It’s fast approaching Christmas – one of the happiest yet for many people unhealthiest times of year. An article in this week’s Vitality Magazine calculated that we consume on average 6,000 calories on Christmas Day. This work’s out at 2.4 times the daily limit for men and 3 times the daily limit for woman.

When you add to this all of the lavish thing we consume at parties around the festive season and New Year then it’s little wonder people get into January with a bit of a bulge!

We teamed up with clinical hypnotherapist and our regular Periscoper Andrea Smith to think of steps you could take to beat the bulge to feel better about yourself going into the New Year:

Eat Healthy  

December is such a busy time for parties and festivities; Christmas dinner, family gatherings, office parties, New Years Eve parties, catching up with old friends etc. With so much food and drink on offer at these kinds of events, healthy diets can often go out the window, leaving us feeling bloated and unhealthy by January the 1st.

Here are some ways you can try and keep up a healthy diet;

• Avoid going to parties hungry. Eat something healthy and light beforehand to avoid the unhealthy, highly calorific buffet food. Stay clear of pies, sausage rolls, chips, crisps, sweets and cakes
• Andrea stresses the importance of recognising your cravings and changing how you respond to them. She recommends keeping a healthy snack bar in your bag, so that when you have hunger cravings, you have a healthier option than those on offer.
• Choose healthy options at buffets such as fruit, veg, light crackers, hummus, guacamole or salsa. Use a smaller plate to trick yourself into eating less

Drink Less  

Over consumption of alcohol can lead to weight gain. A lot of people do not realise how calories are in their drinks. For example:

• 2 pints of lager is 500 calories which is more calories than a double cheeseburger.
•  A large glass of wine is about the same amount of calories as a small portion of fries.

So it is important to keep alcohol consumption at a low level. Try drinking a glass of water between drinks. This will not only keep you hydrated but will also make you feel fuller which will put you off drinking more alcoholic drinks.

Stay Active 

It’s very important to try and stay active over the festive season. It may not be practical to go out running or cycling every day over the festive period, but even a brisk walk can be fun and rewarding.

For a useful list of accessible exercises  – CLICK HERE

If you are a Health Rewards customer why not take advantage of your half price gym membership in the new year?

Baby Steps = Big Rewards 

Andrea says that baby steps are important. Many people set themselves unachievable grand targets with their new years resolutions, never achieve them, and then beat themselves up about it. Give yourself an achievable fitness target that can get you back to being healthy a little bit at a time.

If you are already overweight, or feel uncomfortable exercising in front of others, then try simple things like walking round the block to begin with. By slowly increasing the distance of your walks every day, you will start feeling more confident in yourself, and how you see yourself. This will improve your motivation to exercise and make you feel good about yourself.