I bloody LOVE Christmas all the festivities make me so happy believe me I am not a Grinch even if the title might suggest it. I love all the family time, the music, the decorations and the food, BUT there is one thing I absolutely can’t stand! And that is … the media diet culture BS that makes people need to loose weight before Christmas just so they can put it back on. We are all told to slim down for Christmas, before over indulging to the point of binging over Christmas to then loose the weight again in January !!! I mean why, what sort of message does this portray ???
Not so much in the magazines as much as they used to be but online there is a tonne of absolute rubbish that just needs to go. Telling you what you should STOP eating and CUT out and how many calories you SHOULD have in order to lose weight before Christmas. This angers me so much because 1/ there is no one size fits all as everybody bodies reacts differently 2/ its not about cutting and stopping.
No food is good and no food is bad food is just food. There are some that have more nutritional benefits than others and there are some that have a lot of calories for their size. Showing unsustainable and quick fix diets encourages the yo yo diet culture and negative relationships with food. And having Meal Replacement shakes or detox juices … JUST NO!
Alongside telling you what you can and can’t eat there is also a lot of things flying around telling us how many calories we need to burn and what exercises to do in order to work off our Christmas Dinner. Why is there this constant need to make us feel guilty about eating and exercise as a punishment ?! I had really hoped we were moving away from this but it seems the festive season has brought it out of the woodwork.
On the flip side of this there is also a big fuck it mentality where nutrition choices and exercises just go out of the window with the thought of I’ll just wait until the New Year it is Christmas after all. Which I understand and I’m not here to brerate anyone or say you can’t but from a personal point of view I don’t feel that December is any different from any other month, it is ok to just carry on as normal with just a few extras in the mix 🙂 It is also alot easier to continue into the new year as well just a heads up .
Everyone will slightly indulge over the Christmas week what with all the richer foods on offer, the many festivities that happen and the fact we get chocolate everyday (the best idea ever 😉 ) But it is one week and it isn’t going to harm anyone, I personally think as a society we all need to relax a little more around food and fitness so there isn’t this need to go mental.
Instead for me I believe its all about creating mindful choices focusing on foods the body needs and the ones it wants and rather than just having a fuck it mentality focus on the stuff you really fancy and enjoy them. For me that’s a mulled wine or 2 at the Markets, going back for seconds and thirds of the roasted veg at Christmas Dinner and making chocolate and prosecco a food group in its own right. But I don’t diet or restrict other foods for this and I don’t feel the need to over eat or binge on them, they just all fit into a slightly more indulgent lifestyle.
No one needs to work off anything it doesn’t work like that. People can work out if they want to over the festive season to continue feeling fit and strong. But they can also take some time off and let the body rest if needs be. It is a completely personal thing based on your lifestyle, goals, mindset and feelings. I might workout or I might nor but one thing I wont be doing is shoving it down peoples throat telling them they have too! Motivation at this time of year is hard believe me I know – I have shared some tips in a previous post.
Instead of encouraging this restrictive diet and punishment exercise culture lets promote a healthy maintainable lifestyle all year round meaning that when it comes to celebrations and events there isn’t a need to go crazy but instead you have a little bit of what you fancy and carry on as normal. There is no need to binge like there is no tomorrow, it is possible to enjoy the food maybe a little bit more than normal so the Christmas food baby makes an appearance but not to the point of bursting.
It’s the restrictive nature of dieting that is more likely to promote this binge mentality because there is a pressure to get it all in on that one day. When actually you can have little bits every day and enjoy it more. Having said all of this if you are wanting to make more of a conscious and mindful effort about what you eat and how you train before Christmas to feel good then that’s ok. Just make sure its from a positive place where the focus is on feeling good, nourishing your body and keeping yourself healthy.
The take away message … Do what you need to do to feel good and enjoy the festive season. Embrace the decisions you make and make the worthwhile and remember to IGNORE THE FESTIVE SEASON BS !
Love Vicki xxx
