Every year the Christmas season comes – and with it the festive preparations. Gifts are procured and cookies are baked, the house is festively decorated. Advent is filled with hectic activity and restlessness. The menu for the holidays is set, the ingredients have to be bought, everything has to be perfect for the feast and always there is the split feeling with regard to culinary traditions. At the same time, you can enjoy the gluttony of the holidays, if you take to heart a few things.
Relax during the stressful holiday season!
During the stressful Christmas season, there is no room for reflection and inner contemplation. This tugs at the nerves, quickly a feeling of being overwhelmed sets in. At the holidays, the energy reserves are usually completely exhausted and disagreements and arguments in the family are pre-programmed. To avoid this, enough time should be planned for relaxation. Of course, this is not easy, because the to-do list is long. But not every item on the list needs to be worked through. It’s much more important to take some personal time out every day, to create a little island where everyday life and festive preparations have no access. Some people find a cup of coffee or tea on the couch, a good book, a visit to the cinema, a walk, massage, sauna or a meeting with friends helps them to switch off a little. Others listen to music, meditate or exercise to lower their stress levels. This not only spares the nerves, but also the body is so well prepared for Christmas, because the holidays and the associated feasting demand maximum performance from him.
Five tips to avoid the feeling of fullness
Christmas is the season of culinary delights. Cookies, gingerbread, stollen, but also hearty roasts and, of course, the famous Christmas goose are delicious, but also calorie-rich temptations that lie heavy in the stomach and can also be noticeable on the scale. The following five tips can help to avoid the feeling of fullness:
- 1. combine fruit and sweets
Especially at Christmas, a balanced diet rich in vitamins is important. So that not only sweets are consumed, fruit should also be on the menu. This can be combined very well with sweets. For afternoon coffee, in addition to the obligatory cookies, a bowl of tangerines, oranges, pineapples, kiwis or apples can be served. Apples contain pectin, a dietary fiber that is indigestible for the human organism. In this way, the metabolism is stimulated. This is an important factor, especially when the stomach is mainly given food that is difficult to digest at Christmas. Besides pectins, apples also contain a lot of vitamin C, minerals and trace elements that strengthen the immune system. Tangerines and oranges, in addition to vitamin C, are rich in fiber, which promotes detoxification. Citrus fruits can also help lower cholesterol. Pineapples and kiwis contain vitamins A, B and C as well as many minerals and trace elements. They are also rich in enzymes that stimulate protein digestion and help burn fat.
- 2. cinnamon tea against the sweet tooth hyper.
Cookies, Stollen and gingerbread are as much a part of Christmas as the gifts. Of course, it is difficult to remain steadfast and resist the sweet tooth hyper. To avoid the temptation to eat too many sweets, a cup of cinnamon tea a day can help. Cinnamon is a spice that originates from Sri Lanka and was already used in ancient times for its health-promoting properties. Cinnamon is tasty and has many beneficial properties. It strengthens the immune system, being rich in vitamins B1 and C, as well as iron, magnesium and calcium. The spice has antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. It can lower cholesterol and counteract diabetes. Cinnamon contains fiber and boosts fat burning through its inherent thermogenic effect. This can reduce cravings for sweets. Instead of cutting another slice of stollen, it is better to enjoy a cup of cinnamon tea.
- 3. fish instead of roast
In most families, the obligatory goose comes to the table at Christmas. But it does not always have to be a lavish roast goose, which is heavy in the stomach. A lighter, but no less delicious alternative is fish.It is impossible to imagine Mediterranean cuisine without it, and there is a reason for that. Because fish is a supplier of many important minerals and trace elements. It is rich in iodine, vitamin A, D and many B vitamins. In addition, fish contains important saturated fatty acids, especially the omega-3 fatty acids, which protect the heart and circulation and thus reduce the risk of suffering a heart attack or stroke. Fish also contains very little cholesterol. Salmon, carp, eel, mackerel and trout are particularly popular in this country. Fried, steamed or boiled, fish is a very good alternative to fondue or roast goose.
- 4. skip a meal
The Christmas holidays mean pure stress for the stomach and intestines. But they do not have to degenerate into an eating marathon. Breakfast, lunch, afternoon coffee, dinner – and over several days – mean hard work for the digestive tract, because often not enough time passes to digest the food. Ideally, however, there should be several hours between each meal. The body uses this time to digest the food and burn fat. However, if it is constantly being “fed,” this system gets out of whack. It should therefore be considered whether once perhaps lunch or afternoon coffee can be dispensed with.
- 5. raw vegetables instead of red cabbage
Red cabbage is a popular side dish for Christmas goose. The vegetable contains vitamin C, selenium, folic acid and potassium, and is also very low in calories. Not only cooked, but also raw, it is a healthy treat. A salad of red cabbage is a light and tasty alternative and can be combined with apples or pears. But other vegetables can also be served as raw vegetables. Carrots or celery, for example, can be cut into sticks and served with dips. A colorful salad plate provides many important vitamins, is a healthy side dish and can even be the main meal sometimes.
Exercise to combat holiday inertia
So the Christmas holidays don’t have to become a calorie trap. The suggestions mentioned here show that it is also possible during the festive season to pay attention to healthy and balanced nutrition and not gain weight. However, all this is only half as effective if the only exercise is walking from the dining table to the couch and back again. Sufficient physical activity also helps to boost the metabolism. If you follow a sports program in your everyday life, you should continue to do so over Christmas. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be jogging through the park or going to the gym. Ice skating or a long walk can also counteract the holiday sluggishness.
