As some of you may now if you follow me on Instagram, I’ve recently joined SlimmingWorld! So it’s been 3 weeks and I’ve already lost over half a stone but in the back of my mind, Christmas is looming… The promise of countless pigs in blankets and insane numbers of chocolate oranges is enough to make my mouth water but I really don’t want to sabotage my journey before it’s even really begun. I wanted to share with you some tips on surviving the festive season if you’re also on SlimmingWorld or possibly just want to make some more mindful changes this festive season.
We did an exercise at group recently where we had a fake buffet, chose what we would have normally and then added up the Syns – mine was a whopping 111… I am embarrassed but what can I say? Your girl loves a buffet. Anyway, point being that it can be really easy to lose sight over the holidays, especially with so much wonderful food around and events to attend.
Preparation
As well as the obvious meaning of prepping your meals and snacks beforehand to stay on plan, this can also relate to meals out and events. Checking menus of restaurants before you dine and having a couple of options in mind can make everything seem a lot less stressful when it comes to dining out – as a general rule, anything tomato based in terms of sauces are usually better choices in terms of Syn levels. It can get a little trickier when it comes to buffets due to an overwhelming choice and generally no menu beforehand. Sticking to free food such as the fruit and veg, meats and cheeses (as part of your HEXA) can mean that you can get a nice full plate and allow you to have some cheeky little extras as a treat. On Christmas Day itself, there are two options – stick to plan or don’t – regardless of which one you choose, just enjoy the day.
Be Kind To Yourself
Whether you stay on plan the whole festive season, have a couple of blow out days or just end up eating your body weight in Toblerone, don’t hold it against yourself. Christmas is the ultimate time of temptation, even the adverts make it seem like you need to eat loads to have a good time. There’s always tomorrow to get on it again and make your way back to food optimising. It can be super difficult to stay on plan especially if Christmas dinner is being cooked by someone else. You don’t want to put people out and ask them to cook in Fry Light or be questioning them about how they’ve prepared everything. If they know about your SlimmingWorld journey or you can talk to them about it, maybe suggest some ways they could make certain elements of the Christmas dinner for SlimmingWorld friendly.
Get Support From Group
If you know you’re going to struggle but want to try your best to make good choices, then asking for some emotional support in group is always a good idea. Whatever the reason behind the decision to join SlimmingWorld, we’re all working towards the same thing and understand the struggles. Never underestimate the power of staying for group, not only is it lovely to celebrate in others successes but also it can be really informative and helpful.
I hope that this has given some of you a bit of motivation if that’s what you were looking for and to those on SlimmingWorld or currently on a weight loss journey at the moment – you’ve got this! I’ve got a post coming up in Blogmas that will have a bit more in terms of food hacks and different recipes or dishes to try over the festive period. If you loved this post then please do leave a Like or give me a follow, it means the absolute world!
Planet Mummy 