10 Simple Ways To Prevent Christmas Weight Gain

christmas

03 Dec 10 Simple Ways To Prevent Christmas Weight Gain

Posted at 02:44h in Advice by

Are you keen to prevent Christmas weight gain? If so, we’ve got the practical strategies you need to help you strike the balance.

Being surrounded by mince pies and tubs of chocolates makes it easy to over-indulge over the festive period. But, if you want to start the New Year feeling fresh, energised and ready to start a new chapter, read on…

Do you struggle with managing your weight? We can help you overcome your weight challenges, achieve your ideal weight and maintain it long term. Schedule a 25 minute complimentary call with us today to find out how.

10 WAYS TO PREVENT CHRISTMAS WEIGHT GAIN

DON’T DO YOUR FESTIVE FOOD SHOP TOO EARLY

Supermarkets often have offers on Christmas foods weeks before the festive season. It can be tempting to take advantage of these offers but ask yourself – if you buy it now, will it last until Christmas? Or are you likely to get tempted and tuck in before?! If you know you might struggle to resist, order in advance and have your shopping delivered just a few days before Christmas. This way you’re still organised ahead of time but you won’t have temptations lying around for weeks.

SEE CHRISTMAS AS A SERIES OF EVENTS, NOT A MONTH OF GORGING

Admittedly there might be a few more celebrations than your average month, but where many people run into trouble is through constant, daily gorging. Enjoy yourself when it’s time to celebrate and in between those times, aim to maintain your usual healthy lifestyle as much as possible. Fill your plate with lots of vegetables, protein-rich foods and healthy fats at each meal. Then when you head to your get-together you can enjoy a couple of drinks and a few nibbles. Give yourself permission to relax and enjoy celebrating with those you love.

EAT MINDFULLY

Eat mindfully keeping an eye on your portion sizes, eating slowly and chewing thoroughly. Savour each mouthful and recognise when you are starting to feel full. Food is much more enjoyable when you eat this way. Make mindful decisions about when to indulge and what you’re really going to enjoy rather than eating certain foods just it’s Christmas. Before eating a treat take a moment to ask yourself ‘is this worth it?’ If it is – go for it. But if you find yourself eating for the sake of it, walk away.

SCHEDULE RESTORATIVE TIME

Christmas may be positioned as fun family time, but it can also be overwhelming for many. It’s important to take restorative time out for yourself when you can. This might mean going for a walk in the countryside or a park, meditating, or simply sitting quietly with a book or magazine. When we don’t do this we can quickly become depleted and end up turning to food for comfort.

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

A good tip year round, but especially at Christmas – keep the treats out of sight. If there are always treats in your eye line, it’s a whole lot easier to be tempted and end up mindlessly picking. Store treats away in a cupboard and only get them out when you make the conscious decision that you want to enjoy them. And when you’re finished, put them straight back in the cupboard.

MAKE SIMPLE HEALTHY FOOD SWAPS

When cooking, there are a few things you can do to make dishes healthier without compromising the flavour. Often, simple tweaks can be made to traditional recipes to make them healthier. It’s very easy to end up eating a lot of sugar at this time of year. Make healthier versions of classic Christmas favourites, such as mulled wine sweetened with xylitol instead of sugar. It’s great to use xylitol as a substitute for sugar in recipes like cranberry sauce too – no one will notice the difference. There are lots of ways we can make traditional dishes healthier when we really think about it.

MAINTAIN EXERCISE

Christmas doesn’t have to be an all or nothing experience. Maintaining your usual exercise regime can be a helpful reminder that balance is key. Exercising first thing in the morning can be a good idea, before you have the chance to talk yourself out of it. On the upside there’s a good chance the gym will be empty! If you aren’t a gym person, take some long walks in the countryside with friends or family. Keeping active can really help prevent that groggy, sluggish feeling from creeping in.

GET PLENTY OF SLEEP

When you haven’t slept enough, levels of the hunger hormone ghrelin are increased, and levels of satiety hormone leptin are decreased – not a helpful combination for keeping your appetite in check! The festive season can keep you up late but make time for a lie in, or take a nap, to catch up on sleep. This will help avoid overeating due to tiredness and in turn, help to prevent Christmas weight gain. 

CONSIDER A MAINTENANCE GOAL

Unless you have a weight loss programme already firmly established, you might want to consider setting a maintenance goal instead. It can often be more realistic to focus on maintaining your weight at this time of year, rather than losing. This will give you some freedom to enjoy yourself without feeling overly restricted, or that you’ve failed, making you more likely to rebel (and head straight for that tub of Celebrations without a second glance). Keep an eye on your weight rather than avoiding the scales altogether. Focus on practicing the art of moderation and …

MAKE A PLAN FOR JAN

Set a date for when the celebrations end and life returns to normal. This helps prevent any Christmas habits creeping into daily life. If you’re keen to prioritise your health and wellbeing in the New Year, take some time to consider what that looks like for you. Don’t be tempted by faddy detoxes or crash diets that provide no long-term benefit and could even have detrimental effects. Building long term, sustainable habits is key. What can you commit to in 2023 that will support you? Dedicating time to meal prepping each week? Finding a friend to exercise with regularly? Writing your intentions down can help you get clear on your goal and help keep you accountable.

WORK WITH US

If you feel you could benefit from some support in striking the balance over Christmas, we can help. It used to be the case that at this time of year, people would put off seeking help with weight loss and health optimisation until January. In the last couple of years, we’ve really seen this change. More people are aware of how an excessive Christmas only leaves them feeling sluggish and bloated come January and they’re keen to avoid that. If this sounds like you, you can click this link to book a complimentary call. We can talk through your challenges and establish whether one of our Intelligent Weight Loss Programmes is right for you. 

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LINDA ROBINSON

Linda is our Practice Coordinator, helping to keep the clinic running smoothly.

 

Originally from Texas, Linda completed her MBA at SDA Bocconi in Milan. Linda has worked as a Strategy Consultant across multiple industries globally in cities including Kyoto, Paris, Chicago and San Francisco. She developed an interest in nutrition whilst volunteering for an organisation that provides cooking and nutrition education to children and families.

Linda is now settled in London with her husband, two children, and her very bouncy, sociable dog.

SARAH LAW

Sarah has worked with hundreds of clients over the past decade to help them live in a healthy body that they feel confident in.


Sarah spent a large part of her teens and 20’s as a professional dancer battling with orthorexia and an unhealthy relationship with food and her body. This created a desire to understand the human body more so she could finally cut through the confusion and end the cycle of yoyo dieting. This fuelled her passion to help other women do the same.

 

Sarah specialises in supporting women who are struggling to lose weight due to underlying health issues. She’s helped many women manage their weight during and after the menopause, as well as clients with thyroid disease and immune system dysfunction. Sarah loves food and sharing healthy recipes with her clients. Her aim is to ensure that clients don’t feel deprived and instead, achieve their weight loss and health goals in a positive and sustainable way.

 

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AILSA HICHENS

 

Ailsa is one of our most experienced practitioners. She specialises in helping clients to lose weight, develop a healthy relationship with food and finally feel comfortable in their skin. Ailsa’s mission is for everyone she works with to enjoy the journey and that working with a nutritionist should not be a punishment, but your access to a new possibility.

 

Ailsa is not only an experienced weight loss nutritionist, she is also a skilled coach. She helps our clients overcome emotional eating, destructive habits and self-sabotaging behaviours that have prevented successful weight loss in the past. Ailsa has spent years in clinic working with clients who have experienced yo-yo dieting and have discovered that long term weight loss is not just about eating less until you can stand it no longer.

 

Working with Ailsa you will be comprehensively supported, not only in improving your nutrition and lifestyle, but also your eating habits and your relationship with food. When you work on all these elements together, the results can be truly astonishing.

 

To enquire about working with Ailsa, please contact us.

Test Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team of practitioners and heading up the day-to-day running of the business. Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, coming from a strong business background in town planning. A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 with her husband and two children.

NIKKI ANDRIANI

Nikki is our Practice Manager, managing our team and heading up the day-to-day running of our clinic.

 

Coming from a background in town planning, Nikki is involved in the strategic development of our practice, continually ensuring we are delivering the very best service to our clients.


A Florida girl, Nikki relocated to the UK in 2014 where she lives with her husband, two children, and her rescue dog Skyy.

STÉPHANIE ACHAR

Stéphanie is a skilled nutritional therapist and functional medicine practitioner with additional training in eating disorders, disordered eating and obesity. She believes that working towards both physiological and mental health is key in achieving optimum wellbeing.

 

Stéphanie’s personal experience of emotional eating and the ongoing struggle to find the right support led her to combine the science of nutrition with behavioural coaching to motivate and empower her clients. She specialises in helping people who struggle with their weight and their relationship with food. She helps them develop a healthier and more peaceful relationship with food and their bodies.

 

To enquire about working with Stéphanie, please contact us.

INNA WEARN

Inna is passionate about supporting women on their journey to improved health and wellbeing. She believes that the solution to effective weight loss does not lie in ever more restrictive diets, but a more sophisticated approach that optimises health and vitality, as well as promoting effective weight loss.

 

Working with Inna you will benefit from her in-depth knowledge of female health and hormones. She will support you in developing a healthy diet, lifestyle and mindset that ensures you reach your ideal weight and maintain it in the years to come.

 

Inna is passionate about food with a wide repertoire of delicious healthy recipes and meal ideas to ensure your weight loss journey is as enjoyable as possible!

 

To enquire about working with Inna, please contact us.

ANIA MASON

 

Ania is a firm believer that improving your health and losing weight should be a positive, empowering journey, not one centred around deprivation.

 

After being diagnosed with two autoimmune conditions in her twenties, Ania spent several years educating herself on the power of food and nutrition. She put it all into practise and changed her diet and lifestyle, reversing her endometriosis and thyroid disease. After experiencing such a significant improvement in her health, Ania had a big desire to help others. She embarked on a four year journey to study nutrition, graduating from the Institute for Optimum Nutrition with distinction.

 

Ania specialises in autoimmunity and works with clients who have underlying health issues preventing successful weight loss. Her expertise enables her to successfully support our clients with conditions such as hypothyroidsm (underactive thyroid), PCOS and diabetes. 

 

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