Guess we have all seen the Coca Cola TV advert by now – in our house that means time to get moving on Christmas presents, planning parties, writing cards and thinking about recipes, food and tantalising goodies.
To be true to The Diet Plate’s ethos of “portion control” as method of losing weight, we do believe a little bit of what you fancy does you good. It is when good intentions to practise moderation disappear out of the window that the downward spiral begins.
As for me, I am guilty as charged this week. I have a penchant for mince pies, the home baked variety, warm and succulent dusted slightly with fine sugar and monstrously fattening when eaten by the dozen! I normally leave buying them until Christmas Eve and then only six to share with my daughter and savour slowly over the holidays, a maximum of three eaten over the two weeks period. Pre Diet Plate days, I would have ordered 24 from the baker, telling him I had guests, such a bad liar, I am sure he guessed where the extra two inches on my hips had come from when he saw me in January.
Anyway, I have to confess to a temporary lapse of willpower while out shopping last week because before you could say Jessica Rabbit, I had purchased a supermarket branded box of six, tempted by the pretty box and pictures of yummy mince pies on the front.
With my traditional planning scuppered having bought them early, old feelings of guilt crept in, and the little red devil on my left shoulder instructed me to dispose of the evidence and where better than in my stomach?
That night I opened them in secret, prized one from its foil housing and closed my eyes in sweet expectation while I bit into it… yuk! It was the worst mince pie I’d ever tasted, totally processed mass manufactured rubbish and absolutely nothing like the ones I buy from the home bakery shop in my village. Karma Kay, karma I got my “just deserts!”
Believe me the whole packet went straight in the bin! I guess what I am trying to say is that we can enjoy Christmas fayre in moderation, but why waste calories on rubbish? Extra calories at Christmas cause rapid weight gain, so choose your treats carefully.
Why buy a huge tin of chocolate biscuits because it is in a fancy tin, when you know already only 2 of the 8 varieties offered are your favourites? You know that you will have to eat them because they’re there and you won’t enjoy them so why do it? It is much better to buy just one packet of your favourite biscuits to enjoy.
I have composed a list of tips to help you survive the worst time of the year for weight watchers.
The Diet Plate method is non-dictatorial, this means you can eat what you love to cook and all we ask is that you follow the calibrations on the plate and bowl so that you have a pre-measured amount of food, where the volume of the food gives a certain weight and the weight is equal to the calories contained within it. Simple really, but extremely effective for weight loss while still enjoying your favourite foods, you can save 500 calories on a regular Christmas dinner using your Diet Plate!
So although we don’t really recommend you partake of sugary or fatty foods on a regular basis, Christmas would be miserable for us all if you had to raise your hand and say “no” to everything, here are my tips.
• Plan your days meals over the holidays
• Buy plenty of vegetables, fruit and salads
• Make up bowls of fruit salad in advance
• Still choose fruit over fatty/sugary food the majority of the time
• Don’t binge and feel guilt – enjoy guilt free in small amounts
• Limit yourself to maybe 3-4 sweets / puddings over the holiday
• By holiday I mean Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day
• Don’t waste money or calories on poor quality food
• A “little” of what you fancy – think portion control with everything
• Share your pudding with your partner better still
• Arm yourself with a teaspoon and just beg a single taste of theirs, just a single maybe two teaspoons for a taste
• Think calorie percentages – cut something in half and you have just saved 50%, repeat it and you have saved 75%
• Keep Christmas cheer to a minimum
• Choose vodka and slimline tonic over Bailey’s on ice
• Let white wine down with tonic or soda for a long drink
• Party hard – while others indulge in the buffet you just dance, dance and dance the nights away but most of all enjoy
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY from all of us at THE DIET PLATE XXX
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