With the festive season upon us, you are probably stressing about how you will need to lose a few kilograms in January because you have been eating all the Christmas food. There is no need to worry about that because I have outlined a few tricks and hacks to avoid gaining weight during the festive season.

• Do not avoid meals

It is important to not skip meals trying to save all the calories for one meal. You will go on the whole day starving and once the time to eat comes, you will be craving everything, and you will end up binge eating everything. The problem with eating everything is that you will end up having all the unnecessary calories. It is best to eat all your meals from breakfast, lunch, and dinner to avoid binge eating. If you eat small meals throughout the day, you will not binge eat. 

• Drink lots of water

Drink at least 2 litres of water everyday and make sure you have a glass of water before your meals and with your meals. Having water with your meals will help you stay fuller for longer. Water also has some important micronutrients that your body needs so keep hydrated and stay healthy. 

• Be selective with your treats

There are certain treats that you get mostly during the holiday like some special pudding made by someone special in the family. Do not eat all the treats that you can get at the grocery store on a regular day because that is just wasting your calories where you can save your calories for a desert you haven’t had in a very long time. It would not make sense to just have a cookie that you can always have anytime of the year where you can choose to have a treat you haven’t had in months and actually enjoy it

• Get active

Take a walk, run, join a local gym, train at home but whatever you do, stay active. There is a lot of eating during the festive season and the worst thing you can do is to lie on the couch the whole day and not burn any calories. A little goes a long way, small amounts of activity will be very helpful for the process. Get in at least 30 minutes at least three times a week of activity. A good run will be good to burn calories. The important thing is to remain active to burn calories. 

• You do not have to eat everything

Just because there is an apple pie that was made does not mean you should have it. You can always make healthier alternatives to so many meals and snacks. Go for a high protein snack that you can make rather than a refine carb snack which is going to leave you craving more and not fill you up. Remember the festive season is also another time of the year and should be treated as that. The sooner you develop the habit of healthy eating during the holidays, the easier your journey will be. You can make a high protein French toast with low carb bread and egg whites for breakfast instead of having cookies or scones with tea. 

• Know when to stop

Know exactly when you have had enough of something and you have fed your cravings. Portion control when it comes to certain treats, snacks and food is very important. Try measuring with a small plate, cup or even your hand to have snacks, that way you will know when you have had enough and need to stop. Portion control will help you limit the number of calories you will be consuming

• Get an accountability partner

Staying in shape and being healthy during the festive season can be difficult if you must do it alone especially at home. Having an accountability partner, you can always go running with, share meals with or bounce meal ideas off each other even over the phone. Having someone who will always encourage you to have a fruit salad instead of magwinya for breakfast will be great motivation for the festive season.