People

December, a month of family parties, socialising, dining ... and, above all, lots of sweets. We all know that too much sweetness (and too much food in general) is not good for us. It upsets our hormone balance and makes us fatter. But how do you resist all those temptations without being too hard on yourself? Because let's face it: the holidays have to be fun, too!

With these clever tips and tricks, you will succeed

Beware of sweet drinks
Soft drinks, fruit juices, aperitifs and ready-made smoothies often contain more sugars than we think. They are like ‘liquid sweets’. So drink in moderation, and not just in December. If you look carefully and read labels, you will find tasty aperitifs that are low in sugar.

Start the day with proteins and fats
If you start your day with sweets, your body will seem to keep craving them for the rest of the day.
Better to start the day with variations of eggs with some vegetables, oatmeal with avocado, yoghurt with red fruit, nut porridge ... or even a soup. Such a breakfast provides enough satiety to reduce those cravings for sweet.

Look for spices to add flavour to your dishes
Some people are rather quick to reach for sugar, honey or some other form of sweetness to give certain dishes a sweet taste. But you can also do this with spices such as cinnamon, cumin, cardamon, ginger, pumpkin spices ... Spices are also very healthy. Ginger is then also a powerful anti-inflammatory and cinnamon helps keep your blood glucose level stable.

Keep healthy fats on hand
If you want to resist sweet temptations, have some unroasted nuts, boiled eggs, an avocado snack, a savoury muffin, a sweet potato ...

Get enough sleep
It is common knowledge that when you don't get enough sleep, you reach for quick energy boosters during the day, mostly sweets.

Opt for dark chocolate
Chocolate ... few people can resist it! Milk chocolate is very sweet. When you want to cut down on sweets, choose dark chocolate. Build that up slowly (at least 70% cocoa content!) and you'll find that after a while you won't reach for that milk chocolate anymore.

Eat (raw) vegetables
Serve e.g. a salad with every meal and eat plenty of it. Even at restaurants you can ask for an extra portion of vegetables or raw vegetables. At home, you can easily cook vegetables in your oven. Put different kinds on one baking tray: carrots, parsnips, courgettes, peppers ... This way, there is enough choice for everyone, it is easy and ... vegetarians will thank you!

(FVDV for Tagtik/Illustration picture: Pixabay)