For the weight conscious, Christmas can be a somewhat stressful holiday.
It is a time of gluttony and excess, and for those of us who are trying in vain to lose a few pounds, the temptation to gorge can be overpowering. One can ultimately be left with nothing other than feelings of guilt and remorse.
Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it?
To avoid this from happening, my advice is simple: eat whatever the hell you like and do so without guilt.
That may sound like odd advice coming from someone who is trying to help you to lose weight and live a healthier life, but Christmas only comes around once a year. Within reasonable bounds, anything you do to your body on Christmas day is completely reversible.
The Healthy Enough way is to get healthier while enjoying life. If your family’s tradition is to resort to gluttony on the 25th December, so be it! If you are following the advice contained within other articles on this site, you will be gradually changing your food habits over time in such a way that a Christmas day gorge will be nothing more than a tiny blip on your weight loss radar.
The key to sustainable weight loss is forming habits gradually. If this Christmas you want to gorge, go for it. Next Christmas, having spent the year gradually forming healthier habits, you’ll probably eat far less without even feeling like you’re missing out. That’s the beauty of gently coaxing your body into a healthier habits, instead of relying upon willpower and the anticipation of guilt to dissuade you from eating what you want.
Christmas should be a time of joy, a celebration between family and friends. The last thing you want is for it to be overshadowed by guilt and remorse as to the food choices you make. Life is too short to worry about that.
Merry Christmas!