It’s the awful moment when, after a fun filled Christmas with the presence of family, relaxation, food, food, and might I say more food, you move back into your house or halls in Nottingham and your friends wonder who the new exchange student is. It is you, but much heavier growing sideways on the cheeks and the waist. This is obviously an exaggeration, but so many of us overindulge during Christmas because, let’s face it, the food is just too good to resist. And there is just so much of it. And your grandma is convinced that you need feeding, however much you try to persuade her that you have no desire to have to call the fire brigade to get a crane to lift you up, out of that couch.
So here I am again, trying not to bring too much gloom to the festive season by telling you to say NO to mince pies and Quality Streets and second helpings for those mouth watering desserts. I’m joking, I’d never tell you that, I could never live up to it myself! Here are some hopefully useful tips that you can use to avoid the dread of the ‘being-mistaken-for-a-totally-different-person’ situation that I have detailed above. I’m sure there’s not even a situation that’s ever crossed anyone’s minds before, but just in case…
Tip #1 – Christmas isn’t actually two months long!
Try to remember that Christmas doesn’t start in November, and that it does actually end after New Years day. You are totally allowed to overinduldge over the few days of Christmas and New Years, but try not to use the fact that it’s cold and December-y for that stomach to goble down a whole turkey and 10 servings of Christmas pudding! It is very tempting when you’re living in a below 0˚C student accommodations and you result to food to cheer yourself up. But try and replace snacking with cups of hot tea or coffee – much better for warming you up and they sure are lower in calories!
Tip #2 – Meal skipping works out worse in the long run
It can be very tempting to skip meals before preparing for a big one like Christmas lunch, especially when you want to save tummy space or to cut down on the extra calories from the ‘extra’ meals. But as I’m sure you all know, skipping meals ultimately does the opposite that it induces more hunger. It slows down metabolism so you process food more slowly, and stores more of it as fat, as your body thinks it needs to preserve the energy from the food you consume. It also means that all those little nibbles being offered from people around you suddenly become much more tempting, and you could certainly end up tucking in more than you have expected.
Tip #3 – Don’t forget that it is still Christmas!
This isn’t a tip in its normal sense of the word but I am encouraging you to eat. It is Christmas, and it does only come once a year. It is, by no means, definitely a great excuse to overindulge just for a few days. Try to eat healthily, but if it all goes horribly wrong, remember that it is a long time before anyone is even thinking about seeing you in a swimsuit, and dig out the Christmas jumpers (which are totally acceptable all through to February), as their beautiful hideousness is the best cover-all with that few extra pounds you have guiltily gained. So don’t stress too much about what goes down that gullet, and have a Merry feastful-and-food-y Christmas!