Surviving Christmas

Aside from the obvious religious significance, Christmas in the past has been thought of as a staging post to get us through winter, a chance to re-stock and prepare for the rigours of another batch of cold, grey months. Or ‘Summer’ as we have come to call it – the panto season starts here, folks.

He does exist but probably wishes he didn't.

Our survival instinct aids and abets this, prompting us to eat enough to store currently unneeded energy as fat, just in case of unexpected famine. This is one of the obstacles to weight control: gaining weight feels good, losing it doesn’t.

Short of some sort of Anti-Consumerist War on Supermarkets we’re unlikely to go without this winter. As most of us live in an age of a super-abundance of food, from a nutritional point of view we don’t really need Christmas, as I often tell my sobbing children.

So then, a few tips to survive the calorie Tsunami heading your way.

Don’t attempt to eat all the food presented to you. Of all seasons this is the one when you are not going to starve – there will probably be more food around later. Don’t change the way you eat because you can.

Drink plenty of water. This works particularly well if you do it right before eating since it reduces your appetite by tricking your stomach into thinking it has something to work with. It will also limit the dehydrating effect of alcohol. Speaking of which,

Alcohol stimulates hunger, as every successful kebab shop owner will tell you, so drink no alcohol whatsoever. Well, back in the real world be aware that this is happening and that an hour after you’ve finished a meal the size of an aircraft hangar it’s the booze telling you you want to eat not your overworked digestive system. For every alcoholic drink have a glass of water.

Exercise before your big meal. Get your metabolism fired up so that you actually need some food, not just want it. If you are a regular exerciser a Christmas morning workout, run or ride will reduce the calorific overload heading your way a little. The shorter the session, the sharper it should be. If you are not a regular exerciser it’s not a good day to start but even a walk – as stiff as you can manage – will have some positive effect. I am aware that for readers who have to spend Christmas Day locked in a kitchen resembling a Victorian workhouse factory this suggestion of idling some time away with exercise may go down as well as undercooked turkey.

Christmas dinner preparation in the Edwards household

How you eat your Christmas meal will affect your calorie intake. If you eat vegetables first you get some of the best nutrition in early, plus the fibrous nature of them will make you feel fuller sooner. Similarly, the fattier foods will send early signals that you have eaten enough. Carbohydrates like potatoes however, can take up to 20 minutes of digestion to register.

Should it all go wrong and you find yourself making the most of all the things you know you shouldn’t remember the idea of balance: for the extra calories you take in now you will have to expend extra later.

And thus a fitness marketing campaign was born. Happy Christmas !

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