Before the December party season kicked off, I carefully thought about how to maintain my weight while allowing some flexibility in my diet and exercise routine. Thankfully I don’t get invited out much (ha!) but I’ll still face a challenge with all the delicious treats everywhere. My work Christmas do will no doubt be a temptation with food.
I suppose there’s no right or wrong way to manage your diet in December and everyone should do what suits them best. I’ve decided to stick to my usual three-mile daily walking routine for now. If any days are particularly challenging due to extra commitments, I’ll walk extra miles the day before or after to make up for any shortfall. This approach is generally working well and when I couldn’t walk on two days last week, I made up for it by walking extra on the weekend. Perhaps I’ll also walk extra on days when I’ve exceeded my calories.
The most difficult part is monitoring food intake, especially with Christmas food often lacking any clear calorie information leaving me to estimate. To manage these situations, I’ve decided to reduce my calories on some days for more flexibility on others when I’ll need more. For instance, if I know I’m going out I’ll cut my calories a few days beforehand by a couple of hundred a day to create a deficit.
My only exception to my calorie counting will be during the four Bank Holidays over Christmas and New Year. On these days I will eat as I please as a treat and to enjoy Christmas. The rules are simple: stop eating when I’m full and be sensible. I’ll also still make sure to walk even on bank holidays and most importantly, only eat extra on the Bank Holidays and then return to the usual routines.
Daily treat wise, I’ve bought some mince pies to enjoy within my calorie limit and a box of chocolates to use as my advent calendar. Each chocolate is 60 calories so I can count them daily.
I’ve also decided to weigh myself weekly during December. I’ll post an update after Christmas so you can see my progress. Hopefully, it’ll be minimal weight gain. Today, at the time of writing, sticking to my calorie goal has been a bit of a struggle which is unusual. I need to make up for the excess calories I consumed though. When I update, I’ll give you an honest picture of how I get on this month! And if you are also on a health kick attempting to maintain your routine during this busy season – good luck also.
