There are plenty of weight watchers as well as overweight people on diets, who dread the holiday season, mainly for one reason. Most health conscious individuals who are careful about their dieting agree that Christmas can be the most cheerful yet the toughest time of the year. This is because there are many people, who bake their own Christmas goodies at home and need to sample batch after batch of all the dishes they prepare. Moreover, Christmas is a season filled with parties; office parties, family dinners, children's get-togethers and so on. Staying away from delicious food and sweets becomes almost impossible during the festive season. There are several people who actually consider weight loss during the festive season a losing battle and put their diets "on hold", during this time, as Christmas comes only once a year. This is probably why people gain more weight during the Christmas season, as compared to any other time of the year.

Clear soup

Since most people find it difficult to lose weight during the festive season, health experts recommend that they plan their weight loss programs in such a way, that they lose weight before Christmas arrives. Given below are some simple quick tips for weight loss for festive season:

Cut down on the consumption of alcohol; this also includes cakes, cocktails and other beverages that contain alcohol. Certain alcoholic beverages are very high in calories and they act like an appetite stimulant, which causes people to eat more than they normally would.

Clothes and especially trousers that are loose should be strictly avoided. In fact it is better to wear belts that are a little on the tighter side, so that you binge less.

Half an hour before every meal, it would help to eat either a fruit salad or some raw vegetable salad with a low cal dressing. This tends to satiate your appetite, helping you to avoid those tempting and fattening foods. Clear soup can also have the same effect on your appetite.

For people who can neither eat salad, fruit or soup, it is best to drink a glass of cold water around 20 minutes before all meals. This constricts the size of the stomach, causing you to eat less.
Chewing on some mint or some dark chocolate mint immediately after a meal can help to cut down on the consumption of fattening deserts and puddings. The taste of mint in the mouth usually discourages people from eating other sweets.

Sweets that have been flambeed usually contain fewer calories, as compared to other desserts that contain alcohol.

Foods that are high in protein should be chosen over those that contain simple carbohydrates. This means that it is best to opt for chicken and turkey or even prawns at the Christmas buffet table.