How to eat out this Christmas whilst maintaining good habits

Many people treat the Christmas festive season with almost dread. Yes, they love to socialise, but they dread the January after effects of sluggishness and weight gain .

But it doesn’t have to be this way. It is possible to eat out, enjoy socialising and avoid excess weight gain.

Let’s look at what you can do to avoid the pitfall so that you start January 2024 in pretty much the same shape that you left 2023. Watch the video or read on…

Dinner Parties

Let’s start with dinner parties. You’re invited to someone’s house, where the meal is already chosen for you. You’ve no idea what will be served. Let’s assume it’s a three-course meal with cheese and biscuits, then chocolates at the end. Oh, and it starts with lengthy pre-dinner drinks and nibbles!

The best advice is to not starve yourself all day so that you arrive really hungry. It’s a false economy to skip a meal because you’re eating more later. You’ll arrive hungry and immediately dive into the crisps and peanuts.

Have breakfast and lunch as normal.

Try and avoid the bread. It’s just starchy carbohydrate – just sugar – which is quickly converted to fat in the body.

With all meals – whether at home, a friend’s house or restaurant – always try and pause and eat more slowly. You’ll be surprised how you recognise you’re full before you have finished what’s on your plate. It takes time for the signal to travel from the sensors in your stomach to the brain and back to your mouth.

This is important for healthy digestion too. Take time to chew your food, put less on your fork, and just allow more time to eat what is on your plate. I see far too many people gobble down their food without any consideration for how their poor stomach will digest the food that has barely been chewed.

If you’re able to serve yourself, then try to choose more non-starchy vegetables and less of the starches. The rice, pasta, pastry, potatoes and other root vegetables (except carrots) are the ones that create rapidly rising blood glucose levels. It is this excess sugar that becomes fat around the abdomen and leaves you feeling tired and lethargic.

What about puddings? I practice the 80:20 Pareto rule (more like 90:10 most of the time). An occasional pudding cannot undo all your good habits. You don’t have to say no and deprive yourself. But aim to have a really small portion. If you eat this really slowly, too, it will feel like you have had more.

Ah, the chocolates. This is my weakness. But I hope by this time I am quite full. Again, like puddings, I will have a couple and try to really enjoy them slowly.

If cheese and biscuits are also served, the cheese will cause less harm than the crackers. Fats do not make us fat, it’s the sugars and starches that do this. Have a couple of small slices of cheese without the biscuits.

The Next Day

Do you wake up feeling guilty as you had more food and more courses than normal? You may choose to skip breakfast and practice “Time Restricted eating”. A 16-hour window between meals is recognised as a helpful approach to weight management (and healthy ageing). Get up, go for a lovely walk and have your first meal, lunchtime.

And eat normally. Your body will quickly revert to its usual pattern of hunger and satiety.

Do you wake feeling hungry? This may be due to a lack of protein and fats with your meal. Did you eat meat, fish, lentils or pulses? The protein content of your meal will keep you full for much longer than any type of carbohydrates.

Pubs and Restaurants

Here you can choose what you want to eat. You have no restrictions of a set meal. Now is the time to scan the menu and quickly strike off the pasta dishes, risottos, pizzas, pies and big plates of chips. If you’re a meat lover, a steak or lamb are good options. If you like fish, choose the non-battered types. Vegetarians and vegans have a harder time but try and opt for a dish with pulses or tofu and not focused on pasta and rice.

I find the vegetable servings shockingly small. Add a side order of vegetables or salad and ask for less chips to be served or share a portion with someone else in the party (if they’re prepared to!).

I worry less about the sauces than I do about the starchy carbohydrates. But if you are concerned, ask for the sauce to be served in a jug on the side.

Drink Parties

These can be difficult. Canapes are notoriously “unhealthy” with lots of pastry and not much else. Just think of the sausage rolls! Alcohol can increase the hunger and can make it difficult to resist.

If you really are determined not to undo all your hard work leading up to Christmas, it’s essential to eat before you go. A small omelette or a small bowl of lentil soup are good options. Both are quick, easy, nourishing and filling. This way you arrive without the hunger, and you can enjoy a few canapes during the evening without overconsumption.

It only takes a little thought and advance planning. Eating out can then be enjoyable and not a cause for concern about your waistband in January 2024.

We’ll look at alcohol choices next time!

Caroline x

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Again, thanks for reading.

Keep your eye out for more articles and Peyton Principles in the media.

Caroline

A little more about me…

Providing expert, personalised, health advice utilising 10 years of nutritional therapy and naturopathy experience with a strong emphasis on digestion and gut health. Zoom or face to face Consultations.

I also develop and deliver well-being in the workplace workshops.