Sweet treats
Christmas these days seems to be a time of over-indulgence in everything and can leave us bloated and lethargic. Avoiding such Christmas staples such as fat- and sugar-filled Advocaat, high-calorie nuts and the endless chocolate boxes and trays of mince pies can go a long way towards helping you maintain your figure throughout Christmas.
· Remember that the sugar in fruit juice translates to calories when you
drink it, so if you're drinking spirits, consider topping them up with tonic
water instead or soda water with a squeeze of fresh lime instead of cordial.
· Spice it up your seasonal veg and cut calories:
· Instead of sautéing green beans in butter, steam them and season
with spices such as cumin and turmeric, then drizzle on 1 tsp olive oil.
· Toss some ginger and lemon zest onto cooked carrots instead of
glazing them in honey.
· Add grated orange zest and cinnamon to roasted butternut squash,
and skip the butter and brown sugar.
· If you are craving something sweet – look online for healthy desert
recipes like chocolate covered Katie – filled with lots of inspiration on
how to re-create your favourite sweet treats the healthy way.
Dig out your trainers
Stepping up your health and fitness can really help make a difference. Thirty
minutes in the gym a couple of times a week won't take too much out of your day
but can make all the difference.
· Places like LA Fitness gyms now offer free trial guest passes so
you can visit your local gym to try out a new class. How about Zumba classes to
tone you up and allow you to strut your stuff on New Year's Eve? Or yoga or
pilates classes to help you unwind after a busy day preparing for Santa's
arrival while stretching and toning? To get the most out of a gym work out
make sure you use a mixture of cardio and weights.
· If getting out of the house for exercise in the evenings isn't possible,
there are plenty of things you can do in the lounge to help you trim down.
Fitness DVDs, Wii Fit and Kinect can all help, or you can simply use a set of
weights and work on strength and resistance training to tone up and look
great.
Get the most out of being busy
One of the good things (from a health perspective) about the high-speed
mania of Christmas preparations is the amount of rushing around you are likely
to do. Approach this as a workout as well as a Christmas shop and you'll be
dropping a dress size even as you buy.
· Consider parking at the wrong end of the car park and walking in, make
sure you're in comfortable clothes and trainers and carry a back pack rather
than a handbag to save your back.
· March everywhere like a woman on a mission and feel your heart-rate
elevate as you burn calories as well as a hole in your credit card.
· However busy you might be make sure you don’t skip meals. This
slows down your metabolism by 20% to 30% and could lead you to overeat later
on.
· Use the stairs, not the store lifts or escalators.
· Even if you have a ‘to-do’ list as long as your arm make sure you get
enough sleep. Studies have found that sleeping fewer than 8 hours a night can
be linked to a BMI (higher body mass index) as the lack of sleep influences
hormones that regulate your appetite.
Don't forget
exercise is a great stress-buster, and Christmas certainly counts as one of the
most stressful times of the year and if there’s one time of the year most
people put on weight this is it! So start thinking now about staying healthy
and fit this Christmas and you could be well on your way to feeling amazing that
little black dress.
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post.
