- Where do you feel guilty about eating at Christmas?
- How much do people actually gain weight during Christmas?
- What to do to avoid gaining weight during Christmas?
- Is it possible to lose weight during Christmas?
- Eat mindfully during Christmas
- Why don't you have to blame yourself for the food this Christmas?
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VERIFIED CONTENTAuthor: Aleksandra Żyłowska-Mharrab, dietitian, food technologist, educator
Eating at Christmas is often guilty. Especially if you are losing weight, you have a New Year's Eve outfit (or you have a nutrition related profession). Why do we ask so often, "How not to gain weight at Christmas"? Do people really put on a lot of weight during Christmas? And why don't we feel guilty about eating what we want on Christmas?
Gingerbreads, poppy-seed cake, dumplings, pork loin with plum … It's hard to imagine Christmas without these delicacies. However, the thought of eating festive in many people causes anxiety and fear of extra kilos. Is it right? How to eat at Christmas without remorse and not gain weight?
Where do you feel guilty about eating at Christmas?
You feel guilty because according to the canon you are not thin enough
Western culture has developed one canon of beauty today - based on a slim figure. Whoever does not fit the canon is discriminated against in various ways. Hardly anyone has ever succumbed to the pressure of being thin just because everyone around wants to be thin.
Or at least that's what the media tell us. The feeling of guilt caused by eating often comes from here.
The more I eat, the more I move away from the canon and size that is so difficult to achieve for me. But not everyone has to wear a size S or M. Slim means he althy? Not always. And yes, obesity is a disease, but there is a very big difference between Western thinness and morbid obesity.
Food is divided into "good" and "bad"
According to what the diet industry tells you, good food includes salads, power balls, chia bowls, green smoothies, and other wonders recommended by dietary gurus. If you are not eating enough "good" food, you can always reach for "even better" meal replacement shakes.
And bigos and vegetable salad are "bad" food. Poppy seed cake? "Even worse." Such an image is commonly created, isn't it?
Soaking through it, hearing and seeing around you all the time, it's hard not to start thinking the same. You go to your grandma's for Christmas Eve dinner and you think how much "bad" food you will eat. It's hard not to feel guilty. Only it makes no sense.
If you eat low-processed foods on a daily basis, reach for vegetables, check the quality of your food and limit sweets, a few days of imperfect eating will really change your he alth globally. And remember, “Nothing is poison, and everything is poison. Only the dose makes the poison. "
You approach food according to the principle of "all or nothing"
How to eat he althy without sugar, and eggs only from green-legged hens? Home-baked ham surely unhe althy because it is full of saturated fat? Are dumplings a gluten kill? Many people who start and continue their adventure with he althy, conscious eating, approach it with zero-one approach.
Either I eat he althy or I eat unhe althy. In fact, this approach is very harmful and distorts the relationship with food. There are no ideal diets. There are diets good enough. And each one should be flexible and allow for deviations from the he althy shaft. Otherwise it becomes unhe althy. For your head.
You find it hard to understand that food is not only food for the body
Will you be surprised if I say that the gingerbread your mom has been making for years is he althy? Not necessarily he althy for the body, but he althy for the spirit. Bringing back good memories. Giving joy. The feeling of the uniqueness of the moment.
After all, you only eat it once a year. Don't blame yourself for missing out on foods that you eat rarely and that are somehow special to you. But at the same time, don't overeat yourself. After the fifth track, everything tastes so-so and no longer gives you joy.
How much do people actually gain weight during Christmas?
Christmas food and celebration are associated with unimaginable amounts of calories, fat, sugar and extra kilos on weight. While it is true that most houses cook a lot of food during Christmas and it is certainly not low-calorie food, you have to think about how much you usually eat out of it. And how many calories do you need to eat to gain weight on the extra pound of fat.
According to a 2016 study in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average American puts on 0.4% of their body weight over the Christmas season - from Christmas to New Year's Eve. This means that on average a person weighing 70 kg will gain 0.28 kg of fat in 7-10 days. And 0.28 kg is 1960 kcal, which you ate too much.
According to the science of nutrition, it is assumed that to gain 1 kg of fat you need to eat 7000 kcal more than the body uses. To really put on a kilo or two in three Christmas days, you have to try very hard.
An extra kilo of body fat after Christmas meanseating 2300 kcal per day more than your body uses.
The extra 2,300 kcal is:
- 6 dumplings with cabbage and mushrooms (350 kcal),
- a plate of borscht with dumplings (230 kcal),
- 3 pieces of poppy seed cake (450 kcal),
- 150 g vegetable salad with mayonnaise - amount that fits in the palm of your hand (220 kcal),
- 400 g Greek fish - full large plate (560 kcal),
- 4 medium boiled potatoes (230 kcal),
- a piece of cheesecake 100 g - large cube (260 kcal).
As you can see, this is a lot of food.
The tip on the weight on the day after Christmas shows you a lot more than 200-400 g? This is due not only to the body fat gain, but also the water bound with glycogen from eating large amounts of carbohydrates - flour foods and cakes - and digested food still lingering in the digestive tract.
Waist circumference may also surprise you unpleasantly - hard to digest and a lot of sitting makes your stomach bloated, but those are not extra pounds. Anything that is not adipose tissue will leave your body on its own as soon as you return to your usual eating habits and level of exercise.
What to do to avoid gaining weight during Christmas?
If you want your body weight to stay the same over the holiday season, you don't need to eat a vegetable salad with yogurt instead of mayonnaise and boiled fish instead of breaded fried fish. Just check how many calories your portions of traditional Christmas food contain and don't exceed the calories in your usual diet.
It is definitely much nicer and easier on your psyche than watching everyone around you eat the delicacies you miss too.
Avoiding Christmas food at all costs can be so depressing that you will compulsively make up for the uneaten calories later. Reality is inexorable. The more dietary restrictions you impose on yourself, the more likely you are to overeat.
Want to eat more than usual but still avoid weight gain? Increase your physical activity on holidays. If you have guests and cook a lot it may be difficult due to lack of time, but when you visit family and friends you may find an extra hour to exercise. You will generate a caloric deficit and eat more without depositing body fat.
Christmas food is not only "extra" food
We all eat differently during Christmas, but we don't necessarily eat more. After all, you do not eat two dinners - Christmas andnot holiday. Not two breakfasts. You simply eat a vegetable salad and cold cuts for breakfast instead of your daily scrambled eggs or sandwiches.
Without compulsive eating, chances are that you will not eat more than usual on holidays.
Is it possible to lose weight during Christmas?
It's possible to lose weight during Christmas. The only question is at what cost. Remember that not every time in your life is a good time to lose weight. If you are losing weight, you know what the challenge is. Daily caloric restrictions are difficult to comply with, and during family meetings, in a pleasant atmosphere - even more difficult.
We can't escape the fact that food has a lot of other functions besides providing calories. Eating together is an expression of belonging to a group, an expression of love, a source of joy. It is not easy to meet community needs if you eat something different from everyone else. If you want to follow your diet, you have the conditions and willpower to do so - I am crossing my fingers for you. If not - do not blame yourself for not following a slimming diet during Christmas.
Christmas is not a good time to lose weight. Try not to overeat, do not bulge your stomach and try not to compensate for under-eating on a slimming diet. Listen to your body. It gives you very clear signals when to stop eating.
And after Christmas, go back to your diet and add some physical activity if you are not satisfied with the weight indication. Remember, however, that you do not have to burn every calorie eaten during Christmas. Losing weight is not a compulsion.
Eat mindfully during Christmas
There is one way that will allow you to enjoy food at the same time and not gain weight during Christmas. Eat mindfully. Don't make yourself a list of prohibited products. Just slow down with your food. Enjoy the dishes, enjoy them, taste them. Eat slowly, in small bites, chew, don't swallow right away until you really taste it.
Mindfulness while eating gives you real joy in your meal. Sometimes these are dishes that you only eat once a year. Is it better to savor their taste or to swallow like a sandwich before going to work?
Eating carefully has one more advantage - it will make it easier for you not to overeat. By eating slowly and consciously, you will give your body time to inform you that you are already full. You will have time to feel full and satisfied before you eat too much. It is these most intuitive signals about the feeling of hunger and satiety that allow you to maintain a constant body weight and not gain weight. Not only on Christmas.
Why don't you have to blame yourself for the food this Christmas?
Friendly at the endreminder. A reminder with a list of arguments to help you stop obsessing over how not to gain weight this Christmas.
Why don't you have to blame yourself for the food this Christmas?
- You won't gain as much weight as everyone else says.
- If you gain weight, you can quickly lose it after Christmas by increasing your physical activity a little. But no compulsion.
- Holidays are once a year. Some of the dishes you eat only during this time.
- You eat he althy and take care of yourself every day. A few nutritionally imperfect days will not make your he alth deteriorate.
- Try not to divide your food between good and bad.
- You spend time with your family and loved ones. Don't let it spoil yourself by obsessing over calories.
- Change your perspective. Think about Christmas every year. It's only one week out of 52. Can it change so much?
- Don't judge and don't let yourself be judged. Everyone take care of their plate.
- Don't pursue perfection. There are no perfect diets.
- Don't have expectations of yourself. You will eat as much as you eat. Don't expect to be "unattended".
- Eat mindfully.