The summer holiday season is over in the northern hemisphere; the days are shortening; and the nights getting longer and cooler. While you cling on to any remnant of summer you can find, through the odd warm day, the remaining summer flowers, and the holiday snaps you are now having printed, the remorseless progression into autumn and winter will continue.
For those of you who are overweight or borderline weight, you are now entering the danger zone. Autumn spills into winter and the winter holiday season, and the holiday season brings with it a lure to binge on all the traditional foods of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. So, as your outdoor activity is likely to decline, and your indoor activity likely to include lifting a lot of food and drink to your mouth, but not otherwise increase, it is a period of the year when you will be in danger of tipping your weight over the edge or up the scale.
If you are on, or should be on, a weight loss diet, or are on the brink of needing one, then now is a great time to take stock and plan ahead with fortitude. By being prepared for the diet battle of the Christmas holiday season, it can be a battle you will win with comfort. Once the summer holiday period is over, you have 3 months to get ready for the winter holiday season.
Prepare Your Mind For The Onslaught of Gluttony
Ask yourself, why on earth should you change so drastically over a few short weeks, especially over the Christmas holiday? Is it not possible to maintain a good diet through the whole of the winter, without spoiling your Christmas? Much of any potential weakness will come from habit, peer pressure, boredom and stress. Inevitably, you will not be so encouraged into outdoor activities once the days cool down and the nights lengthen. From September, plan a regular yoga session, or other form of relaxation and meditation, that will help strengthen your resolve, and set you apart from peers in terms of individual mental strength. You will slowly assert your individuality in a way that will help you sail through the holiday season without succumbing to external pressures. During meditation sessions, give regular attention to your diet. Not just your short term diet but long term, beyond Christmas. See yourself happily on a healthy diet all year; not just healthy, but a diet that you enjoy. Your Christmas diet can then just merge into that; the holiday season can be similar to the rest of the year without taking away from your enjoyment.
Get To Know Your Favourite Diet Foods
It will depend of course what sort of diet you are on, but even if you are calorie counting, as the weeks pass you can prepare in your mind, or even on paper, all the treats that are a normal part of Christmas festivities yet very healthy.
1. That Christmas turkey is not off the menu in most cases; lean white meat is likely to be acceptable. And is turkey not the symbol of Christmas lunch in some countries?
2. All the vegetables that go with the turkey can be delicious if you buy good quality and cook them well. Why not set your mind on organic vegetables only for the holiday season? That may seem an indulgence cost wise, but better to indulge in that than junk foods.
3. Fresh salmon is great for special occasions; how about fresh Scottish salmon delivered to your door. A treat, but one that should not damage your diet.
4. Salads with a difference can be healthy but still a treat.
5. Aim to have plenty of fruits around the house during the Christmas period. Want to indulge as it's Christmas? What about your favourite fruits, something you regard as a treat? Can they not be fitted in to the Christmas spread?
6. There are a variety of nuts which make delightful snacks. In fact, my favourite food of all, and always a Christmas treat in England, is cashew nuts. Keep lots of nuts around the home too over the holiday period.
Really, there is an enormous amount of scope to make your holiday food a treat for you and those around you, without overflowing the tables with fattening foods. Mix in your mental preparations with the food selection, and over the next couple of months you will have a vision of a non-gluttonous, non-fattening Christmas indulgence.
Keep Up Summer Activity Levels
Be aware of that fact, and plan regular exercise sessions throughout the winter. Walking part of the way to and from work, or to the local stores, or taking the dogs on longer walks; all these things can contribute to your weight control, and make you feel better. If you feel better, coupled with your mental strength, keeping your weight down over Christmas will not be as difficult as you might have thought.
Planning Your Christmas Party
Christmas party planning can be a difficult task regardless of whether you are planning a home or office party. There are plenty of Christmas recipes that are simple and inexpensive to create that will give revelers good food and leave you time to concentrate on other factors like stunning Christmas decorations.
As well as making sure you have bought enough Christmas party supplies (you can never have enough alcohol at a Christmas party) you should consider presenting each of your guests with a little gift. Christmas history is steeped with the giving of gifts and the party favor is no different. There are plenty of Christmas party favors available that you may want to consider. As a general rule men love gadgets and women love beauty products, but everyone loves humor.
Good Christmas party ideas will include Christmas party games such as pass the parcel with forfeits. Instead of wrapping a present in each layer of paper, you can use forfeits. A combination of good food and drink, enjoyable party games and a party favor will make your Christmas party one that all your guests will remember.
For those of you who are overweight or borderline weight, you are now entering the danger zone. Autumn spills into winter and the winter holiday season, and the holiday season brings with it a lure to binge on all the traditional foods of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. So, as your outdoor activity is likely to decline, and your indoor activity likely to include lifting a lot of food and drink to your mouth, but not otherwise increase, it is a period of the year when you will be in danger of tipping your weight over the edge or up the scale.
If you are on, or should be on, a weight loss diet, or are on the brink of needing one, then now is a great time to take stock and plan ahead with fortitude. By being prepared for the diet battle of the Christmas holiday season, it can be a battle you will win with comfort. Once the summer holiday period is over, you have 3 months to get ready for the winter holiday season.
Prepare Your Mind For The Onslaught of Gluttony
Ask yourself, why on earth should you change so drastically over a few short weeks, especially over the Christmas holiday? Is it not possible to maintain a good diet through the whole of the winter, without spoiling your Christmas? Much of any potential weakness will come from habit, peer pressure, boredom and stress. Inevitably, you will not be so encouraged into outdoor activities once the days cool down and the nights lengthen. From September, plan a regular yoga session, or other form of relaxation and meditation, that will help strengthen your resolve, and set you apart from peers in terms of individual mental strength. You will slowly assert your individuality in a way that will help you sail through the holiday season without succumbing to external pressures. During meditation sessions, give regular attention to your diet. Not just your short term diet but long term, beyond Christmas. See yourself happily on a healthy diet all year; not just healthy, but a diet that you enjoy. Your Christmas diet can then just merge into that; the holiday season can be similar to the rest of the year without taking away from your enjoyment.
Get To Know Your Favourite Diet Foods
It will depend of course what sort of diet you are on, but even if you are calorie counting, as the weeks pass you can prepare in your mind, or even on paper, all the treats that are a normal part of Christmas festivities yet very healthy.
1. That Christmas turkey is not off the menu in most cases; lean white meat is likely to be acceptable. And is turkey not the symbol of Christmas lunch in some countries?
2. All the vegetables that go with the turkey can be delicious if you buy good quality and cook them well. Why not set your mind on organic vegetables only for the holiday season? That may seem an indulgence cost wise, but better to indulge in that than junk foods.
3. Fresh salmon is great for special occasions; how about fresh Scottish salmon delivered to your door. A treat, but one that should not damage your diet.
4. Salads with a difference can be healthy but still a treat.
5. Aim to have plenty of fruits around the house during the Christmas period. Want to indulge as it's Christmas? What about your favourite fruits, something you regard as a treat? Can they not be fitted in to the Christmas spread?
6. There are a variety of nuts which make delightful snacks. In fact, my favourite food of all, and always a Christmas treat in England, is cashew nuts. Keep lots of nuts around the home too over the holiday period.
Really, there is an enormous amount of scope to make your holiday food a treat for you and those around you, without overflowing the tables with fattening foods. Mix in your mental preparations with the food selection, and over the next couple of months you will have a vision of a non-gluttonous, non-fattening Christmas indulgence.
Keep Up Summer Activity Levels
Be aware of that fact, and plan regular exercise sessions throughout the winter. Walking part of the way to and from work, or to the local stores, or taking the dogs on longer walks; all these things can contribute to your weight control, and make you feel better. If you feel better, coupled with your mental strength, keeping your weight down over Christmas will not be as difficult as you might have thought.
Planning Your Christmas Party
Christmas party planning can be a difficult task regardless of whether you are planning a home or office party. There are plenty of Christmas recipes that are simple and inexpensive to create that will give revelers good food and leave you time to concentrate on other factors like stunning Christmas decorations.
As well as making sure you have bought enough Christmas party supplies (you can never have enough alcohol at a Christmas party) you should consider presenting each of your guests with a little gift. Christmas history is steeped with the giving of gifts and the party favor is no different. There are plenty of Christmas party favors available that you may want to consider. As a general rule men love gadgets and women love beauty products, but everyone loves humor.
Good Christmas party ideas will include Christmas party games such as pass the parcel with forfeits. Instead of wrapping a present in each layer of paper, you can use forfeits. A combination of good food and drink, enjoyable party games and a party favor will make your Christmas party one that all your guests will remember.
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