Nutritionist tips to avoid overeating during this Festive Season

• Don’t skip mealtimes – Even though it feels very tempting to leave out meals in order to preserve space in the stomach for the later feast, it is actually one of the most typical mistakes people make. By the time it’s late afternoon/evening, the blood sugar levels would have dropped so low that over eating is an inevitable consequence. Always be sensible with how much you eat. If you feel like you haven’t got appetite or are too full, don’t force yourself, go with your body’s signals. Aim for three main meals a day as you would normally, making sure your plate is balanced with vegetables, complex carbs, healthy fats and protein. Protein consumed with each meal sustains feeling of fullness for longer.

• Connect with food – This is probably what majority of people don’t do these days anymore. Connecting with your food is a simple practice that needs to be relearned and consciously applied. Before starting your meal, it is important to take in the visual appearance of it, smell it and then chew every mouthful for about thirty times. Eat slowly and really enjoy your food. This exercise activates sensory neurons in the brain, starts the breakdown of macronutrients in the mouth and fully kicks in the digestion process.

• Fruits and vegetables – Be generous with vegetables, especially Brussel sprouts. They are incredibly healthy supporting body’s detox system, antioxidant system and anti-inflammatory system. When it comes to fruit, use them to swap some of your chocolates and cakes. Great options are clementines, grapefruits, pomegranates, papayas and apples with the skin. These particular fruits are a great source of phytonutrients, enzymes and fibre supporting body’s natural elimination processes.

• Stay hydrated – As we all know, festive season can often involve too much alcohol. Alcohol is a diuretic substance, making you pee out more water than you take in. To avoid dehydration, match every glass of alcohol with a glass of water. For flavour add in a slice of lemon or orange. Water is a great way to flush unwanted toxins from the body. Another great way to stay hydrated is herbal teas. My favourite ones for digestion are fennel, lemon and ginger, peppermint, artichoke or any nice digestive combination that can facilitate smooth easy digestion.

• Move – Christmas time tends to be mainly sedentary, with lots of lazing around. This means your digestive system is scrunched up and can’t function optimally. Between meals, practice easy stretching exercises to stimulate the contraction  of the digestive tract. Here are some of my favourite ones, Simple Stretches for Too-Full Feeling. Or, put on warm clothes and go for a nice brisk walk in the park. Moving and fresh air has a positive effect on the mood too.

• Digestive aid – I always like to keep probiotics and enzymes for “emergency” occasion in my kitchen cupboard. My favourite products are Digestive enzymes and Multi Strain Biotics by Wild Nutrition. This particular enzyme complex is derived from natural fermentation process producing a broad spectrum blend of protease, lipase, amylase, lactase and cellulase. I recommend taking enzymes 45 minutes to an hour after eating. This way you are following body’s natural function avoiding over flooding the digestive system with external enzymes. Probiotics on the other hand can be taken first thing in the morning to support normal gut function. This probiotic blend has eight different strains and does not contain any FOS or GOS to reduce the growth of unwanted bacteria. Probiotics are an excellent way to help reduce bloating and facilitate absorption.

This Christmas season above everything else, be kind to yourself. Accept ‘you’, exactly the way you are, whatever your shape or size. Embrace yourself, there in no one else like you out there. Once we understand the concept of self, we don’t need others to tell us what is our value. We also don’t need to depend on material things to feel fulfilled. A little mantra that you can repeat to yourself on daily bases is “I am enough just the way I am!”. Repeat this as many times as you need until it sticks in your mind and becomes a habit. Soon, you will notice how your decisions and needs start to change.

Merry Christmas to you all!

Marianne x