Louise Bloor's top Christmas nutrition tips
Christmas can be a time for overindulgence but as GB sprinter and performance nutritionist Louise Bloor explains, as long as athletes remain sensible about their choices there's no reason they can't enjoy their fair share of the festive food!
Bloor works with British Diving and British Judo and here she gives her top tips on Christmas nutrition so athletes can make informed food and drink decisions.
"The Christmas period is a great opportunity to catch up with family and friends and enjoy a few tasty treats. The hardest thing to do at this time is to stick to a healthy eating lifestyle and the overindulgence of food and drink can offset body composition and weight management," explains Bloor.
"Instead of counting calories at this festive time here are few tips that can help keep the scales balanced."
"It’s a great way to save the carbs for later! Try having a three egg omelette with some avocado or a FAGE yoghurt with some berries to curb the cravings.
"Protein also has a high satiety so helps keep you fuller for longer reducing the temptations to reach for the chocolates."
"Don’t go for hours without eating and then consume your daily calorie intake in one sitting. Snack healthily throughout the day on nuts, seeds, Greek yoghurts, berries and vegetable sticks and dips."
"During Christmas dinner, fill your plate with the foods that contribute to good weight management like vegetables and lean meats such as turkey and chicken. This will prevent a mountain of roast potatoes, sausages and other high fat foods."
"Choose smaller plates to prevent overindulging as larger plates can result in a third increased serving size."
"Favourite desserts are not off limits, just try and enjoy them in smaller portions or serve your Christmas pud with low fat custard or sauce."
"A typical glass of wine contains 170kcal, a vodka 97kcal and add 250ml of cola for a further 105kcal. The best advice for an elite athlete would be to not drink too much alcohol and get drunk. However, if you do have a couple of beverages select the clear alcohols with soda water or diet/sugar free mixers."
"Keep energy expenditure on side to compensate for reduced training load and additional seasonal treats. Perhaps go out for a jog or do a gym circuit."
"How many treats are you going to have over how many days? Stick to this and once your treats have gone, they’re gone. Willpower required!"
