We love them. They also drive us crazy. And if you are the type to reach for the bag of chips when you feel stressed, you’re going to love our top strategies for staying sane and not completely blowing your healthy eating plan over the holidays.

Ditch the guilt

We all have that one family member who either makes the most mouthwatering food (physically impossible to resist) or who won’t take no for an answer in pushing food onto you. We then feel guilty for having given in to temptation or been weak.

Well guess what! Weight management is about long term changes, and the average of everything you do, as long as you make enough healthy choices to balance out the occasional unhealthy choice you are still going to end up right where you want to be, and probably a lot happier for it!

So go ahead, indulge! Have a Christmas cookie, have a piece of fruit cake, say yes! Just be mindful of portion sizes, and work to balance things out the rest of the time. And remember- if you’re weight loss comes to a standstill over the holidays, does it really matter?

If your goal is to lose 10kg in the next year, a few weeks of sitting at a weight plateau but where you can enjoy yourself instead of feeling deprived is only going to help you in the long run.

Take a break

Whether you get up before the rest of the house and go for a walk solo, or duck out to the shops and grab a coffee, or even go see a movie by yourself. Sometimes you just need an hour or two to yourself, and then you are perfectly fine to be a social butterfly for the rest of the day.

Taking time out to address your needs-  instead of worrying about the needs of everyone else- means you will be less likely to burn out and head for the comfort foods that give you that quick fix.

Make healthy foods convenient and accessible

You are bound to have plenty of less than ideal foods in your fridge and pantry when you have guests staying, and it can be tempting to just grab whatever you see first. Having a bit of a plan for meals and snacks for the week and doing some prep beforehand so that these options are as easy as possible to choose is a great strategy.

Put the healthy options at eye level. Eat regular meals and snacks so that you don’t get a blood sugar drop which leads to cravings and mood changes. Lastly, make sure that you are really well hydrated, sometimes we eat when we are actually just thirsty.