Karen was sharing with me how she always loses weight during the festive season despite enjoying all the delicious festive treats! I figured this information must be like gold dust and that our PBB community would simply love to find out more! So I quizzed her on her insider secrets and here they are for you to enjoy…

ONE – When I was a child my Mum used to start the squirreling process ready for Christmas around early October. By mid November the cupboards would be full, and soon there would be boxes of biscuits and king sized bags of crisps and nuts stashed on top of the kitchen units, we would still be eating it all mid February!
Tip – If this is you, remember buy only what you need! Christmas and New Year really only mount up to a few days, tops!

TWO – Avoid the BOGOF’s! The conventional supermarkets will be teaming with Buy 1 Get 1 Free offers, have you ever noticed how theses tend to be on all the unhealthy foods like, biscuits, crisps and finger foods?
Tip – To me the festive season should be about eating beautiful, delicious foods that perhaps you couldn’t normally afford to buy, a special treat for the family. Think quality over quantity.

THREE – Balance out the chocolate snacks and naughty treats with fresh seasonal produce.
Tip – In our house as soon as the Christmas tree goes up there are seasonal bowls of juicy Clementine’s and nuts in their shells ready for our cosy nights in front of the fire.

FOUR – Reduce the amount of processed sugar and weight gaining processed fats by enjoying homemade goodies instead of shop brought.
Tip – If you really love all those sugary treats, mice pies and sausage rolls then make your own. There will be a lot less sugar, nasty E numbers and unhealthy fats. Enjoy my 7 Seasonal recipes here.

FIVE – Conscious eating over unconscious gorging. Just because it is Christmas doesn’t mean we should go wild and undo all the amazing work we have done! This amounts to self sabotage and leaves us feeling unhappy, frustrated and angry.
Tip – Practise mindfulness around meal and snack times, simply stop and ask yourself. ‘Do I really want this? How will it make me feel? What is the driving reason to eat this food?

My final tip would be to enjoy more and stress less. One of the reasons we go crazy with binge eating and drinking in the festive season is due to emotional stress brought on by high expectation, worry, anxiety etc. Focus on having fun, going with the flow and being grateful for all you have and the stress levels will start to subside, sending peaceful Christmas vibes to you all.
Karen x