5 Tips for Surviving the Festive Season

5 Tips for Surviving the Festive Season

Before I take my one and only break for the year, I want to leave you with five tips to help you survive the silly season. I find that most people just completely switch off and let go of their healthy lifestyle and fitness goals as soon as December hits. We overindulge on delicious food and alcohol, are way more sedentary and just accept that 2kg weight gain is inevitable. Knowing that we’ll hit the diet or detox hard come January.

I'm not here to tell you to be strict and not enjoy all of the delicacies. I really want you to enjoy this time. But I challenge you to change your attitude this year and implement my top five tips for surviving the festive season without having a massive blowout.

 1. Aim For Balance

• Find a comfortable middle ground where you can still go out and have a great time, but try and minimise the damage by going overboard
• Make healthy choices when you can and when you can't, don’t feel guilty for it. Focus on being mindful so you get maximal pleasure out of it
  
  

2. Have A Plan

• Have a plan that will help you stay in control and find that balance of your food and drink choices, rather than just tapping out for the festive season

If you're looking for some help, get the Festive Season Survival Guide here at dietitianapproved.com/FSSG

 3. Outsmart the Obsessive Feeder
 

• Feeder = someone who’s always trying to shove food or alcohol down your throats. Everyone has one of these! Sometimes it’s your Mum
• Some lines to try to get them off your back:
  • "I've had some thanks, it was delicious"
  • "I'm actually really thirsty, could I please have a glass of water instead?"
  • “I'm full, thank you very much"
  • "I physically couldn't fit another one in".

4. Stay Active

• When we're on holiday, there's plenty of opportunities to stay active and to move more
• There’s more time for long adventures too – get a group of friends together and go for a long ride or hike. Social events don’t always have to be centred around food and alcohol. Find other ways to get together

5. Avoid Overdoing It with Alcohol

• Alcohol is packed with unwanted kilojoules, impairs our muscle recovery pathways, causes hangovers and dehydration and is a toxin that our body works hard to get rid of
• It loosens our inhibitions which increases the likelihood of you eating things that you probably wouldn't normally
• If you are going to drink, then drink. Enjoy it. I'm not saying don't drink, but just choose wisely and try and alternate your drinks with water to help compensate for the dehydration effects of alcohol. Listen to Episode 10 of the podcast with Dr Ben Desbrow on the Effects of Alcohol and Performance
  
  

I really want you to enjoy this time with your family and your friends without feeling guilty about the choices that you've made. I encourage you to find some balance between enjoyment and being loose, but then also being too hard on yourself because then you miss out on the fun altogether.

If you need help with catering, hosting or bringing a plate of food, the Festive Season Survival Guide has you covered with an index of 12 Christmas starters, 12 mains and 12 dessert recipes. Get your copy here: dietitianapproved.com/FSSG

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and I will see you back in 2022! 🥂

To go deeper, listen to the Triathlon Nutrition Academy Podcast Episode 20: 5 Tips for Surviving the Festive Season for more!

Get your copy NOW of our Festive Season Survival Guide!

Learn about and practice Mindful Eating HERE