Top ten tips for fighting the festive flab

Tucking into too much turkey, trifle and tipples may have (temporarily) tightened your trousers, but shifting the super sized silhouette that's stemmed from a flurry of festive feasts doesn't have to result in a restrictive diet derived from rabbit food.

In order to ensure that you eliminate excess weight with ease (and a minimal amount of effort!), here are my top ten tips for fighting the festive flab:

1. Cut and control your caloric consumption by serving portions on smaller plates.

2. Eliminate excess energy by incorporating a fundamental form of exercise into every day life - walking workouts are effective, enjoyable and easily accessible by everyone.

3. Reduce the risk of sabotaging your silhouette by swapping slimming shakes and supplements - our favourite fad for fighting the festive flab - for the simplicity and sustainability that stems from real food and realistic lifestyle changes.

4. Slash the time spent in a sedentary state when you're not sweating it out with a strenuous training session/s by standing (and moving!) more.

5. Take advantage of the leftover turkey by adding it to homemade soups, stir-fries and wholemeal sandwiches as opposed to creating duplicate Christmas dinners.

6. Avoid tightening those already tighter trousers by throwing away the tasty treats that trigger the temptation to tuck into more moreish munchies - your day of overindulgence has been and gone!

7. Increase your intake of vital vitamins and mandatory minerals by piling your plate with a variety of leftover vegetables - they're naturally low in calories, fat, salt and sugar and will leave you less likely to overeat if they take primary place on your plate.

8. Banish the post Boxing Day buffets that promote a bigger (and bloated!) body - the portions may be petite, but they still contain copious amounts of the culprits that we need to cut from our daily diet (think excess energy, salt, sugar and saturated fat!).

9. Don't deprive yourself - dedicating even an ounce of energy to dieting induced deprivation will instantly intensify the urge to feast on forbidden festive foods, whilst increasing the incidence of overeating and a loss of self-control.

10. Sustain sensible snacks by reaching for fibre-rich fruit as an alternative to tasty treats - seasonal staples such as satsumas are speedy, satisfying and bursting with beneficial nutrients such as vitamin c. 

Final thought: don't subject yourself to negative self-criticism for failing to sustain self-control over the festive period - a wider waistline isn't the end of the world and can easily be eliminated with a sensible and sustainable exercise and eating plan.


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