How to maintain your waistline this party season
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Here are 5 simple tips by naturopath Jennifer McLennan to help prevent weight gain in the summer party season.
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- How to maintain your waistline this party season
Now that summer is well underway, most of us are conscious of the party season trap of alcohol, and food and the effect this may have on our waist lines. I would argue that we have it slightly harder in Australia, as summer and holiday festivities collide, we can’t hide under a winter coat and layers of warm clothes, but instead feel a bit more pressure to have our beach bodies at the ready.
Here are my 5 top tips to preventing the party season weight slide.
- Eat healthy portion sizes - Although we know this in principle, putting it into practise can be hard at best, so I would suggest when planning on going out for dinner or to a party, don’t arrive famished. Eat some yoghurt, a small handful of nuts or some fruit before you go out. This will prevent grabbing for the hors d'oeuvres with the added bonus of not letting the alcohol go straight to your head.
- Swap out the alcohol for non-alcoholic beverages. As most of us know, alcohol contains almost twice the mount of calories than protein or carbohydrates, without any nutritional benefits. You don’t have to completely cut out alcohol, but getting a mocktail, a sparkling mineral water, or cranberry and soda can keep you feeling part of the crowd. You’ll end up without as much extra calories at the end of the night, along with preventing a hangover the next day.
- Get adequate sleep. This can be hard at the best of times, but when the festivities start it can be a lot harder. Research shows that chronic sleep deprivation (less than or equal to 7 hours per night) may effect the signals that help control a healthy appetite, leading to greater carb and calorie carvings and increased weight gain over time.
- Get on the dance floor: pack some comfy shoes for your night our and get moving. Dancing can be like exercise, so don’t be afraid to shake it, and burn through any extra calories that you might have clocked up during the evening.
- Fill up on veggies. Go for gold with vegetable quantities, as these make up a fraction of the calories as protein, fats and carbs. For example broccoli or brussel sprouts have only 30 calories or less per 100 gram serve, with the advantage of being involved in liver detoxification pathways.
Overall it’s about moderation and preparation. Prepare and stick to a plan before it all unravels and goes down the gurgler. But if you do have a hiccup, then that’s ok, be gentle on yourself and get back to the plan, and remember it’s a fun time of the year, so get the pleasure and fun out of friends, family and festivities and not in the foods and alcohol.
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