To avoid that; laying on the settee, painful stomach, tired, uncomfortable, gassy Christmas Night
…even worse if you’re driving home with a snoring spouse in the passenger seat,
when driving as sharply round corners and braking hard at lights…
and watching his head bang against the window is your only fun for the rest of the evening.
Allegedly.
Someone told me.
Anyway
Here we go:
#1 Eat your Protein First
Start with the Turkey and other lean meats.
It fills you up faster, and gets the message to your brain
that you are fuller –
quicker!
Protein keeps you fuller than anything else so that’s first.
Then high fibre veg – broccoli green beans etc then if you really have enough room have your taytos and Yorkshires after that
# 2 Let Everyone Serve Themselves
That way you won’t feel you have to ‘finish your plate’ or offend any one.
Worse still “you haven’t eaten much?” which is annoying to hear when you are trying to pace yourself.
#3 Lose the skin
Your delicious Christmas plate should consist of mainly lean meat and lovely rainbow veg.
Most of the bad fats are found in the skin, that you have been lovingly basting all day.
Set it aside and fill your boots with the good stuff first.
#4 Have a Big Breakfast
Eggs, Salmon, ham same protein principle above.
My Favourite Xmas Morning Brekkie:
Take Mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and gently pan fry
Sprinkle some Smoked Salmon lemon and cracked pepper
Slice some good goat’s cheese into discs.
Cut some Granary Mixed seed bread into big doorsteps
Brush with a little olive oil and rub with 1/2 a garlic clove Artfully arrange everything on top and sprinkle with a little sea salt.
I promise you it beats a full English hands down.
#5 Delay The Nibbles
Try to avoid busting out the the nibbles until you absolutely have to.
If you show me a Twiglet I will literally empty a family
bag into my mouth as soon as look at you.
So it’s a good plan to leave them as long as you can
Especially if you’re inviting me.
And you have Twiglets.
#6 You Hungry or Thirsty?
Drink a glass of water 20-30 minutes before dinner to make sure you are completely hydrated
(we sometimes mistake thirst for hunger)
and to avoid that FAMISHED feeling.
Xmas Day sends our usual routine garritty and it is easy to forget to look after ourselves properly
while we are looking after everyone else.
#7 Booze O’Clock
See if you can leave your first Booze till lunch
Alcohol just WILL make you overeat as your ‘full-up’ receptors are dulled, as well as your good intentions.
Apart form the Calories and the effect on your metabolism
Boozing early is way more likely to make you go ‘sod it – it’s Christmassssss’
You won’t run out of food
you won’t run out of drink
and if you pace yourself, you will still be enjoying
little indulgences long after the rest of them are snoring and blowing off in front of the Strictly Special’
#8 Whack in a Smoothie
With all your fancy Christmas food in the house, you are bound to have some lovely fresh ingredients in.
Whizz up a quick smoothie
(not shop bought – they are often dreadful)
Have a smoothie mid morning to both keep you going, and stop the picking.
Here’s The W&G Festive Smoothie:
What you need:
Half a banana
Two large tablespoons of organic natural yoghurt
A handful for cranberries
Two sliced peaches
Cranberry juice
Glug of honey
1/4 Teaspoon of mixed spice
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
Some kind of
blender/ whizzy device.
What you do:
1. In the blender combine the fruit, yoghurt and spices.
Cover and blend until smooth
2. Gradually add the extra juice through the hole in the lid, until you get your desired consistency.
3. If you like it, garnish your smoothie with freshly sliced fruit or cinnamon
4. For a dairy free smoothie, substitute the yoghurt for cold soya milk.
#9 Mess with your own Brain.
If you are off to IKEA for new crockery
go for a slightly smaller size that usual
Makes the table look better – servings look
more generous, and subconsciously make you eat a little less
It is Christmas – eat, drink, indulge and be Merry but just by stategising and tweaking you can do it feeling great, not peaking too soon, and enjoying yourself even more.
AND not having to pay the price of overindulging
on Boxing Day morning.
This isn’t DENYING yourself anything
this is about CHOOSING exactly how you want to feel!
Taking control.
Feel’s good.
Groovy Baby
(Or Gravy Booby which one of my more barking mental elderly relatives
thinks is hilarous)
Which to be fair, it is.
Love from
xx
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