If you ate just one mince pie every day in the lead up to Christmas without taking on extra exercise, you could be up to a kilo heavier by the end of December! That's not including all the extra alcohol and other sugary treats we indulge in.
Here's a few of the most common party-season habits that cause weight gain. If you act now to prevent these party habits you can avoid the extra kilos that seem to appear mid-January.
Going to parties hungry
A common mistake is overindulging on high-fat pastries, chips and dips whilst chatting to friends and drinking a glass of wine. Avoid overeating at cocktail events by having healthy filling snack 60 to 90 minutes before you go so you aren't starving at the event. Try wholegrain crackers or a handful of nuts that will keep you full for longer.
Buying too much food
Food packaging seems to get shinier, more colourful and sparkly at Christmas which attracts us to buy more treats to fill our cupboards and bellies! Try not to get too excited and buy lots of extra chocolatey treats, or at least buy the smaller packet sized.
Ditching the exercise
Make it a priority to keep up the exercise regime. If you don't fancy going to the gym or for your usual run because you can't bare to go outside, have a search on Youtube for lots of different exercise workout you can do in your lounge.
Having an all or nothing attitude
Instead of writing off the next 4 weeks as being one long scoffing session try to dedicate extra eating and drinking alcohol in small amounts at specific times that you see fit best in your holiday schedule. Try doing a Bootea Teatox during and after the holiday season and to prepare and recover from the Christmas period.
Eating everything on offer
We often get excited at parties and indulge in food we wouldn't normally enjoy eating. Each time food comes around ask yourself: "Do I really feel like eating this?" It's often all you need to keep in control.
Drinking too much alcohol
Christmas involves lots of alcohol too which contains a lot of sugar and piles on the calories and makes you crave naughty foods high in fat and carbs. Try to still have 3 days alcohol free and avoid using sugary mixers such as juice and soft drinks. Drink plenty of water too to keep hydrated!
We want you to enjoy the Christmas period and we feel that you should take a little time to consider how to manage the holiday season to prevent you feeling heavy, sluggish with a weight-loss mountain to climb in January.
Love
The Bootea Team xx