It’s the time of year when friends and family come together, relax,  give gifts and EAT. Shops are full of mouth- watering Christmas fare. This definitely makes it more difficult to eat healthily. Here are some strategies for ensuring that the inevitable “fall off the wagon” over the holidays is not too severe. 

(1) Don’t start too soon:

Try and stay on track for as long as possible. Don’t buy mince pies just yet. By making your “cheating window” smaller, you will drastically reduce the negative impact on your waistline from all the extra carbs.

(2) Make stuff yourself:

Instead of buying ready-made baked goodies from the shops which will be full of toxic vegetable oils, preservatives and sugar, take your favourite recipes and try and primalise them. You will also find a plethora of primal/paleo recipes on the internet.

(3) Plan your drinking

Consuming too much alcohol can seriously sabotage all your efforts to date and will weaken your will power. Try and limit your drinks to meal times instead of copious amounts of beer, cider and gin and tonics all through the day. Alternate each drink with a glass of water. Decide upfront what and how much you will drink and try and stick to it.

(4) Offer to bring a dish

What better way to show others how delicious LCHF can be? Offer to bring a side dish, starter or dessert and make sure it is healthy and compliant. At least you can be sure that there will be something at the social that you can eat too.

(5) Stay focused on your goal

Like with so many other things in life, the battle is fought and won in the mind.  Be respectful of your body and your hard earned achievements to date. For many people the slope is not just slippery but is oiled with grease as well! Uncontrolled cheating will bring back cravings and hunger. So be kind to yourself.  LCHF is a way of life and the sooner you find ways of getting through holidays, celebrations and socials the sweeter your ongoing success will be.

(6) Don’t revolve everything around food

Instead of meeting friends and family for breakfast, lunch or dinner around the clock, plan to go for a walk on the beach, forest or mountain (and maybe pack a healthy picnic). Do activities that are fun and involve nature and gentle exercise. Don’t just sit on your butt in a restaurant, exercising your jaw with each mouthful. The real objective is to connect with friends and family and have a great conversation – let that be your focus and food can be secondary.

(7) Enjoy yourself

The beauty of the LCHF/Primal way of eating is that, unlike other diets, you can actually still enjoy good food. You don’t have to sit at the table hungry picking at a lettuce leaf, while the others tuck into their meaty roasts. Plan well. Get creative. Start  new traditions.  You CAN still enjoy your Christmas holidays.

Merry Christmas to you all and God’s richest blessings for 2014. I will be back at my blog in the new year.

Here is a lovely recipe to try.

Holiday Spice Balls

(from Mark’s Daily Apple blog)

• 2 cups walnuts
• 4-6 dates
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

1. Process everything in the food process until it comes together in a sticky paste-like consistency.
2. Form into balls and refrigerate.

PS: I would add some coconut oil or butter too to increase the fat content a little.