Watch Your Waistline This Christmas!

Many of us look forward to seeing our closest friends and families during the coming Christmas and New Year festivities. Whether it’s to dine out or to prepare a feast at home – what’s certain is we cannot be missing out on delicious food just like the Malaysian way… our love for food.

A research carried out by Associated British Foods found that the average person consumes more than 7,000 calories on Christmas day[1]. While that sounds alarming and almost exaggerated, it really is that easy to over-indulge in too many seasonal treats while in the festive merry-making mood!

To avoid holiday weight gain and the adverse effects on our overall health, we’ve lined up 7 festive eating tips that will help you watch your waistline this Christmas!

1. Start with a good (healthy) breakfast

A nutritious breakfast can help energise and kick start your day right! Plan your breakfast foods that include wholegrains, low-fat protein and fruits. Consider a bowl of oatmeal as it helps keep you full for some time, thus reducing the tendency to snack or overeat during lunch or dinner gatherings. You may opt to add fruits, nuts or granola and drizzle some honey onto your oatmeal for natural sweetness, tasty flavours and textures.

Avoid eating carbohydrates such as bread and rice as well as cereals since they can be digested very quickly, causing spikes in blood sugar and making you feel hungry sooner.

2. Eat in moderation

There’s no need to deprive yourself entirely during this festive season. However, what you need to do is to practice responsible portion control and eat in moderation. If you know you’ll be feasting during dinner, then balance out your day’s calorie intake by opting for a healthy breakfast and light lunch. A good choice would be along the lines of a nice piece of roasted chicken breast with a healthy serving of greens.

Another tip is to use a smaller serving dish to eat. This not only allows food to look more visually abundant on your plate but also helps with portion control. For a little extra help, opt for weight loss supplements that include white kidney bean, mulberry leaf and bitter melon extract. These ingredients will aid to curb appetite while helping with starch digestion and enhance insulin sensitivity for the body to use more blood sugar as energy instead of storing it as fats.

3. Indulge wisely

At a party, you will see a variety of delicious food placed right in front of you. Resist the temptation to pile your plate high with every dish on the table. Ask yourself, do you really enjoy eating this or are you just eating it because it just is there? There is no joy in overeating and feeling bloated and guilty after. Instead, focus on quality over quantity.

As an alternative, before you indulge yourself with delicious food, prepare yourself by consuming supplements that consist of fermented fruits and vegetable blend enzymes to further support healthy digestion and healthier bowel movement after all the feasts.

Let the conversations flow and take the time to enjoy the company of good friends and family instead of focusing primarily on food and letting the food take the centre stage. If you can, try to pick just three to five of your favourite dishes in reasonable portions and go easy on the sauces, alcohol and desserts to avoid the extra calories.

4. Stay active

Christmas is always a good excuse to stray away from the gym. With all the festive engagements with friends and family, who has time for the gym or a walk in the park?

Well, think again. Amidst the Christmas and New Year festivities, it is still important to make time to exercise. Apart from burning all the festive yummy calories, exercise also helps to relieve stress, boosts overall mood and help you sleep better! Even if you can’t make it to the gym, opt to take the stairs instead of the escalator and lift, or walk to nearby places instead of taking the bus or car (or Grab).

5. Say YES to high-fibre foods

Choose vegetables, fruits and whole grains that are high in fibre onto your plate at gatherings. Fibre keeps you feeling full for long, thus reducing the tendency to overeat. If you’re hosting a party, consider offering salads and fruits along with other proteins for a balanced meal.

6. Chew and eat slowly

It’s the holidays! Go slow and chew your food properly, you’ll get a lot more enjoyment from taking the time to savour your food and the enzymes in your saliva helps your stomach to digest food better so there’s less risk of indigestion and other digestive discomforts. Eating slowly gives your stomach enough time to send a message to your brain to say, “Hey, I’m full already. You can stop eating now[2]”.

Feeling bloated and uneasy after all the feasting? You probably might need some digestive reliever with key ingredients such as fermented fruits, vegetables blend & Cassia Fistula extract that provides natural enzymes beneficial for digestion and colon cleansing.

7. Don’t forget to drink water

Before you reach out for another serving of food, ask yourself if you have had enough water. Sometimes, thirst may be confused for hunger. Water also helps to make you feel satiated, which also works towards reducing the tendency to over-indulge.

As we already know, sweetened beverages and alcoholic drinks pack too many empty calories, so practice some self-control and choose water instead wherever possible. Your body will thank you for it.

The festive season is a time where we come together to spend time with our loved ones while celebrating what we’ve achieved and worked hard during the year… and there’s no greater celebration than the celebration of good health! So while you partake and enjoy the year-end festivities, don’t forget to keep your health goals centre-stage.