unfortunately, most of the flavor in these drinks comes from their high sugar content. As a general rule, you’re always better off eating, rather than drinking, your calories since a beverage will not satiate your hunger the same way food will. Therefore, if you’re going to indulge in a few Christmas snacks, stick to items that will fill you up rather than the empty calories found in sugary drinks.
Hosting Duties
Christmas parties and dinners with friends, family, and coworkers are an inevitable part of the holiday season. These can prove challenging for dieters since you might feel rude for turning down the lovingly prepared meals and desserts on offer. If you’re willing to entertain, consider hosting your own holiday party this year. Since you’re in charge, you’ll have full control over the menu and can craft it around your fitness goals. If you can’t host your own party and must attend elsewhere, offer to bring a treat, so there’ll be at least one healthy snack item that won’t break your diet.
Treat Yourself
Gift-giving is of course a huge and exciting part of the Christmas season. While you are probably focused on picking out gifts for your friends and family, consider getting yourself a small present in the form of some tools to help you along on your weight loss journey. Whether it’s a new digital scale that also measures BMI, a high-end pair of running shoes, some weights for your home gym, or a health-boosting drink from Xyngular, you can simultaneously reward yourself for your weight loss efforts up until this point and give yourself a leg up in keeping off the pounds over Christmas.
Healthy Substitutions
If you absolutely have to snack over Christmas, plan ahead by looking up a few delicious -but healthier- substitutions. Want to indulge in something sweet? Instead of reaching for Christmas cookies, have some dark chocolate-dipped strawberries instead. Rather than serving sweet potatoes alongside your Christmas ham, replace them with some butternut squash. This winter favorite is just as delicious and only contains about 1/4th the calories per serving.
The Season of Giving
Christmas is the season of giving and there’s no better gift you can give yourself than a healthy and fit body. Find healthy snack replacements, work some exercise into your holiday shopping, and consider purchasing yourself a little something that can help you with your weight loss journey. While it can be challenging, with a little forethought and a few tricks you can enjoy delicious food and still lose weight over Christmas.