I hope everyone has had a great Christmas. If you feel like your healthy eating goals went a bit off track, then I am here to say don’t worry! Even if you feel you overindulged, it is never too late to get back on track ASAP. Here are 5 tips to help you get started:
Tip 1: Go easy with exercise – It can be tempting to try create big exercise goals as soon as the festive period is over in an attempt to ‘burn off’ any excess weight gained. Whilst exercise is important, it only makes up 30% of what you need per day to keep healthy. The remaining 70% comes from diet. If you have taken an exercise break over Christmas, then be sure to ease back into exercise slowly to allow your body to adjust and for it to feel good.
Tip 2: Eat a nourishing breakfast – What you eat for breakfast can really make or break the type of day you will have. For balanced energy levels with a good mood throughout the day, be sure to include some protein, alongside some healthy fats and carbohydrates at breakfast. Eggs with avocado and spelt bread make a great option.
Tip 3: Keep a food diary – The amount of food we eat can quickly add up over Christmas because there just seems to be more of it, well, everywhere! So to help understand what you are eating and how much, be sure to keep a food diary that will help you understand if what you are eating and the amount leaves you feeling comfortable at the end of the day when you reflect over it. If you do not feel happy, then it will be a good guide for seeing exactly where you need to make a few tweaks and improvements to what you eat and how much.
Tip 4: Fill your plate with veg – Christmas food can be very bloating and can leave you feeling sluggish, especially if foods like white bread and pasta are eaten in large amounts. An easy way to combat this is to start including more vegetables at every meal. The fibre they contain will help you to feel fuller and can help improve digestion.
Tip 5: Bin unhealthy food – Whilst it can be nice to loosen the reins when it comes to what to eat over Christmas, at some point throwing out the unhealthy food may just become necessary. There is nothing wrong with indulging in some junk food from time to time, but if your cupboards are full of biscuits, and sweets then this is going to simply make it even harder to say no to unhealthy foods and get back to eating more healthily if it is in easy reach.
Healthy eating after Christmas can seem like a chore, but with a few small conscious tweaks, you can get back to normal and feel healthier in no time!