A Christmas mesage: Eat, Enjoy and Exercise!

Let´s not deny the evident: Christmas is as much about eating as family gatherings and presents. We still have a few memorable days left that involve a food and drink fest: New Year´s Eve, New Year´s Day and The Three King´s day( (in many countries like Spain, Portugal, France, Philippines and most Latin American countries).

So, if you are the host or the guest, there is always a good way of enjoying this moment without reaching the point of feeling stuffed. How unpleasant is that feeling when you finish the meal and your stomach is inflated like a balloon and you almost cannot eat anything until next day. Obviously, when that happens your whole digestive system is working so hard that it is almost impossible to avoid some digestive aid.

 What is the message during these days? : The 3 E's

EAT (DON´T OVEREAT):

What is wonderful is to be able to enjoy a delicious Xmas lunch without overeating and feeling guilty of gluttony.

What can we do when we are the guests?

- Offer ourselves to prepare some great salads and fresh vegetables.Believe it or not, they are always a winner. You will help your host and you will give yourself the opportunity to create fantastic salads that you will want to try first.

- Fish, meat or any other protein like seafood are almost on any menu. Enjoy them! try just a bit of everything and you will be able to get to dessert time with just enough space in your stomach to indulge in some good nougat or chocolate.

- All types of bread are also a must to accompany spreads, pates, butter...and they are the reason why many meals end up being extremely heavy. Try those spreads in little pieces of bread instead of a whole slice for each.



 ENJOY (DON´T FEEL GUILTY ):

-That is the most important thing. To just enjoy the moment and delight yourself with all your senses in the food you are eating. This is a time for looong  conversations and laughs during meals. Now there is no excuse to rush , eat slow. As you know, the food that is slowly eaten will be much more easier to digest. Not only that, but you will also be able to recognize the moment when you are effectively full. Remember that your stomach needs at least 20 minutes to send the message of fullness to your brain.

EXERCISE(DON´T MAKE EXCUSES TO NOT VISIT THE GYM!):

Keep moving!! Always!! The key to a healthy lifestyle is the exercise. And it is of course the best way to balance a bit of extra calories accumulated in the form of glucogen in our muscles. It is actually great to work out with your batteries fully charged as you will probably perform much better.

Merry Christmas And a Healthy New Year!!