So you're in the midst of a big Christmas party marathon, or staring down the track at one. You might have 4-5 in a row--maybe more, especially if you're living in a city or town with both sets of parents, cousins, and other extended family members. Maybe you're coming off a long marathon of office parties already, and taking a breather before launching into family dinners.
What are you to do? How do you survive without your weight ballooning out of control, your cholesterol levels surging to heart attack levels, and slipping into deep depression come the gloomy fall-out of January?
Here are a few tips that'll keep you on the straight and narrow:
1. It's not your last meal: No matter if it is the first or last meal of the holidays, unless there is a global catastrophe that destroys our major food sources, you will live to eat again. With that in mind, you don't have to eat to keep you alive without food over a 3-day period, and thus you can engage moderately. By reminding yourself of this when compelled to take another trip to the dessert table while simultaneously finding someone sharp to puncture another hole in your belt, you might be able to muster up some self-control to just sit and digest.
2. Eat less than you're expending: Keeping yourself slim is not rocket science, although there are unceasing new diet books and articles sweeping the world with myriad opinions and "secrets": simply eat less than you expend through physical activity. So if you're at several parties in a row, and won't have the time to get out and exercise, you'll simply want to eat a little less--or at the very least, not completely glut yourself on every pig-in-a-blanket or sausage roll that comes your way.
3. Get out for a walk: It's important to get out and get your body moving, especially when having multiple Christmas parties and other holiday functions and dinners. The best way to do this is go for a walk, which is not only a great way to decompress from the cacophony of crowded rooms, but also one of the most sustainable forms of exercise. A 20 minute walk around the block can help you burn off some of your meal, while getting your body moving.
4. Drink less alcohol: I know--it's the time of year for some of the finest drink of the year; a time when that vintage wine or single malt is taken out and gulped down over extensive toasts and hours by the fire. However, not only will alcohol add calories to your meal, it will also impair your judgement which will inevitably lead to more eating, more alcohol consumption, or both. As well, alcohol is a very strong depressant that may raise your spirits at the outset, but will depress your mood later on in the evening, and into the next morning, for it takes at least 24 hours to fully leave your system. If you struggle with depression or seasonal depression, it might be best to abstain from it altogether.
5. Cut down on carbohydrates: Between all the Christmas stuffing and melted-butter rolls, not to mention the panoply of cakes and pastries, you can walk out of a Christmas or holiday meal feeling bloated and with a terrible bout of indigestion. Here's a little trick: If you love sweets, and know you'll be making frequent visits to the dessert table, eat some meat and vegetables, limiting things like bread and even stuffing as much as possible. This will help you feel less full, while giving you some good protein and vegetables. If you avoid the sweets altogether, or partake only moderately, you'll leave the party feeling very little indigestion, and may even be a little hungry for a late night snack.
6. Fast in between: There is nothing wrong with abstaining from food the morning after, or even day after, a party--especially if you're attending back-to-back feasts. Fasting is a way of slowing your metabolism down, and bringing a sense of sobriety and even clarity of thought. It also gives your body a break from having to digest over a long period of time. If you had a party the night before and attending one the next day in the late afternoon, consider skipping breakfast and even lunch, making sure you drink water. If you drink a certain amount of coffee during the day, continue that lest you break out into a migraine. Add a nice walk to your fasting, and you'll feel refreshed and ready for the next dinner.
7. Make other plans: If you've just had too much partying and feasting, and have more scheduled, consider cancelling out on at least one--unless you'll offend your family members whose silent wrath you'll have to endure for the next 12 months, you don't have to go to everything. Sometimes it's good to be at home, or doing something other than eating and drinking more with people whom you're mildly interested in or whose company often makes you regret going in the first place. Many times parties can make us feel worse than better; more estranged from others than connected; mentally exhausted than invigorated.
8. Be present: This is a very easy thing to prescribe, yet one of the most difficult things to accomplish: to be present for your self, in the moment, and for those around you. It's easy at parties to escape your feelings and the awkwardness of others through drinking and over-eating--but that way of dealing will only make you feel worse. Being present for yourself means being aware of being full, having had enough food, reaching your limit of alcohol, knowing when it's time to leave. Being present for others means actually listening to the person you're having a conversation with, and not looking over their shoulder for the next person to talk to. We come together to celebrate to be together--it's called 'conviviality': a way of having a shared experience to enhance interpersonal relationships. Your next party can be a place of vitriol and pain, or openness and companionship.
9. Be nice: It's a simple, almost trivial thing to say, yet it's so vital to good party-going. One of my favourite sayings is, it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. We all enter parties with a feeling of importance and entitlement; but in reality, it's a way to mask our insecurities. Instead of trying to be important to others, be nice and kind to them. If you're feeling insecure or down or depressed from too much partying and perhaps a little too much Chateuneuf du pape, remember that most people around you are feeling that way too. Being kind takes your eyes off you and puts them onto others, thus taking your mind off your feelings, albeit in a way more authentic and fulfilling than numbing them with food and sweets and alcohol.
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