HOW TO OVEREAT AND NOT GAIN WEIGHT THIS CHRISTMAS!

This must be the strangest and most controversial advice I will give this year, but I just want to be real. A few of us are so dialled in and conscientious about our diet that we will never overeat or eat the wrong things, Christmas or no Christmas! However most of us (including me!) struggle to Passover all the wonderful goodies; fried, dripping with oil fat and totally laced with sugar.

So what am I advising? Well, since It is unlike that I can persuade you not to overindulge, how about we have a truce? I advise you on what and how to eat and you can eat as much as you like, let’s call it “TACTICAL OVEREATING”.  It’s a system of holiday overindulgence I came up with about 5 years ago, and it has served me well ever since. Trust me, it really works, you will enjoy all your Christmas favourites and still not gain weight and in the off chance you do, it will be in muscle and not fat. Are you ready?

                                                                                                                                                      

STEP 1: PROTEIN AND MORE PROTEIN

 Eat meat! Whatever you fancy this Christmas; beef, chicken, turkey etc.  The first item on your menu should be some protein, why? Well protein unlike carbohydrates and fat is not stored in the body as sugar or fat. Your body simply takes what it needs and ejects the rest. Another reason to overindulge on protein this season is that we hardly ever eat enough to sustain muscle mass and repair tissue, so feel free to unleash your inner carnivore in the next couple of weeks. However there are conditions (See next step).

STEP 2: ROAST/GRILL YOUR MEAT

Please avoid like the plague!!

carry go!!

While I do encourage you to increase your protein intake, the manner in which you cook it can make or break your protein gains. In Nigeria, we love to fry our meat, no doubt. However there are issues with frying, it is the most destructive way to cook food. When you fry, the temperature at which your meat cooks is so high that it destroys a lot of the nutrients in your meat, while at the same time adding unwanted oil to your meat and this can lead to fat gain. What do we do? I advise that you grill your meat or roast it in the oven, both with low heat. It will help remove oil and fat and keep the nutrients intact. Need I say more?

STEP 3: HAVE A SALAD BUT HOLD THE CREAM

Please Indulge!!

Please avoid!!

Yes I know, salad tastes better with plenty of mayo. However mayo is just a lot of unwanted fat and sugar in it, to keep your your salad healthy,drizzle some olive oil on it instead and just chill with the dressing!

STEP 4: ALCOHOL? SURE BUT MAKE BEER YOUR FIRST CHOICE

In this period of excess, with countless opportunities to drink, I know you will succumb sooner or later. In the spirit of making good of a bad situation and not gain weight this Christmas, I will advise that you go for larger at every opportunity, and here’s why. Calorie wise spirits have the least calories, followed by beer, while wine is the most calorie dense alcoholic beverage. However I advise you drink beer over spirits because of the high alcohol levels in spirits which will interview with how your body processes fat and carbs. Also, spirits have no nutritional value whatsoever, don’t believe me? Just read a label. Beer typically only has 5%-7% alcohol content and will fill your belly quickly so you drink more water and less alcohol. Beer also has some nutritional value, wine I rule out completely, it has almost double the calories of beer and gives me a headache!

STEP 5: EAT YOUR SWEETS BEFORE YOUR MEAT

This is a trick I learnt a while back and its counter intuitive, I eat deserts i.e. cake and ice cream before my main meal, why? Well because it ruins my appetite! If you eat cake or ice cream before your main meal, you lose a bit of your appetite and are likely to eat less, not sure of the science behind it, but it works for me!  Try it!

STEP 6: EAT EARLY AND EAT OFTEN!

Easy does it!!

Lastly, if you must overeat then do it in stages, enjoy yourself this Christmas but do pace yourself. Don’t starve then eat a massive meal all at once, this can lead to indigestion and constipation. Instead eat little meals but eat often, like once every 3 hours that way your system can work to digest it efficiently. Believe me, I learnt the hard way!

FINALLY:

 I want to thank everybody who has ever opened my page, read my blog, called or commented this year. Thanks for being a wonderful supportive crew this year, you guys are the oxygen that keep me going! Have a very merry Christmas and a wonderful new year!!