The New Year holidays can be a particularly tricky time for those who are trying to lose weight or avoid putting it on. Here are our top tips to help you with healthy weight management, without missing out on all the fun.

Why do so many of us put weight on over the holidays?

If you’ve ever noticed that you tend to put weight on over the Christmas/New Year period – you’re not alone; research has shown that this phenomenon affects many people. The key contributing factor to holiday weight gain is that we tend to dramatically increase our calorie intake over the festive season. Just think of all the parties, barbecues and Christmas outings you’ve enjoyed over the past few weeks and you’ll soon start to see the picture: we eat more rich and fatty foods at this time of year, and we eat them in larger portions than usual too, often accompanied by beer, wine or soft drink.

How can you manage your weight over the holidays?

Managing your weight over the holidays often involves coming up with strategies to help you navigate the social aspects of the festivities. This can be particularly tricky when there are family or cultural traditions around eating certain foods on special occasions, or when you don’t want to offend your host by declining the delicious morsels they have on offer. However, there are almost always some salads and other nutritious dishes on the table, so start by filling your plate with those, leaving little room for less healthy options such as stodgy carbohydrates and fatty meats. If you know you’re going to be at the table for a while, make sure you eat slowly, taking the time to chew your food well, and putting your knife and fork down now and then while chatting to your neighbour. You’ll feel less pressure to indulge in a second (or even third!) helping if you’ve still got food on your plate, and you’ll also give yourself time to tune in to how full you are, and whether you really do want more to eat. Take a similar approach when it comes to dessert, choosing fruit where possible, with just a small side serving of richer foods like ice cream or custard. Finally, limit the amount of alcohol you consume by either driving to social occasions so you’re not tempted to drink, or alternating each alcoholic beverage with a glass of still or sparkling water.

If you’re eating more, exercise more too

Despite your best efforts, you’re likely to end up overeating on at least a few occasions during the holidays. Unfortunately, many people also do less exercise at this time of year, which may exacerbate the tendency to put on weight. Instead, make it your goal to offset all that extra indulgence by increasing the amount of activity you do. After all, this is a great time of year to hit the beach, go for a morning bike ride or stroll around your neighbourhood after dinner.

Green Coffee and Green Tea support healthy weight management *

Green Coffee and Green Tea may help support your weight management goals, aid weight loss, and help people who’ve lost weight avoid regaining it*. For example, in a clinical study involving overweight people, those who took Green Coffee extract standardised for its content of chlorogenic acids (CGA, the medicinally active constituents) experienced an average of three times as much weight as those who took a placebo supplement. Similarly, Green Tea contains compounds called catechins, which may assist thermogenesis (the body’s process for generating heat, which in turn burns calories for fuel).

Chromium provides extra metabolic support*

With its large amounts of sugars and fats, the typically indulgent holiday diet may interfere with your body’s normal metabolic processes, which may in turn contribute to weight gain. The mineral chromium plays an essential role in the metabolism of fats and sugars (carbohydrates), and may help healthy people maintain normal blood sugar levels. Chromium is often taken with herbs such as Garcinia Cambogia (ideally standardised for its levels of the active constituent hydroxycitric acid, HCA, and garcinol, which enhances the activity of HCA), Gymnema and Coleus.

Mr Vitamins recommends

Fusion Health, premium quality Australian-made supplements that combine the ancient wisdom of Chinese medicine and the science of modern Western herbalism, including:

• Fusion Weight Burn: With standardised extracts of Green Coffee and Green Tea for weight loss support*
• Fusion Garcinia Cambogia Advanced™: High potency formula providing 400mg HCA

• When taken with a calorie-controlled diet and regular exercise

Always read the label. Use only as directed. If symptoms persist consult your healthcare professional. References available upon request.