Ten healthy eating tips for the festive season

There’s no need to miss out on the festivities this year in order to prevent weight gain. Just follow these easy tips and have a great time.


A healthy lifestyle is also a balanced lifestyle. Nutrition experts warn that, apart from weight gain, the surge in kilojoules consumed during the festive season, together with the stress of travel, family and high expenses, may lead to digestive system problems such as constipation and bloatedness and even to cardiac problems such as heart attacks.

Easy tips to tip the scale in your favour

  1. Drink at least 12 glasses of water per day. Add a slice of lemon if you wish.
  2. Use a smaller plate which gives the idea of consuming a whole plateful of food but helps cutting serving sizes to approximately 75% of the normal size.
  3. Cut back on carbohydrates to just a handful per day.
  4. Substitute starches for cooked green vegetables to which a drop of olive or coconut oil has been added.
  5. Eat more slowly to give your brain the chance of signalling your stomach that you are full before you eat too much.
  6. Don’t eat anything after dessert.
  7. Go slow on alcoholic drinks. Alternate them with water and lemon drinks or sodawater.
  8. Don’t eat anything from four hours prior to bedtime.
  9. Remember the old wisdom: Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper!
  10. Give your leftovers to the homeless; they need them more than you do.

In addition to following these tips, you will do well when you keep active over the festive season. Stick to your normal routine if possible, or take up brisk walking wherever you are to help burn off those extra kilojoules and keep your blood pressure down.

Our Employee Wellbeing Programme (EAP) is available 24 hours a day if you want to know more about healthy eating during the festive season. Call us on the EAP number or email us at
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