Navigating Christmas as best we can. Keeping it low carb wherever possible (and it's always possible, with a bit of practice and awareness.)

If you’ve made some progress with your health in the past few months, well done to you, and if you’ve had a wobble and fallen off track, then today brings another opportunity to change for the better. Changes to one’s health never go in a straight line, there will be a bump in the road (or ten) to overcome, but it can always be rectified.

The Christmas season could well be a big challenge for a lot of us, over-indulgence, falling off the healthier track, or losing any progress we’ve recently made may well be more likely at this time of year. On any high street in the land, in all directions, the carb-pushing food outlets are out in force, office parties, time off-work, people getting together, our already crazy food environment gets a bit crazier.

So, one progressive way to think about this time of the year could be: could we make it a healthier time than last year. That way you’re aiming for progress, not perfection. In order to do that, it could be a good idea to ask: what could you change from last year, in order to have a healthier time this year? 

As with any challenge, I’d say we’ve a better chance of succeeding if we take time out to plan ahead of time. I speak to many people about what often trips them up with healthy eating and often it’s when planning goes astray. Whether it’s prepping a lunch the night before to take to work, having the right groceries in the fridge for when you come home in a peckish mood, to going food shopping when you’re hungry. All these things could be helpful in setting up the right choice for the next meal. So if we’re aiming to be healthier, happier human in December, here are a few thoughts to consider.

How about be writing down how many occasions we’ll be at Christmas parties, and where, could be a good place to start. How hungry will we likely to be before we get to eat?  What food will there be on the table? Who will be there (and will there be any food-pushers who are hard to avoid)? 

Consider where were your main problems last year, which were the hardest locations to not over-indulge in? And how much time did you spend there?
Did alcohol intake contribute to poorer decisions?
Could you speak to people about food before you visit them?
What could you eat before you go to a gathering, so that you avoid being too hungry when you arrive?

There are many questions that could ask yourself, you’ll probably have a few more that you can think of yourselves.

If you’re going to meet friends or family for a get-together, what can you do ahead of time to prepare for the pitfalls of a predictably beige, carb-laden, processed spread of fake foods?!  One thing you could try is eating a satiating meal before you go, an omelette always works for me as that’s a lot of ‘satiety time’ right there so I’m less prone to being tempted by much that doesn’t fit my food plan. When you’re simply not hungry, it becomes a lot easier to decline things that don’t fit your health goals. 

Another tactic to try at somebody else’s place is: to bring a dish or two that you know that you like; and is also on your keto plan (but you don’t really have to tell people that your dishes are keto at all, just sharing a few great things for the table is a nice gesture that usually goes down well.) A charcuterie board, olives, gherkins, and everyone loves cheese. 

I’ll use one family occasion I went to last month as a recent example, I made a simple pâté (liver’s a funny food some but whack in a load of mushrooms, herbs, garlic and onions, it went down very well!) To go with that, it was some keto crackers – just almond flour, eggs, spices and a few chia seeds. Things don’t have to be too complicated or time-consuming.  Before going a did a usual weekend brunch of scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado with some Greek yoghurt, dark chocolate and berries. When you’ve got into a good food place, its becomes easier to work out these situations!

If you’re going to be a tad more liberal with yourself at this time of year it may help to give yourself your desired amount of days for this. Grant yourself this with compassion, but have a date in mind to get back on track. That may depend upon your ability to come back from this type of action. If certain sugary, processed foods are a trigger for a binge, then this may not be the best plan for you but it you can handle a few days going off-plan, then this is something to consider. I know I struggled to say no to the endless boxes of Quality Street a few years ago but now I simply see these as totally unappealing, sugar bombs, and it wouldn’t cross my mind to take one now. That’s taken me a while to get that mindset.

Like most offices in the land, our staff rooms usually have chocolates, biscuits and cakes in them (despite being premises of the National Health Service.) I find it fascinating to read the labels on the boxes as a reminder to not eat them.  Would this be something to remind yourself of too? It may reinforce something in your head that this is total junk. Be it mince pies, cake or biscuits, they’re all made up of dozens of weird ingredients - loads of different sugars, additives, preservatives, processed grains and seed oils, that are all polished up to look and sound like something that’ll change your life. But most likely it’ll end in over-consumption and not feeling too great afterwards.

A final thought from me would be to make it about the people that you’re spending time with. I guess we’ve all had the past few Christmas times disrupted due to viruses and restrictions in some format. Food is just one part of the Christmas celebrations, but it’s not everything. Could we focus on the time spent with friends and family, connection with them or doing activities like walks or playing games. And when we do choose to eat, what could you eat that you’d like, that also likes you back?

To your good health,
Olly