If you indulge in food and sweets during the Christmas holiday, get back to your usual eating patterns as soon as possible.
This is the advice of Alriede Labuschagne, a local dietitian, who says self-control in eating is the best way to ensure that you fit into your working clothes in January.
She advises that after you have enjoyed your Christmas meal, get back to your daily eating habits the next day and do not eat the wrong things for all the days of your holiday.
She gives some tips on what will help you refrain from eating irresponsibly:
- keep up with your exercise programme and if you are not a regular exerciser, go for a walk.
- Look at the size of the portions of your food and don’t go for second helpings.
- If you eat something like a chocolate or ice cream, regard this as your only treat of the day.
- Choose a healthier option like a salad instead of deep-fried food when you are buying take-aways.
- Don’t buy food when you are hungry.
- Don’t keep small amounts of money in your car or with your keys, because it encourages buying something “nice”.
- Don’t buy sweets, biscuits, chips and foods as treats to keep at home or in the fridge, because you can indulge and succumb to eating too much unhealthy foods.
- Rather eat fresh fruit or nuts if you are peckish.
- Cook and bake with low fat options.
- Flavour your food with fresh herbs.
- Don’t taste the food too much while cooking.
