How to enjoy Christmas meals and follow a healthy lifestyle
Christmas is a time of celebration marked by events and gatherings where copious meals and certain foods predominate that, although we love them, they can alter our diet. Nobody wants to deprive themselves of nougat, chocolates or roscón de Reyes these dates, however, sometimes they turn out to be a double-edged sword, since excesses usually cause swelling, discomfort, pain, and even sleeping difficulties.
In moderation, Maintaining a healthy lifestyle at Christmas is possible. Ana Fraile Oliva, nutritionist at Quirónprevención explains that “the key is balance and enjoying without overdoing it.” They are special days, to meet with loved ones and enjoy, not to worry about what we eat or don’t eat. There is also no point in imposing unrealistic restrictions on yourself, as depriving the brain of certain foods can be counterproductive and cause anxiety, making us crave them even more.
Eating out so much breaks our routines and gives rise to feelings of guilt and an inner voice that tells us that we are throwing “overboard” all the efforts to take care of ourselves that we make during the year.
Fraile also explains that these excesses “can cause digestive heaviness, acidity or slow digestion, fluid retention due to excess salt or alcohol, sleep disturbances, glucose imbalances and short-term weight gain due to fluid retention and accumulated excess calories.” Therefore, how can we enjoy Christmas and the meals and foods typical of these dates?
Ana Fraile Oliva
- Nutritionist at Quirónprevención
“The key is balance and enjoying without going overboard.”
Maintain balance and listen to the body
The important thing is to understand that it is okay to enjoy the food of these holidays. A couple of larger meals do not change our health, the important thing is the general balance. They are specific and designated dates, but On the rest of the days we can maintain the usual diet and combine it with exercise and physical activity. “The ideal is not to dramatize: the impact usually comes more from several days in a row of excesses than from a specific meal,” Fraile reassures.
From Quirónprevención, Fraile advises that, if one day we know that we have a heavy lunch or dinner, we can choose to make the rest of the meals light but satisfying. Of course, as these types of menus tend to focus on meat and seafood, we can take advantage of the rest of your meals to eat vegetables —boiled or pureed—fruits, legumes and other foods that we are probably not going to consume in these meetings. In this way, we will already be incorporating these nutrients into the body and maintaining a healthier and more balanced diet.
Another option is incorporate a healthy option on the menu of those meals. For example, the appetizer is the part that gives us the most opportunity to dare to experiment and try new recipes. Also in dessert, although there is no shortage of sweets, fruits such as pineapple, which also helps with protein digestion, can be very attractive and delicious options.
Furthermore, one of the most common mistakes is to arrive at the table hungry because we think about fasting to save space in our stomach and “compensate” for the fact that we are going to eat more. What this actually does is that we arrive with more hunger and anxiety to the meeting, as they point out in Quirónprevención, favoring unhealthy behaviors such as binge eating that generates gastrointestinal discomfort and dyspepsia, which is persistent stomach upset.
Fraile highlights that “the important thing is respect the signs of satiety”. It’s okay to eat one day too many, but you also have to learn to listen to your body. When you feel satisfied, do not continue eating out of courtesy, gluttony or fear of offending the host, it is always valid to politely decline if we no longer want food. The important thing is to eat what we really want and value, without compromise.
“The ideal is not to dramatize: the impact usually comes more from several days in a row of excesses than from a specific meal.”
Alcohol and sweets yes, in moderation
On these dates, alcohol also tends to be the protagonist. It’s okay to toast and have a drink or two, but from Quirónprevención they remember that they are a great source of calories, therefore, “always in moderation and consistency.” Plus, that extra drink at night may be regretted in the morning. Therefore, it is important to alternate drinks with water, since hydration is essential.
The The best drink option will always be water, which also helps you feel satiated and avoid confusing thirst with hunger, but, if you drink alcohol, you should not blame yourself for it, but drink it in moderation.
The same goes for desserts. If we like it and feel like a sweet, we don’t have to deprive ourselves of it or look for “its healthy version.” For example, there is no need to rack our brains looking for a sugar-free roscón recipe, this approach is not appropriate. Instead, we can enjoy it and, perhaps, share portions or take small portions so we can try without going overboard. Like everything, it’s a matter of finding balance.
It’s not all about food
These are specific days and it is great to enjoy Christmas meals and dinners. The key is balance without punishing yourself, enjoying the meals on the main days and leaving the rest of the day to maintain the usual sports and healthy eating routines, without falling into extremism. It is also not advisable to use a holiday as an excuse for a “free” week. It’s not so much what we eat on December 24, 25, 31, and January 1 and 6, but what we do on the rest of the days.
“The important thing is to respect the signals of satiety.”
The nutritionist’s main recommendations are: maintain basic routines, compensate without punishing, listen to your body, remain active and prioritize social enjoyment over food: “Christmas is an opportunity to reconnect, not an obligation to eat without restraint.”
