The Secret Behind Christmas Holiday
In a couple of days now, DECEMBER 25 will be here, and I’m 100% sure that it’s a season you love. It is a time of year celebrated all over the world annually. The celebration commemorates the birth of the baby Jesus. It is regarded as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people throughout the globe. Christmas day in many countries around the world is a public holiday.
It’s a celebration I really love: social gatherings, love from friends and relatives, different dishes, gifts giving, symbolic decoration, meeting distant relatives and so on. In this season of celebration, your health really matters and that of the people around you. Christmas foods are delicious and kind of unique from all other foods: it could be because of the celebration, but in the mood of celebration, you should be watchful of what you eat. Healthy eating on festive days is two things that can never team up because sticking to a healthy eating plan seems challenging.
I can put it to you that most of us spend the whole day eating around because it’s a day that comes with overeating. From research made, it was made known that an average person consumes 5,373 calories on Christmas days, equivalent to 190 grams of fat, which has exceeded the normal recommended daily calorie intake: almost three times for women and over twice for men. Still, I will educate you on how you can watch your calories and what’s healthy for your consumption.
Your Calorie Matter
Medically, the daily calorie intake recommended for men is 2,500 Kcal while for women is 2,000 Kcal and for children is 1800 Kcal.
Christmas Morning
Waking up in the morning on a festive day is a blessing, and you will want to satisfy your taste bud, but you probably don’t want to do it beyond measures because a new year is approaching. You don’t want to start a new year with a heavy calorie. Your full breakfast should start you off with 424 calories.
Here is a list of food menu you can try on a Christmas morning:
French toast: The French toast is sprinkled with maple syrup. This recipe cuts away sugar and fat, but it makes it light, fluffy and gives it a sweet flavor.
Cream cheese filled with sweet bread
White chocolate gingerbread crescent
Sausage and gravy breakfast casserole
Coffee cake waffles
Apple cider donut
Buttermilk blueberry breakfast cake
Monkey bread
Eggnog pancake.
Christmas Afternoon
Lunch on Christmas day seems to be the real deal; it’s a meal you enjoy with your families and friends. At this point, indulgence seems to set in, where you forget your diet and eat whatever is placed before you, but you can apply these easy tricks to brighten your festive day. Your middle day food should take in 965 calories.
They include:
Turkey: this is one of the healthiest meat. It is light on fat and rich in protein. It contains vitamins and tryptophan: it enhances sleep. It is also good for the heart.
White meat: why don’t you give white meat a try? They have less saturated fat compared to brown meat, and they are delicious.
Sauces: this is a portion of classic comfort food. They are warm, containing sleep-inducing cream and milk. Though they are very high in fat and carbohydrates, you can be a mastery of it by keeping your serving small or reduce the cream.
Baking: this trick takes care of the fat in your Christmas lunch. Go for baking instead of roasting. It gets rid of some fat.
Yogurt: ignore that creamy butter and take a dollop of fresh yogurt this years’ Christmas. This trick will take care of your fat intake.
Christmas Evening
Christmas dinner is always like a kind of dessert. The recipes must be flavorful. The healthy eating plan only cuts your daily calorie intake; it doesn’t touch your holiday spirit. All your evening consumption add on 676 calories. You can try these recipes:
Salad of the seven fishes: the seven fishes are squid, shrimp, octopus, scallop, littleneck clams, mussel, and lump crab meat
Yellow split dip tea
Crispy beet and mozzarella salad
Pomegranate-Honey glazed chicken and squash
Minute cauliflower soup/
Light chicken cacciatore
Acorn squash with turkey sausage and brown rice
Lemony herb roast chicken and lemon-Dill chicken and meatball soup
Roasted sweet potatoes and chicken salad
Roasted pork and sweet potatoes with spicy cabbage.
Effect of Excess Calorie Intake
Your body needs calories in the normal proportion to function properly. Your body simply takes it in and stores it as fat, which can cause other health problems.
- It increases the high risk of developing cardiovascular problems; the excess calorie stored in the form of triglycerides circulates through your blood, increasing the risk of coronary artery disease.
- Increase the risk of diabetes.
- Its intake leads to overweight, which gives room for other health problems like gallstones, reproductive problems, cancer, high blood pressure, and stroke.
You can make your Christmas day feasting healthier by heeding these rules:
Eat slowly: chew each mouthful bite until your food is fully ground and then swallow it. Eating slowly will only make it easier for you to discover that you’re full enough.
Eat later: don’t just fall for every sweet or dish you see on a plate; ignore it, and control your appetite. to keep your calorie intake in view.
Traditionally, meat is the best part of a festive day like Christmas day. Eating all types of meat could happen without watching your diet. You can probably try out these 12 options to celebrate with on a special day.
Brisket
Beef tenderloin
Capon
Cornish game hen
Duck
Goose
Ham
Lamb
Pork roast
Prime rib roast.
On a normal day, we exercise our normal eating routine. We always have breakfast, lunch, and dinner but let me enlighten you on what these three means.
Breakfast: it’s a meal you eat in the morning, the first meal of the day. It gives you fuel to start your day. The name breakfast is referred to as the breaking of the fasting period of the previous night.
Globally and traditionally, what you eat differs from region to region. It is the most crucial meal of the day. So it is advisable you start your day with a light meal. Between 7 am and 7:20 am is the best time interval for your breakfast.
Effects of Skipping Breakfast
Your blood sugar level reduces
Your acidity level increases
It sharpens your brain (fasting)
It helps in the anti-aging process.
Headaches and dizziness
Mouth odor (bad breath)
Obesity risk increases.
Lunch: it is a meal you eat in the middle of the day, the second meal of the day after breakfast. It also varies with respect to traditions and regions. What my region eats for dinner might seems extraordinary to your region. The combination of breakfast and lunch is called brunch. Your lunch is best from 12:30 pm to 1 pm.
Effect of Skipping Lunch
Skipping meals is not a good idea; it reduces your metabolism and your digestion.
You experience nervousness in your daily activities.
You crave fast foods, and sugary foods develop, which put more weight on you. Leading to obesity and diabetes.
Dinner: it is a meal that is eaten in the evening; evening meal. It is often eaten on a formal occasion to celebrate something. In countries or hot places, people there tend to eat dinner when the temperature has fallen. There is no specified time to eat dinner, but after a long day filled with various activities, you should take it at least 2 to 3 hours before bed.
Effect of Skipping Dinner
Reduce calorie
It adjusts your metabolism
Alleviates hunger and reduces bloating
Burns fat
Reduce your risk of cancer
What Are Some Ways to Control Your Overeating?
- Avoid processed food and eat wisely throughout the day.
- Eat fruits and vegetables; they keep you satiated between meals and cut your need to snack.
- Drink water before, during, and after any meal. It keeps you hydrated and aids absorption.
- Eat your food slowly; this habit will make it easier to know when you are full.
- Always plan your meals ahead.
For every meal you want to eat, there should be an interval of 4 to 5 hours. That’s enough time for any digestion that will take place. Stay safe and eat less sugar.
