Top tips to stay trim and fit this Christmas

Seven top tips to stay trim and fit this Christmas

The festive season offers both highs and lows…the highs of fun, frolics and festive food and drink, and the lows of cost, colds and calories. So, what can you do to make sure all your healthy efforts of the year don’t go to waste during Christmas? Our Personal Trainer, Helen Kukor offers seven top tips to stay trim and fit this Christmas.

1. Don’t go to parties hungry. A common mistake is over-indulging in high fat foods such as sandwiches, pastries, chocolate and crisps and dips at parties whilst waiting for the main meal to arrive. Try to have a filling snack 60-90 minutes before the party starts. Snacks such as oat cakes with nut butter, fruit and low fat cheese are all great options.

2. Try not to interrupt your workout routine. Gyms are rarely closed for longer than a couple of days over the Christmas period. Therefore, the only person interrupting your workout routine, is you. Make it a priority over Christmas to maintain your gym routine and treat each scheduled workout as an appointment. If you can’t make it to the Gym, regular walks and playing with your children are also ways of keeping active.

3. Another common mistake is buying too much food. Cupboards stocked with excessive amounts of crisps, chocolate, biscuits and lollies are a recipe for disaster! Not only does it make your waist line bigger, it makes your bank balance smaller. Try also stocking up on healthier Christmas treats such as dried fruit, nuts and Satsumas.

4. As well as trying to control your snack buying urges, it is also important to consider the quality of the food you are buying. Good quality cheese, chocolate, sea food and nuts bring more enjoyment and are far better than stuffing your face with cheap crisps and pastries.

5. Letting Christmas run into January. It is important to get back into your diet and workout routine as soon as possible. The longer you leave it after Christmas the harder it is to get back into it and the faster you lose your motivation.

6. Don’t write off December as a ‘bad month’ food wise. You are still able to keep your diet in order by balancing the amount of healthy and unhealthy food that you eat over the holidays. Make sure that you eat high quality treats and balance them with salads, fresh fruit and sea food.

7. As well as food, many people overindulge in alcohol during the Christmas holidays. Drinks such as beer, lager, ale and cider are very high in calories with Guinness having 210kcal in one pint. Try swapping these drinks for spirits such as vodka which contains less calories. Alcohol in itself contains 7 calories per gram putting it in second place behind fat for the highest amount of calories per gram. Another festive favourite, mulled wine, also has a high amount of calories with 190kcal in a small glass. Drinks such as white wine, champagne and Prosecco are a good swaps for mulled wine.

Helen is always happy to talk about how to make improvements to your exercise and nutrition – and even offers sports massage to help those aches and pains. Simply pop in and arrange an appointment with Helen for Personal Training, a gym induction or for a programme review.

You can join the gym at Exeter Golf and Country Club now and save £75 with our no joining fee.

Find out more: http://exetergcc.co.uk/gym/gym-in-exeter