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Recently, when one of our Newsletter readers dropped me a line to ask what I did at Christmas to avoid piling on too much weight, it made me think. What do I do?
I love Christmas and all the excitement it brings and we particularly look forward to being thoroughly spoilt when we visit our daughter Dawn, her husband and our grandchildren on Christmas Day. All being well, we will be treated to some wonderful festive fare – turkey with all the trimmings – and no doubt lots of treats.
That slight hint of doubt is because last year things didn’t quite go to plan! Having missed the occasion because of lockdown in 2020, our excitement of once again being able to celebrate Christmas together was immense. However, half an hour into our joyous visit and loving seeing our grandchildren opening their presents, it all came to an abrupt halt when our son-in-law came in from the kitchen to announce that Dawn had just received a text to tell her that her PCR test, taken the day before, was positive! Obviously, we had no choice but to leave immediately.
As we walked toward our car, loaded with unopened presents, we caught in the air a delicious aroma of roast turkey cooking. It was wafting across their front garden from the fan in their kitchen… empty tummies were understandably frustrated… but we went home and cooked ourselves a chicken stir-fry! Thankfully, Dawn’s symptoms were not too serious and she fully recovered after a couple of weeks.
So, this year we are desperately hoping that all will go well and we will be able to eat a proper Christmas dinner together once again and fully enjoy our day with the family!
So, back to the question, ‘What do I do over Christmastime to avoid gaining lots of unwanted lbs?’
I remember how much I hated being overweight back in the early ‘70s, and the Christmas festivities provided a perfect trap into which I would fall every year. Eating anything and everything, I seemed unable to help myself. and on would go all the weight I had worked so hard to shift over the preceding few months. Then I realised that if I ate what I wanted but only on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, I could find the willpower to manage the rest of the time relatively easily. I have followed that maxim ever since and it’s worked.
So, my golden tip is to relax all healthy eating rules on Christmas Day and Boxing Day and eat and drink and be merry and consume anything that’s offered to you. In other words, I have a total ‘holiday’ from my normal healthy eating routine. Yep… I eat mince pies, a full Christmas dinner and definitely some Christmas pudding. Then there will be chocolates and other treats of which I will eat my fair share. I probably won’t drink too much alcohol as I hate feeling tiddly. We may take their dog for a walk (a token gesture toward keeping fit) and spend the rest of the time sitting on the sofa and just enjoying celebrating together after two years of disruption due to the pandemic.
For us Boxing Day is usually a quiet affair with Mike and I having a lazy day and probably enjoying pork pie, pickle and some stilton and biscuits for lunch – something I would never eat normally - and then depending on whether we have visitors, eat a normal evening meal and glass or two of wine.
The next day it will be back to normal as my ‘holiday’ from healthy food is over and, to be honest, I am really glad to be back to my regular routine. I will then increase my activity levels and give myself a couple of days without alcohol and hey presto, any gained weight will have disappeared. I feel so much better if I eat healthily and exercise regularly and am not carrying any extra lbs or inches.
So, here are my top tips for minimising unwanted festive flab:
- Only buy food that is definitely going to be eaten – we don’t want lingering leftovers.
- Open one box of chocolates or shortbread at a time and offer them generously to your guests to use them up so as to avoid temptation later!
- Avoid buying or making traditional Christmas fare just because your mother used to – for instance a Christmas cake. We haven’t had one for years.
- Once Christmas is over, take unopened tins of biscuits or shortbread, chocolates or other goodies to a local hospice or charity shop. We really don’t need them in the house as they will only tempt us. I know that if we keep them, almost certainly we will eat them!
Whatever you do, enjoy this special time of the year and treasure every moment as you have fun in the run-up to Christmas.
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This recipe sounds like a contradiction as we all know that Stilton is a high-fat cheese but in this really tasty starter or light lunch recipe, the combination of sweet ripe pears, low-fat soft cheese, and Greek yogurt mixed with a little Stilton, is surprisingly delicious.
Serves 4
Per serving: 175 kcal/5g fat
Preparation time: 15 minutes
4 ripe Conference pears
4fl oz cider or apple juice or use juice of 2 lemons
50g Stilton cheese
50g low-fat soft cheese
1 tbsp 0% fat Greek yogurt
1 Little Gem lettuce
- Peel the pears and slice in half lengthways, then carefully remove the core with the tip of a teaspoon. Dip the pears in the cider/apple or lemon juice to prevent them from discolouring, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, mix the Stilton, low-fat soft cheese and yogurt together in a small bowl until fairly smooth.
- Now fill the cavities in each of the pear halves with a teaspoon of the cheese mixture and place them on lettuce leaves on serving plates.
- Keep chilled until ready to serve. Serve with a dessert knife and fork.
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This recipe offers a delicious twist to a conventional trifle, making it ideal for a special occasion whilst still healthy and low in fat.
Serves 4
1 serving 265 kcal/3.6g fat
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Setting time: 1 hour
4 fat-free trifle fingers
2 tbsps sweet sherry
4 tsps fruit compote
200g (7oz) fresh strawberries, sliced
1 packet strawberry jelly
1 x 75g packet instant low-fat custard
4 small pots low-fat vanilla-flavoured live yogurt
extra strawberries to decorate
- Make up the jelly as per the packet instructions and allow to almost set.
- Break the trifle sponges into 4 individual trifle dishes, drizzle with sherry and add a teaspoon of fruit compote before covering with sliced strawberries.
- When the jelly is almost set whisk with a fork then pour over the strawberries in the dishes, then slice more strawberries on top of the jelly.
- Meanwhile, make up the instant custard using boiling water and allow to cool before pouring it onto the second layer of sliced strawberries. Place in the refrigerator.
- When completely chilled, cover with the vanilla-flavoured yogurt.
- Decorate with fresh strawberries and serve.
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Next week the big day will be almost upon us so we will have a great recipe for using up any left-over turkey!
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Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.
This time of the year presents such a huge challenge for us all when it comes to keeping our weight in check and staying reasonably active.
Many people I speak to on the subject (and in my job it happens a lot!) decide to just 'let go' for the festive period and re-boot again in the New Year. This is, I believe, a rather risky strategy as the festive period seems to get longer every year. As early as November I am hearing of social gatherings that include the consumption of mulled wine and other festive fare.
Personally, now that I am a bit older there are not so many ‘events' to go to but if there is one on the horizon then I try my best to eat less and move more in the lead up to it and do the same afterwards. It works really well for me. I also buy many of the Christmas treats at the last minute so they are not sitting around saying 'eat me'!
Another thing I do, which is now well and truly a habit in my life, is from Monday to Thursday I am very mindful of regularly having soup for lunch and lighter evening meals. It works for me because those days are less likely to include a social event and I am also very active then because of my walks and classes. I also would now not even think of eating anything after my evening meal and, although the 12-hour fast was difficult at first, it is now a solid habit that is easy to keep. Christmas largely falls at the weekend this year which will help me stay on track.
My final point is that over the last few years I have found myself offering to drive home after an evening out. I discovered that I enjoyed myself just as much without having my glass refilled frequently throughout the evening! It may be partly due to the fact that as we age alcohol does not agree with us as much, as the digestive system suffers more and recovery takes longer. They say that you do not give up alcohol... it gives you up!
A few tips for the Festive Period...
Food and Drink
- Always have plenty of water to drink on the day when you are expecting a 'more than usual' alcohol consumption event. Keep drinking the water throughout the event as well.
- White wine spritzers are a great way to reduce the consumption of alcohol.
- Two courses at a meal is always enough for me and I would always opt for soup as a low-calorie starter and then indulge fully with my main course. These days I almost always choose fish as a main, in preference to meat, knowing it will be fewer calories. If you are a lover of puddings instead, then try going without the starter.
- Menus often have the calorie count on them nowadays and personally I find this hugely enlightening. Not everyone is a fan but if you want to watch your intake it is useful.
Staying Active
- All my family own dogs and the Christmas walks together are now a regular activity. It is such a great way to clear the head and burn off some of that festive food.
- All those short Cardio Fit-Snacks and Strength Fit-Snacks that we talked about in last week’s Newsletter are perfect over the Christmas period. Since I introduced them to you, I have done at least one of each every day. I am a particular fan of the 5 times up and down stairs and the 2 sets of 10 press-ups at my kitchen worktop!
- Get up and move about regularly. Offer to empty the dishwasher and put out the bins!
Please do not think I am a saint on this subject. Come Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day I totally enjoy the overconsumption of all the lovely foods on offer at this time of year. It is all about having the confidence to know that once the festivities are finished you can get back to 'managing' your weight and re-setting the activity button. That means that any amount of weight gained can be rectified fairly quickly. The most important thing is to enjoy it, whatever you do.
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This Week's Fitness Challenge
- There is still another week to go so step up to the mark with lots of activity this week. Buddy up with others if you can to increase your commitment to your daily 30+ minute walk.
- Do a Fit-Snack before you eat one of your meals every day this week.
- Choose your favourite workout from the Exercise section of the website and commit to doing 3 this week. A bit of Ballet or Pilates maybe, or a Strength workout.
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Did you know... 
Christmas Punch
The drink "Punch" was introduced from the Indian subcontinent to England by employees of the East India Company in the late 17th century. The word "punch" being the English version of the Hindi word पाँच ( pāñć), meaning "five", as the drink was frequently made with five ingredients: alcohol, sugar, juice (either lemon or lime) water and spices.
The term punch was first recorded in English documents in 1632. At the time, most punches were made with a wine or brandy base. But around 1655, Rum from the Caribbean came into use, and the "modern" punch emerged.
Barbadian rum punch is one of the oldest rum punches and has a simple recipe enshrined in the rhyme:
One of Sour,
Two of Sweet,
Three of Strong,
Four of Weak.
That is: one part lime juice, two parts sweetener (sugar or honey), three parts rum and four parts water. It is served with a dash or two of Angostura bitters and nutmeg.
 Non-alcoholic varieties typically include a mix of fruit juice, water, and a sweetener such as sugar or honey. Lemonade ginger ale, or other fruit-flavoured carbonated drinks are often added. It also often contains slices or chunks of actual fruit such as oranges and pineapple.
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And finally...
If there is one thing I have learned as I have become older it is that every memory we make when we spend time with our loved ones is precious. Let’s enjoy every day to the full.
Have a fabulous week and enjoy the preparations.
With love and best wishes,
Rosemary Conley CBE DL
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LIVE LONGER | LIVE HEALTHIER | LIVE HAPPIER
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