Even during Advent, when most temptations to sin are likely to arise, you can stay fit and healthy with a few tips. It is not about having to give up everything, but much more about finding the right balance, discovering delicious alternatives, and maintaining your exercise and sports routine.

Many temptations during the pre-Christmas season and holidays         

Freshly baked cookies and gingerbread are waiting at the office, and the sweet aroma of mulled wine and delicacies beckons from the Christmas market. On top of that, there are Christmas parties at work and private invitations, and the traditional Christmas dinner during the holidays is highly energy-dense. The distribution of macro- and micronutrients, as well as the calorie intake, is not necessarily optimal. For many, December is therefore a major nutritional challenge, which often leads to an increase in body fat percentage during this time. However, this does not have to be the case, because with these tips, you can get through the pre-Christmas season and the holidays without gaining weight:

1. Maintain your routine – breakfast, exercise, and regular meals

First of all, as throughout the year, it is important to maintain your routine. Even if you indulge a little more than usual during this time, the habits that have kept you fit, slim, and healthy throughout the year should not be neglected.         

2. The right breakfast keeps blood sugar stable

Breakfast should be the top priority here: The first meal of the day should consist of healthy, natural fats, high-quality protein, and vitamins in the form of berries or vegetables. This provides the body with the right signals via the neurotransmitters dopamine and acetylcholine, and blood sugar is kept stable. This leads to more concentration and energy. Above all, however, it helps avoid cravings, as these are primarily controlled by blood sugar, meaning you will have fewer cravings for sweet Christmas treats. More information and some breakfast recipes can be found in the article Link the perfect breakfast .

3. Exercise and enough physical activity maintain muscle mass

Especially during this time, when more calories and above all more sugar than usual are often consumed, your exercise routine should not be neglected. Exercise promotes metabolism, helps maintain muscle mass, and thus also ensures that more calories are burned. In addition – especially with strength training – the sugar stores in the muscle cells are emptied, which is why it makes sense to treat yourself to a piece of gingerbread or a Christmas cookie after exercise, as this can refill the stores. After a long day in an office chair, the stores are still sufficiently full, so that the little sugar sins are converted into fat by the liver and stored in the hip folds. Furthermore, physical activity makes you feel good and fit, which often reduces the desire for alcohol, heavy fatty foods, or sweets, as you want to maintain that feeling and not immediately feel sluggish again. After a larger, energy-rich meal, a walk makes sense so that the sugar in the blood can still be used as a direct energy source and metabolism is promoted by blood flow.

4. Plan ahead; eat something lower in calories before an upcoming meal 

If you know that there is a Christmas party in the evening, where multi-course menus are planned and certainly more calories and pro-inflammatory substances will be consumed, the other meals can be adjusted accordingly. Breakfast could be made a little lower in fat, but not fat-free, more vegetables and fiber can be prioritized in snacks, and a salad with a little chicken might be sensible for lunch. Even if you might feel a little hungry this way, you can look forward to the big meal in the evening.
Another option would be intermittent fasting: The 16/8 method is generally well suited for the Christmas season. Here, you consciously do not eat anything for 16 hours and only drink water or sugar-free tea. On the one hand, this relieves the pressure on the intestines and the organ system, so that metabolism can focus on cell repair processes, damaged cells are disposed of, and energy reserves from the fat stores are tapped into. On the other hand, calories are automatically saved, which can easily be replenished during Advent. If, for example, a Christmas dinner lasts until 9 p.m., it makes sense to fast for the following 16 hours. During this time, the body can calmly process the many nutrients and also burn off the energy that was consumed. So you do not have to eat again until 1 p.m. the next day. 

5. Avoid alcohol or enjoy it in small quantities 

Alcohol has a high energy density on the one hand; 100 ml of pure alcohol contains 790 kilocalories. Almost as much as pure fat, which contains 930 kilocalories per 100 g. Three glasses (0.2 dl each) of wine already amount to 414 calories, which could be an entire meal for an average woman. In addition, the alcohol is always broken down and consumed first before the intestines deal with the other nutrients. It must be broken down by the liver, which requires a high content of micronutrients. Magnesium, in particular, is robbed by alcohol, which is needed for numerous physical processes and is no longer available in sufficient quantities with excessive alcohol consumption. This can, for example, have a negative effect on sleep or recovery levels.       

Alcohol also causes the hormones that regulate the water balance in the kidneys to be negatively affected, which means that more water is excreted than is good. When the body is dehydrated, performance drops, concentration problems arise, and nausea or headaches often occur.

In the end, however, no alcohol ban should be imposed here, but simply being aware of these facts can make you more frugal in your consumption. Perhaps you will stick to one glass of red wine after all, which will be all the more high-quality and can be enjoyed and appreciated even more. Beer is the least recommended alternative, whether it is alcohol-free or not, as it also contains many allergens and substances that trigger inflammation and thus also promote the storage of body fat. 

6. Pause briefly before indulging, and think about why you need the treat right now

Often, you eat for social or emotional reasons, but if you take a moment to look inside yourself, you can realize that the craving for the cookie is not that strong. When colleagues bring cakes, cookies, or gingerbread hearts to work, you do not want to turn them down. This is a social obligation, which you can simply deal with by saying, “no thank you, I have decided that this year during Advent I will only snack rarely and very consciously.“. It may happen that you are met with rejection or a mocking comment from one or two people, but more often than not, you will be admired and respected for this discipline.

Sometimes it is also just the enticing aroma of cinnamon and anise that reminds you of childhood, when you ate Grandma’s beloved cookies. You reach for one, only to find that the cookies are not that tasty or the supermarket gingerbread tastes very dry, but you eat it all out of habit.   

But perhaps you have a sister who can bake incredibly delicious Christmas stollen and you have been looking forward to it for weeks, then the decision is more conscious and the cake should be enjoyed to the fullest.           

7. Bake and cook yourself: Healthy alternative recipes for baking at home for Christmas

For Christmas cookies, gingerbread, and other typical Christmas treats, there is always the option to modify the recipes so that a healthy, low-sugar, yet still tasty product is created. Conventional flour can be replaced with almond or coconut flour for low-carb versions. For high-carb recipes, gluten-free oat flour, buckwheat flour, or rice flour is suitable. Sugar can be replaced with natural sweeteners such as erythritol, xylitol, or stevia. Cow’s milk can be replaced with nut-based alternatives, for example, cashew, almond, or coconut milk is well suited.       

The Christmas dinner during the holidays can also be designed so that it consists of natural foods that contain no potential allergens.      

High-Carb Collagen Gingerbread Recipe – Gluten-Free/Low-Fat