Top Tips: Enjoying Christmas Without The All-or-Nothing Vibes

At this time of year the messages around food and drink tend to fall into two camps. Either it is Christmas so anything goes until January, or it is all about "damage limitation", saving calories for the party and "burning off" the mince pies. Neither tends to leave people feeling particularly festive…

I would love you to try a different approach this year. Instead of strict rules, keep a few simple anchors in place so that you can enjoy the food, the drinks and the company - and still feel like yourself. Here are my top tips, based on the evidence and on what I see work for clients year after year.

1. Keep Your Everyday Anchors
The most helpful thing you can do over the festive season is keep some of your normal routine going. Regular meals, a breakfast that includes protein, and plenty of vegetables on most days give your body a sense of rhythm when everything else is busier than usual.

This is not about being "good". It is simply that steady, balanced meals help to keep energy and appetite more even, which makes it easier to enjoy the treats without feeling out of control. If you would like a reminder of how to build a balanced plate, take a look at Balance Your Plate Balance Your Energy.

2. Don't Arrive at the Party Hungry
Skipping meals to "save up" for an evening out often backfires. Research shows that alcohol tends to increase how much we eat rather than replacing food and arriving ravenous makes that effect more noticeable.

A proper meal or a satisfying snack before you go, ideally with some protein, fibre and healthy fat, can help. Think a bowl of soup with beans, eggs on wholegrain toast, or Greek yoghurt with nuts and berries. Having food in your stomach also slows down how quickly alcohol is absorbed, which the NHS recommends if you are drinking.

3. Know Your Pour
It is very easy to underestimate how much you are drinking at Christmas. Glasses are often large and get topped up before they are empty.

According to the NHS, a standard 175ml glass of 12% wine is 2.1 units, while a large 250ml glass is 3 units. A 125ml glass of 12% prosecco is around 1.5 units, and a pint of 5.2% lager is 3 units. Many red wines are 13.5% or more, so the numbers can be higher still. Asking for a small glass and letting it empty before it is refilled are simple ways to keep track without needing to count every sip.

4. Alternate and Explore Alcohol-Free Options
Alternating each alcoholic drink with water or a soft drink is one of the easiest habits to adopt, and it helps with thirst and pacing. The range of alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks has also improved enormously, from alcohol-free wines and beers to botanical spirits and kombucha.

At home, sparkling water with fresh orange slices, a cinnamon stick and a few cranberries feels just as festive in a nice glass. Having something you genuinely enjoy in your hand makes it much easier to skip a drink you did not really want.

5. Keep Some Drink-Free Days
The UK Chief Medical Officers advise not regularly drinking more than 14 units a week, spread over three or more days, with several drink-free days each week. Over Christmas, it can help to look at your diary and decide in advance which evenings will be drink-free.

It is also worth knowing that "saving up" units for one big night is not the answer. The guidance specifically advises against heavy drinking in a single session, because the short-term risks rise quickly. And as I explained in my blog on alcohol and sleep, drink-free nights are often the ones when you sleep best.

6. Add Before You Subtract
Rather than focusing on what to cut out, think about what you can add. Christmas is a wonderful time for seasonal vegetables: Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, parsnips, carrots, kale and chestnuts, not to mention clementines and pomegranates.

Filling half your plate with vegetables at the big meals adds fibre, colour and plant compounds, and naturally leaves a little less room for the heavier foods without any sense of restriction. Most of us fall short of the NHS recommendation of 30g of fibre a day, so this is a gift to your gut too. If festive bloating is an issue for you, my blog How to beat the festive bloat has some practical ideas.

7. Move for Enjoyment, Not to "Burn It Off"
I would love us to retire the idea of exercising to cancel out food. Movement has so many benefits for mood, sleep, blood sugar and heart health that it deserves better than being used as a punishment.

A walk after Christmas lunch is a lovely tradition, and research suggests that even short bouts of walking after a meal can help to moderate the rise in blood sugar that follows it. A family walk, a dance in the kitchen or a game in the garden all count.

8. Enjoy It, Then Move On
Choose the festive foods you really love and savour them properly, sitting down and without distraction. If there is something you only eat because it is there, it is fine to leave it. I couldn’t go through Christmas without having a proper mince pie!

Then, if you have a bigger meal or a later night than planned, simply return to your usual way of eating at the next meal. There is no need to skip breakfast, start a detox or "be good" until January. As I explained in Why Detox Diets Don't Work and What to Do Instead, your liver and kidneys do that job very well on their own.

Start With One Thing
You do not need to do all of these. Pick the one or two that feel most realistic for you this December and let the rest go. Small anchors, kept consistently, are far more powerful than a perfect plan you abandon by the 20th.

Need Some Support?
If you are concerned about your drinking, or find it hard to cut down, please speak to your GP. You can also call Drinkline free on 0300 123 1110.

If you would like help building a way of eating that feels balanced all year round, not just at Christmas, why not book in a free call?