A brisk walk before Christmas dinner can improve your morale

If fact, we are so taken to having a good time during the jolly season that the thought of exercise and healthy foods just go out the window, no matter how well people have managed to stick to their strict diets during the earlier months.

Greg Brooke, personal trainer, understands that people like to have a good time so he has come up with 6 top tips that help you to have a good time, but also reduce the damage to your body:

1. Eat fat
That’s right, if you a planning on raiding the drinks cabinet and polishing off Grandpa’s bottles of brandy, ensure you eat some good fat along with your Christmas alcohol.  Cheese, nuts and fatty fish, such as salmon, are good choices to help protect your gut wall and it will also decrease your blood sugar fluctuations.

2. Compromise
You’re going to have a good time with all that food and drink, right? Try to make a compromise somewhere else. A great idea would be to give up caffeine. Sugars like alcohol will put your blood sugars into a spin and adding caffeine on top of this will really test their function. Giving up caffeine will save you from adrenal fatigue, and keep fat inducing insulin fluctuations at bay.

3. Start drinking
Not just anything you can get your hands on. You are going to need water to repair your body. Buy a 2 litre bottle of water and ensure you finish one each day. That’s not too much to ask is it?

4. Get moving
I know it’s Christmas and you just want to chill out and watch TV but start your day with a nice brisk walk and then you can relax for the rest of the day knowing you have done something positive for yourself.

5. Get natural
Eating is big part of Christmas but making natural choices can make a radical difference. If it didn’t grow out of the ground, can be pulled from a tree or can be chased down and killed then you are not designed to eat it. I know there will be slip-ups but remember to go natural as much as possible this Christmas.

6. Balance
We are designed to eat carbohydrates, fats, and proteins in the correct proportions. If you are going to be eating lots of sweet foods or drinking alcohol, make sure you balance this out with your other macronutrients. So if you are drinking alcohol (carbohydrate) with your meal, cut down on potatoes (carbohydrate). Try to keep a healthy equilibrium.

By Lauren King