Nougat, marzipan, roscón de Reyes, alcohol... How to avoid Christmas binges

• BODY To be or not to be healthy: do good habits obsess?

• INTERVIEW "The problem is not eating nougat once a year, but that it has been in the supermarket since September"

In the same way that

, it is not healthy to feel bad even for taking a simple piece of chocolate.

Virtue is in balance, according to Aristotle, and no one is bitter about a sweet, especially on these endearing dates.

However,

and our own awareness can do much more for us than the "miraculous" detox juices (already disassembled in ZEN), diet pills or dangerous prohibitive diets that cause anxiety and rebound effect.

Not in vain, in the latest survey of the Top Doctors health platform,

top the list of goals for Spaniards for this 2023, above losing weight (18% ).

Citizens are realizing that it is better to lead an active lifestyle based on good habits and smart decisions rather than living on an eternal diet and relating food to emotions.

WHY WAIT FOR 2023?

"There are many people who consider

that they had been dreaming of for a long time, but be careful! There are also many who, at this point, realize that it does not depend on the time of year, but of oneself", points out Ángel Peralbo Fernández, a specialist in Health Psychology and a member of Top Doctors.

However, the fact of resetting the counter after Christmas does put some pressure on us to do things well, resume sports or start some exciting project.

A lot of ambition but little motivation means that, in the same survey cited,

.

Because the ideal, health professionals indicate, is that every day is a new opportunity to be better.

"Regarding food, you have to be willing to change and

," proposes Dr. María Carmen Japaz Cancino, a specialist in Nutrition and Dietetics, without ignoring that the pleasure of eating exists and it is fabulous to enjoy even if taking into account the quantities and frequency.

Because going from everything to nothing leads us to failure.

According to this nutritionist, the mere fact of thinking about avoiding going out with family and friends these days or stopping eating to receive a caloric dinner predisposes us to overindulge more.

We see it as an absolute restriction.

"This is something that is

. "

Many people, she says, go from gorging themselves at parties to starting a tremendously prohibitive diet in the New Year, without allowing themselves a treat or whim.

"They fear losing control and going back because of their enormous expectations."

In addition, the doctor insists,

.

If we think in small steps from today, not from the beginning of January, we give ourselves time to learn to manage our pain points in relation to food, she advises.

A baggage that will stay with us forever.

"We need time to change and learn, but the gain in terms of health starts from the first moment."

THE TRICKS OF NUTRITIONISTS

Reading the label of the sweets, choosing artisans and eating only one will prevent the caloric surplus from skyrocketing so much.Gtres

To maintain a normal weight there is only one rule.

"It is about

throughout the day," explains Elena Muñoz Gómez, a UAE Graduate in Nursing, who works in Pediatric Intensive Care at the Doce de Octubre Hospital in Madrid and is certified in Sports Nutrition by Alto Performance by the UCAM.

If, for a moment, you think of everything you eat on a holiday, like New Year's Eve or Three Kings Day, and you put it in a row, it's scary.

No matter how much you run the San Silvestre that day.

Although it is not about counting calories, one of Muñoz's most useful tips is to

In this way, it will be easier not to go too far and stay in an adequate portion and avoid heavy digestion.

Because if you start to itch... sometimes there is no end.

It is also convenient to arrive

"We will fill up sooner if we have drunk enough water."

And eat slowly, chewing food well.

"Leptin, responsible for satiety, is secreted and begins to rise after 20 minutes," argues Muñoz.

We must not allow dopamine to be the life of the party, warns the professional.

"The feeling of

that makes it difficult to maintain the hedonistic impulse to take one more shortbread to the mouth when passing by the tray of Christmas sweets."

Therefore, encourage it to only be one instead of two.

SWEETS AND ALCOHOL

Alcohol provides empty calories on a night where we are already going to spend with the menu.Gtres

In general, they are

.

"They can be industrially produced, to which they add additives, preservatives, saturated fats and Trans fats, although of course there are also artisanal ones", clarifies Muñoz, understanding this option as preferable but, in both cases, with exceptional consumption.

For example, nougat, says Muñoz, has an average caloric intake of 500 kcal/100g of product, depending on the ingredients and the variety.

A portion of marzipan of approximately 30 g provides 147 kcal (50% carbohydrates, 44% fat and 6% protein).

And the shortbread

"This increase compared to other Christmas sweets is due to its higher percentage of fat, up to 55% of animal origin, mainly based on butter that provides saturated fatty acids."

Nothing happens for a piece.

But if we start to eat half a tray, we will trigger the balance between what is ingested and spent.

"They are included in the Third Level food group, constituting

proposed by the SENC (Spanish Society of Community Nutrition, 2015) and their consumption is classified as

The context accompanies and it is easy to fall into temptation.

"Alcohol, full of empty calories that do not provide any nutrients," also destroys that account.

We can reach 214 kcal per gin and tonic, if we take those 60 ml of standard measure plus a tonic with 16 grams of sugar (the WHO recommends not exceeding 25 grams per day).

That without counting the

that accompany it, and that we usually eat compulsively.

If we stick to one sweet, in this case it is preferable to avoid it in favor of a kombucha, for example, or opt for the new drinks with a lower alcohol content (Tanqueray 0.0, Beefeater Light, zero tonic...).

The person who develops adequate fitness throughout the year, with balanced nutritional planning and an active life, will not have to be obsessed with gaining 500 grams of weight during the holidays, says the nutrition specialist.

She will lose them soon.

"When there is an adequate nutritional strategy, a sweet can fit on the menu and

The goal is the process.

"The fundamental thing is to lead a healthy active life that includes exercise, away from toxic social relationships, enjoying food, human relationships, academic and work projects.

," concludes Muñoz.

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