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Avoid gaining weight this Christmas 2023

Avoid gaining weight this Christmas 2023


Avoid gaining weight this Christmas 2023

Enjoy and don't think about it so much at Christmas

On holidays like Christmas and New Year's Eve, we usually think a lot about what we should eat or what supplements we could take to avoid gaining weight.

If we stop to think how many days are celebrations, we count 4 days in total, which are Christmas Eve, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and Three Kings Day. 

For four days, if we compare it with all the other days of the year, they are not going to make such a difference that we gain a few extra kilos. 

Therefore, on those days, enjoy food with your loved ones. Food is not just nourishment but part of daily pleasure and socialization.

In any case, the main problem is that we generally take Christmas as a set of weeks in which we completely change our habits and that is what usually makes us gain a few kilos of fat.

 That is why the first advice we give you is not to overcook and try not to overdo so much food because if you are not going to be eating that more caloric dish than usual for several days (with its sauces, oils, sausages and meats fats) accompanied by appetizers that they give us in the Christmas basket or that we take when we are queuing at the supermarket.

Next, we will tell you some tips that can help you during these dates.


Make certain changes in meals

With certain changes in meals, it is possible not to spend so much. However, we strongly recommend that you only focus on not gaining weight, that is, on maintaining your weight. We shouldn't try to follow a hypocaloric diet on these dates since it is very likely that we will not achieve those objectives and get frustrated. We are going to provide you with some guidelines that are simple so that you can enjoy those meals, but not exceed calories without realizing it. 


How to Cut Calories Without Realizing It Much

To reduce calories without noticing them much, you have to focus especially on liquid foods.

On the one hand, the sauces, which are usually based on oils and, although they are healthy because we use extra virgin olive oil instead of butter or cream, taken in excess can cause us to spend calories. 

One option is that, instead of dunking in the fountain, take a tablespoon and put it on the plate. It is not necessary to stop eating it, if not to control the ration. The impact at the caloric level is very great.

On the other hand, we have drinks. With water, extra kcal is not provided, but if we hydrate during dinner with alcohol, wine, beer, soft drinks, and juices... we will be providing calories along with our plate. 

In addition, they are not satiating and many times you drink to swallow better or change the flavor between meals and not so much to enjoy the flavor. Therefore, we recommend that in the main meal it is better to have only water as a reference drink.


Organize meals well at home

If we organize our food well, such as by reducing the variety of dishes and foods that we put on the table, after dinner, we will be able to eat a little less.

There is what is specific sensory satiety, responsible for, for example, you always want something sweet after eating and no matter how full you are, there is room for dessert. Our body has different satiety for different flavors. 

The more flavors, the harder it is to feel satiated. At all-you-can-eat buffets, for example, it's usually hard to get your fill because there's always a new flavor to try. Therefore, the less variety there is on the table, the better.

It is also very useful to collect food from the table. If there is less availability of food in front, the better. After lunch or dinner there are usually desserts, try to keep them out of sight so as not to be snacking without hunger. 

This is going to come in very handy because we usually eat when we are distracted by a conversation. Instead, you can change it for an infusion or tea or you can encourage your family or friends to take a walk or play with the children.


Healthy recipes

In general, the main meals are usually healthy. These carry seafood, baked or cooked meat. Try to put a vegetable side dish instead of just potato and rice. We tend to sin a little more in the starters or desserts since they are usually refined masses with poor quality oil or in large quantities. You can get some ideas for Christmas in our recipes section of the web.

An idea for starters is to use vegetable sticks instead of breadsticks and for dessert put fruit such as fruit salad or already cut fruit, so you fill up a little more and don't eat so much nougat or polvorones.


Drink a lot of water

Drinking water is essential to stay healthy. In addition, there are times when the feeling of thirst can be confused with the feeling of hunger, so one tends to eat a little more when dehydrated. Try to put yourself before that situation and drink during the day and the meal.


Continue doing physical exercise so as not to gain weight

During these dates, we tend to feel that we are on vacation and that we are not going to exercise and rest. However, we know that exercise is essential to lead a healthy life and it is also during Christmas. In addition, you likely have more free time to be able to train even more and more calmly. Likewise, in general, we usually work sitting down, so it is very likely that this idea, together with dinners and appetizers, will cause us to spend calories. Therefore, we have to make an effort to increase our caloric expenditure a little. If our maintenance calories are very low, you don't spend a little while eating, you spend calories, and it's a roll. You don't have to skip dessert, it's better to push yourself by moving a little more.

Also stay active by walking, standing, and walking to go shopping. If you do not take the car you will always make an extra expense that will come in handy.


do not compensate

Compensating is not a good idea. If we go without eating all day to be able to eat a lot of dinners, the only thing we are going to achieve is to arrive very hungry, we will make worse choices and we will be attracted to the fattiest and tastiest foods, that is, those with the most calories. 

It is much more advisable to eat enough during the day, respecting the usual hunger and satiety signals, to arrive at dinner without being too hungry and enjoy it. In this way, likely, we will not spend as much as the other way. 

Also, if we fast for so many hours before, our body may have gone into "saving mode" seeing that we do not give it food and when we go to eat, it will be much easier for it to be stored as fat.

Likewise, it is possible that, if you have filled up too much at dinner, for example, the next day you are still not very hungry. Respect that full feeling and eat less the next day if you see that you don't need as much. For example, a soup or an omelet.

In any case, if you already know that you do not have a good relationship with food, it is better not to compensate and carry on as usual. If you already think about compensating by eating little or doing a lot of cardio after a meal, you are not the person to do it. 


sleep well at Christmas


Sometimes we forget that sleep is just as important to our health as eating, training, and good stress management. It has been observed that little sleep can increase your feeling of hunger and make you more likely to gain weight. Therefore, watch your rest and sleep at least 7-8 hours a day.

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