Enjoy Christmas
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Christmas is coming and you don’t have to be afraid of enjoying it. We associate Christmas with ‘eat, drink and be merry’ and there is no reason why you can’t have a guilt free festive season. I am all for healthy eating and a healthy lifestyle. I have to stress the need for a nutritious diet and the importance of nutrition as the basis of any diet. At the same time we are all human and need a treat. Me included. I have the occasional lapse but as long as that is all it is then enjoy the chips, chocolate or even a Big Mac as a special treat and not a regular occurrence. You can always make sure you make up for it and get back on to the straight and narrow of your nutrition diet the very next day.
Better to be relaxed about the Christmas excesses if they happen. Getting stressed out about all that food and drink and what to eat or not to eat is just as bad for you as the over indulging or maybe worse. Stress is one of the big causes of ill health including high blood pressure and also poor digestion which can interfer with the absorption of vitamins and minerals and other nutrients.
Anyway a traditional Christmas dinner is not all bad. Turkey (good for protein, B vitamins, low sodium, zinc, selenium), plus healthy vegetables (brussel sprouts, carrots, peas, broccoli) and potatoes. Cut down on the Christmas pudding (though it has plenty of dried fruits), the chocolate gateaux and but enjoy what you have.
So not much harm done there. Then like other traditional nibbles – nuts (good), dates, figs, etc again not much harm done as it is only once a year. Of course if you are happier being strict with yourself even at Christmas don’t worry either as you don’t want to get stressed about having to eat something you don’t want to either.
Drink is the possibly most harmful part of Christmas and may need more willpower. Though if you are generally health minded you probably don’t drink much even at Christmas and can still enjoy things. You can always pretend as well – tonic water with ice and lemon looks like a gin and tonic!
So all is not lost. Go out and enjoy Christmas and have a good time. Afterwards make sure you are extra strict with the nutrition diet for a few days and you will be back to normal.
