- bodymindstudionz
- Dec 7
- 5 min read
Christmas is a wonderful time of year and filled with some pretty amazing food - I love a mince pie or 2, and a G & T on the patio.
But it can be tempting to spend the whole of December indulging in everything. There are so many work do's, parties, get togethers.
And there’s nothing wrong with indulging, if that’s what you want to do. I whole heartedly believe it's important to relax & enjoy whatever you want food & drink wise, especially on the 2 or 3 days around Christmas itself.
But if you know from past experience that you don’t feel great when you indulge too much, here are some tips that can help you find a middle ground through the festive season.
That sweet spot where you savour the best of what you love, and avoid feeling sick, stuffed, sluggish or frustrated with yourself after.
Tip 1 – The ‘worth it’ list
There is so much food around at this time of year.
And it’s tempting to eat all of it because , well it’s Christmas.
But when we think about it, many foods we eat more for the sake of it, rather than because they’re really special.
So when thinking about how to enjoy festive eating and feel great after, it can really help to have a little think first. What’s worth it vs what’s not worth it.
Basically, what Christmas foods are absolutely fabulous, delicious, a BIG yes… and what you could leave to save space for something better.
The homemade mince pies - A BIG yes from me
The cheap shop bought biscuits - nah, I can leave those
Remember, Christmas food is around through the whole of December.
You could eat it all through December, but how would it make you feel to do that?
For a lot of people, it’s good for about 10 seconds. Then they feel gradually more bloated, lethargic and annoyed with themselves as the month goes on.
Why not try to scatter a few tasty Christmas treats through your week. Any best if they take the place of your regular snacks - just for this month.
It’s always up to you. What will ultimately make you feel best?
Tip 2 – Plan your food around festive eating events
Around Christmas, it’s easy to end up existing on mostly mince pies and chocolate, washed down with some bubbles!
But this usually doesn’t make us feel amazing.
There’s nothing wrong with those foods, they just work better when we incorporate nutritious choices around them. And to do that, it helps to have a bit of a plan.
The goal is to make life easier for your future self by planning foods you’ll actually want to eat. This is a good ratio to aim for:
80% nutritious choices that you enjoy, and that make you feel healthy, energised and on track.
20% anything less nutritious, but very delicious, that you love.
On Christmas Day and Boxing Day, this ratio might be very different, and that’s totally fine.
Those two days are there to relax and enjoy.
But the rest of the month, it will benefit you enormously to have an idea of what healthy foods you will eat.
And this doesn’t have to be time consuming or anywhere perfect.
Just note down what you could have, looking for good nutrition as often as possible - a little planning and prepping makes things so much easier.
Christmas food is generally high in fat, carbs and calories.
So around those choices, it will help a lot to:
Prioritise protein
Fill half your plate with veg
Reduce your carbohydrate intake (have extra veg instead)
Reduce your fat intake (e.g. minimising use of oil and butter, and snacking on fruit, high protein yogurt or a protein shake instead of too many nuts)
But remember, this doesn’t need to be perfect.
A realistic and doable plan reduces the amount of decisions you need to keep making.
If you’ve got something easy and relatively nutritious planned, you’ll be far more likely to stay on track.
And whenever you make a great choice, make sure you feel good about it!
Reward yourself with a hit of dopamine by acknowledging how well you’re doing.
You’re taking care of you and that’s awesome.
You have total food freedom. And you’re CHOOSING something healthy this time, because you know it will nourish your body. You want to feel healthy and energised, as well as free to indulge.
You are in control.
Tip 3 – What you tell yourself matters
December is a prime time for experiencing more urges to binge or overeat.
You get the taste for sugar and all the sweet treats lying around.
Your brain says ‘there’s so much food around, it’s really hard to resist, let’s just eat’.
And ‘if you’re going to eat a little bit, you may as well just eat the whole lot. Let’s start again in January!’
Nooo!
It doesn’t need to be that way.
What you tell yourself matters. A lot.
So don’t let your brain keep saying ‘this is really hard’.
What if it was easy?
What if you knew you could have whatever you wanted, and you’re just choosing not to eat that now because you want to feel great?
When we think temptations are everywhere, it’s going to be really hard, and we always cave in…
We see temptations everywhere, find it really hard, and end up caving in.
Your thoughts are an instruction to your brain.
If you tell yourself:
‘I can do this’
‘I’ve got a plan and I know I can follow it’
‘I’m going to slowly and mindfully enjoy everything, and stay in tune with my fullness signals’
You’ll be far more likely to stay on track and make yourself proud.
Tip 4 – focus on great habits and keep going
Christmas is only a few days.
It’s what you do the rest of the year that makes the difference.
If you have good habits that you usually follow, that’s way more important.
You can practise those habits around the indulgences too – look for good nutrition, and be active whenever you can. Walking, lifting weights, and any other activities you enjoy will help enormously right now.
Good to know - When you eat more food, more carbs, and more salty foods, you’ll weigh more. It’s partly extra volume of food in your body. And partly because carbs and salt cause us to retain more water. It drains away pretty quick as long as you just get back to healthy choices and keep going.
Do not ever weigh yourself - throw out the scales if you have them. They are not a good indicator of health and wellbeing.
If you do overindulge, just get back to healthy choices, and keep going.
Have a wonderful Christmas and here’s to a fabulous 2026.
