Top Tips to avoid the post Christmas Slump
We all do it right? Pop a chocolate in our mouth every time we walk past the box that an office colleague left at the coffee machine at work. Buy a selection box that you just couldn’t leave behind because it cost near to nothing and now you’ve polished it off after a busy week. Went to a family Christmas get together and had a little taste of all 5 desserts on offer and now feel this overwhelming urge to sleep while you loosen your belt buckle to make more room (hoping no-one will notice). This results in us starting a New Year with regret, added weight, low energy and likely a low mood.
Christmas is a magical time for family, reflection and appreciation. But it can also be a time for overspending, overindulging and overeating! Two weeks of this carry on can take months to undo and that’s why many of us fall victim to the array of diet plans on offer in January, with a promise to lose all that gained weight. Been there before right?
So the question is, do we want history to continue to repeat itself or can we take a few simple yet effective steps to help us keep on track of out somewhat healthy ways, to avoid the January slump? Because let’s face it, January is hard enough, with the cold weather, tight purse strings and back to work dread that many of us face.
Here are my top tips to avoid the post Christmas slump;
- Every time you eat, enjoy every bite. By bringing mindfulness into our eating, we engage with signals that not only tell us when we are full but also bring more awareness to why we are eating it in the first place. We also tend to not just mindlessly eat everything that is offered to us. So if you want that slice of apple tart, have it and enjoy every single last bite.
- Park the guilt and negative talk. It’s so common to talk down to ourselves the minute we eat something “bad”. We say things like “I shouldn’t have had that”, “I never learn” and then we tell ourselves that we might as well go for it because we’ve broken “being good”.
- Don’t deprive yourself. Just because you are making an effort to be healthy doesn’t mean you need to feel miserable. We tend to go extreme with our eating, either depriving ourselves or the complete polar opposite. It’s the 80/20 rule that is more sustainable, yet is the hardest for many. This is because of the years and years of yoyo dieting that is unsustainable for so many of us and can be quite harmful. So allow yourself that scoop of ice cream if you really want it.
- Keep your body hydrated. Processed food that’s high in sugar and salt, as well as overindulgence in alcohol can quickly lead to dehydration. Dehydration can lead to headaches and constipation, which is not the way you want to be this festive season. The best way to keeping hydrated is to simply drink more water. Drinking a large glass on waking and before each meal can keep you on top of your hydration and has been shown to reduce overeating.
- Keep up the sleep. Too many late nights can lead us to making unhealthy food choices, research has shown. If we are staying up too late and not getting out 6-8 hours of sleep, if can affect our blood sugar levels. Napping can be a great thing to do, to help regenerate you, after a late night. But try not to let it become too much of a regular habit and get your beauty sleep as often as possible.
- Eat your veg. Overindulging in treats, alcohol and convenience food can often result in us not having enough vegetables. Vegetables are full of nutrients that provide us with essential nutrients for optimal health, such as supporting a healthy gut, prevent depletion from nutrients that support all systems such as our endocrine and nervous system. Something as simple as aiming to have a homemade soup or salad each day, can go a long way in keeping you on track. The key is variety!
If you follow these simple tips, they are guaranteed to be effective (you can thank me in 2019!)
Happy Holidays and may the New Year bring you love, health and happiness.
Olivia x
