Enjoy Christmas without losing your good habits

The tricks to cut calories at Christmas , avoid overeating, and prevent weight gain are essential if you're one of those people who circles January 7th in their brand-new planner with the phrase: "I'm starting my diet today," followed by four exclamation points. You're not alone. Spaniards gain an average of 3 to 4 kilos during the Christmas holidays. However, we're giving you the ultimate tips to avoid gaining weight this Christmas.

The culprits? The list is as long as it is irresistible, but there's a way to survive the holidays without gaining weight and without missing out on the pleasures of this time of year. AtBeldon Beauty, we know how, and we want to share it with you.

WHY DO WE GAIN WEIGHT AT CHRISTMAS?

Do we need to remind you?

• A minimum of three nights out - dinner and drinks included - with friends.





• Two unavoidable work commitments involving appetizers, two starters, first course, second course, dessert, coffee, pastries and liqueur.





• The Christmas Eve dinner that directly contradicts the saying 'eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper'.





• Christmas lunch - including lamb - when we haven't yet digested the excesses of the night before and which ends at 7 pm - at the earliest - after emptying the tray of marzipan and nougat.

The organization is desperately calling for six days of fasting until the next scheduled date, but the 'unofficial' commitments mentioned above do not allow us to do so.

On December 31st we don't fit into the dress we bought to say goodbye to the year - obviously - and there's still New Year's lunch, the Three Kings' Day cakes and the Three Kings' Day to come.

Described like that, gaining 'only' three kilos seems almost miraculous, but we have clients who follow our advice year after year and reach day 7 with the same weight. Pay attention to our tips.

TIPS TO AVOID GAINING WEIGHT AT CHRISTMAS

The magic word is 'compensation'. And no, we're not talking about going on a strict diet, but about taking advantage of days without a mandatory meal plan to subtract up to 400 days a day without even realizing it. Here's how:

1. Switch to whole-grain versions. Bread, rice, pasta… and not just because they have fewer calories, but because they are more filling – their digestive process is slower – and you'll eat smaller portions.





2. Fruit mid-morning and gelatin mid-afternoon. You can save up to 200 calories by replacing your usual snacks with diet gelatin—just 10 calories—and a piece of fruit in the morning.





3. Eat raw foods whenever possible. Each tablespoon of oil you use for cooking contains 108 calories. But besides saving calories, raw foods are harder to digest and put extra strain on your digestive system.





4. The 'free' life. Soft drinks, beer, sweets, nougat... look for the word 'zero' on the label to save calories almost without noticing.





5. No bread. You can have it at breakfast, but skipping it at lunch and dinner allows you to save up to 300 calories.





6. On a dessert plate. The smaller portions allow you to consume up to 30% fewer calories per serving. And you certainly won't go hungry.

TIPS TO AVOID OVEREATING AT CHRISTMAS AND GAINING WEIGHT

Each holiday feast contains between 2,000 and 3,000 calories. That's practically double the total intake when following a low-calorie diet. Every effort should be made to ensure that these culinary gatherings don't exceed 30% of your total daily calorie intake. You don't need to bring a calculator to the table. Generally speaking, each dinner or lunch should not exceed 550 calories.

What if you skip the appetizers? We often arrive at the table completely full and with far more alcohol in our bodies than is recommended.

If the rules of etiquette don't allow you to arrive late, limit your drinks and opt for protein snacks like ham or olives and forget about bread.

If you're the hostess, it's even easier. Do all your guests a favor by replacing pâtés, sauces, chorizo, salami, cured cheeses, and fried snacks, which are high in saturated fats (310 to 560 kcal per 100g), with seafood or lean cold cuts (100 to 180 kcal per 100g).

Reduce your alcohol consumption. A 100ml glass of white wine contains approximately 95 calories, and a glass of red wine approximately 75 calories. A glass of beer contains 95 calories, and a glass of non-alcoholic beer about 48. Have you done the math? If you're not careful, you'll have consumed all the calories you intended for your entire meal. It's best to avoid spirits, which are very high in calories and put a lot of strain on the liver for detoxification. The right amount? "Two glasses of wine for men and one and a half for women."

Small tricks that cut calories. Don't add extra salt to your dishes—which will also make you retain water—ask for no bread, skip the sauces, or remove the skin from turkey, chicken, or lamb, which are loaded with saturated fat.

Do you really want dessert or to raid that tray of nougat? We do it out of habit, but if we listened to our stomachs, we wouldn't even go near it and would go straight for coffee. For every 100 grams of nougat, we consume around 500 calories, and a single marzipan has around 100. If there's no way to resist, it's best to indulge at lunchtime and keep them out of sight during dinner.

Try new menus. Fish and roast turkey or lean sirloin provide healthy protein and less fat than roast suckling pig or lamb. There's no Christmas rule against skipping the first course and making a good salad to accompany the main course.

Eating heavy dinners? Try to leave at least 12 hours between finishing your meal and eating breakfast. This way, your body will draw on its reserves, preventing weight gain.

Instead of lingering over meals… exercise! There's nothing like walking for at least an hour after eating instead of dozing on the sofa or prolonging your meal with drinks. If you exercise regularly or go to the gym, try to increase your effort slightly during these three weeks to compensate for the extra calories.

SUPPLEMENTS TO THE RESCUE

In addition to the calorie-reduction tips mentioned above for Christmas, supplements help compensate for overindulging, drain and detoxify the body, and facilitate the mobilization of accumulated fat. If there's a time of year when they're especially recommended, it's now. At Beldon Beauty, after a free personalized consultation, we can recommend the best supplements from our best-selling products.

Grascontrol Detox Powder Mesoestetic

An oral supplement that supports your internal metabolism, facilitating healthy and natural digestion. As a result, your figure changes shape and your skin becomes smoother and more even-toned. Ideal for people prone to fat accumulation or water retention.

Aime's Body Elixir

It uses eight active ingredients, including green tea, which helps to naturally break down fat; birch, used for its draining, remineralizing, and revitalizing properties; and witch hazel, which activates the circulatory system. This complete body elixir also helps relieve the feeling of tired, heavy legs that tend to retain fluids.

Now that you know these tricks to cut calories at Christmas and which supplements are ideal for these holidays, all that remains for us at Beldon is to wish you a Merry Christmas!