I LOVE Christmas. Each year I try to keep my excitement in check until around mid-November (I don’t want to risk peaking too early) but in all honesty there is nothing more exciting to me than Santa and his wonderful world of elves, reindeer and presents (yay!).
For the lucky ones amongst us, with Christmas comes an influx of party invitations. What a drag, right? I’m kidding (more invites, more!), but you do need to watch yourself a little bit more closely during the silly season lest you want to get to the new year feeling less festive and more festively plump.
So, what to do, what to do? Well, before you start declining those mountains of invites clogging up you inbox, try reading my top five tips for making it through Christmas party season with your waistline (and confidence) intact:
1. It’s not a drinking competition
You don’t need to be THAT girl/guy. You know, the one who drinks three bottles of wine at the Christmas party, gets a piggy-back from a stranger to the kebab shop before stumbling home and falling asleep face down in vegemite toast. While your body is processing alcohol it can’t even think about the other calories you’re ingesting, so you might have a funny story to tell, but you’ve also thrown your healthy eating plan into disarray (and I bet you don’t make it to the gym the next day). Try to have one glass of water after each alcoholic beverage you consume.
Fill up on the good stuff
You don’t need me to tell you that veggies with hommus is a better option than deep fried spring rolls, but I’ll do it anyway: Veggies with hommus is a better option than deep fried spring rolls. It’s simple really; avoid the stuff you wouldn’t eat at home, and if you know there isn’t going to be any ‘good stuff’ then have a protein-dense meal before you head out.
Dance the night away
Dancing can burn up to 400 calories per hour (even more if you really go for it!) so get up-up on the dance floor and shake what your mama gave you at every opportunity. Bonus points for anyone who got both song references there.
Ramp up your vegetable intake wherever possible
Too much alcohol, sugar and party food is sure to make you feel bloated and yucky. If you find you’re struggling to get your greens in at meal time, try sipping on a juice or smoothie throughout the day. Personally I LOVE Pressed Juices Green Juice #5. It’s got celery, cucumber, kale, lettuce, parsley, spinach, lemon, ginger and carrot (which makes it a good source of Vitamin C, E & K, beta-carotene, iron, magnesium, calcium, manganese, DIM, indol-3-carbinol, limonene and digestive enzymes). Cold press juicing keeps the nutrients and enzymes intact – good news for us!
Don’t let your exercise regime fall by the wayside
If you’ve committed to plenty of social engagements, this is the time to think quality over quantity when it comes to your exercise plans. Join in my #LGF10aDay Challenge and commit to 10 minutes of exercise every day for the rest of December. It’s absolutely free and really simple!
That’s it from me for now – I hope these tips will help you make it through the silly season relatively unscathed! Just remember that a vodka, lime and soda or two is unlikely to ruin you, but 15 vodka lemonades just might!
Any questions, comments (or Christmas party invitations)… you know where to find me!
xx
That drool hanging off Lou’s face is just adorable 🙂 hahaha
Reblogged this on bunnyhopscotch and commented:
So, who can resist that face? Mummy, please, make sure his stocking is stuffed full of his favourite goodies! Awwww! But this is a seriously cool post, a very sensible guide to getting through the ordeal of Christmas. 🙂 Another great one from Lazy Girl Fitness!