Christmas comes but once a year and it's a time to eat drink and be merry, but as the parties start so does the temptation to overindulge on both food and alcohol. So is it possible to enjoy the Christmas festivities without suffering from an expanding waistline? Sally Whitcombe, a dietician from Gloucester, believes it is and shares with us her top tips on how to stay healthy over the Christmas period. Eat, drink and be healthy "Believe it or not it is possible to over indulge slightly but also stay healthy," said Sally. "I think a lot of people end up feeling rotten at Christmas, when you get that sluggish feeling when you know you've over indulged and your energy levels go down and you feel like you need a detox."  One of the things to realise is to know what actually puts the weight on, which a lot of people misunderstand. People think it's just fat, and think that by avoiding fatty food they will avoid weight gain, but in fact it's carbohydrates that put on most of the weight.  | | Sally Whitcombe |
On average people gain the equivalent of two bags of sugar in weight, approximately four and a half pounds, in the four weeks over the festive period, and Sally thinks the problem is because people are unaware of what they can and can't eat. "One of the things to know is what actually puts the weight on, which a lot of people misunderstand. "People think it's just fat, and think that by avoiding fatty food they will avoid weight gain, but in fact it's carbohydrates that put on most of the weight. "It's actually the overindulgence of the mincepies, the crisps, the cakes, and biscuits that are the biggest problem." Healthy options According to Sally even the traditional Christmas dinner can be a healthy option. "A turkey dinner can actually be a healthy dinner, if you cut down on the potatoes and load up with vegetables.  | Even a Turkey dinner can be healthy |
"Most of us would tend to binge on Christmas Day but if you think over the longer period and try to keep your carbohydrates down it's better for you." Alternate healthy days One trick that works for Sally is the one day on, one day off option. "Some people will look at their diary and see what work do's they have in the run up to Christmas and they'll eat a lot on that day but cut back on the following day. "If you eat something healthy like a salad or a stir-fry that cleanses the body, then it prepares you for the next onslaught the following day. It's like a mini detox in-between." Who's at risk? There is no particular type of person prone to weight gain but exercise is a key factor in keeping unwanted weight off. Sally said: "Anybody is at risk who doesn't exercise much and who regularly eats a lot of carbohydrates, increases the intake of them and adds the alcohol. "Smokers are at more risk because the alcohol effects are stronger if you are a smoker. Age doesn't really affect it but in terms of health it's mainly dependent on exercise." So what can we do if we want to avoid the post Christmas bulge? | If you are coming up to Christmas rather than let the stress stop you exercising try and keep that up, go to the gym, go for a walk and prepare yourself for the possible overindulgence at Christmas. | | Sally Whitcombe |
"Taking a nice brisk walk can do wonders and help make you feel refreshed. "Coming up to Christmas, rather than let the stress stop you exercising try and keep that up - go to the gym, go for a walk and prepare yourself for the possible overindulgence at Christmas." Because the festive period can be quite a long time of overeating and drinking, Sally suggests a bit of planning is what is needed to keep your waistline in check. "Just think about what's healthy and what's not. For example if I know I'm going to be going to a lot of buffets, they usually have a mix of things that just sit in your stomach, doesn't go down and ferments. So if you get to the buffet early you can go for the salads, raw vegetables, dips and cheese rather than solid stuff like sandwiches, sausage rolls and other pastry based food types." Look after your blood Another trick for a healthier Christmas is to keep your blood sugar as even as possible. According to Sally "When your blood sugar is high you produce more of the hormone insulin, which is a fat storing hormone. So if you can keep your blood sugar levels even then that helps, and one of the tricks for doing that is to eat more protein. "Many people will go hours without eating protein until late in the evening, which causes havoc to their blood sugar levels. "If you add to that the general Christmas stress and pressures which increases the hormone Cortisol, then this throws more sugar into the blood, which in turn produces more insulin, which in turn stores fat." "The trick for ongoing weight loss, or should I say weight management, is to learn to keep your blood sugar balanced through diet, then you can help yourself enormously and keep the weight off." What to eat? Think healthy and BE healthy this Christmas by eating lots of fruit, vegetable and protein. Good sources of are protein: - meat
- fish which is easier on the digestion than red meat
- nuts and seeds which are protein rich.
"Lots of people are scared of nuts because they think they're fattening but they contain loads of things that speed up the metabolism which helps you lose weight," continued Sally What not to eat! The temptations at Christmas are everywhere but what try and avoid all those chocolate treats. | If your body is strained from overindulging at Christmas anyway then chocolate will only add to the problem. | | Sally Whitcombe |
"Chocolates can be a problem because they are loaded with sugar and additives unless they're organic. The cocoa bean is the most sprayed crop on the planet so you may enjoy it but you're getting a high cocktail of chemicals which your body has to deal with. "If your body is strained from overindulging at Christmas anyway then chocolate will only add to the problem." One drink or two? OK so we all know food and nibbles aren't the only temptations at Christmas. So what about the dreaded alcoholic haze that can often creep up on us at Christmas?  | Avoid the hangover this Christmas! |
Sally offers us a few words of wisdom: "If you're going out boozing don't go out on an empty stomach. Have a small snack with protein or complex carbohydrates before you go out. "Also try and sip a bit of orange juice between drinks and make sure before you go to bed at night you drink lots of water to rehydrate yourself." So it seems the key to a good Christmas is still to eat, drink and be merry - just do it in moderation. Merry Christmas everyone! .....................................................
If you would like to comment on this or any other story in this section get in touch at [email protected] | 
