Diabetics Over Christmas

Christmas and New Year are times of joy and happiness. It's time to celebrate for everyone. Families and friends get together to enjoy this special festive season and there is every reason for you to enjoy it fully too!
There is a lot of food involved over Christmas and New Year's Eve, a lot of traditional food, which play a huge part in this winter season festivities. Plates full of pies, tasty cheese, pates and sausages, fried potato wedges and vegetables with variety of sauces and dressings, and gorgeous Christmas puddings and a selection of lovely cakes are all very tempting for anyone. But don't worry, you don't have to have a separate plate for your Christmas dinner, just be more cautious about how much and what you eat and don't over do it.




Any traditional festive food will be high in calories, fat and sugar, and won't be healthy for anyone, diabetic or not. And a little extra over Christmas should not affect your long term diabetes control. As you well know, eating to control diabetes isn't just about control of what you eat; it's about balancing your diet, adding variety and not feeling restricted. And certainly during Christmas festive season you should plan ahead. Give some thought to all different options you have and consider what works best for you as an individual.
The main advice is on spreading the food equally throughout the day and indeed throughout the entire Christmas period, not having too much at one meal, keeping close eye on your blood sugar levels, and being sensible. You might want to let your family and friends know how you want to be served, to feel more comfortable and in control. But allow yourself to have some chocolates, cakes and sweets too, only spread them throughout the day and eat them with main meals.
In short think about:
Christmas and New Year are celebrated over a week period so don't eat it all in first couple of days.




Spread your portions throughout the day.
Avoid eating too much at one meal, and too little at next.
Try to avoid sugary drinks, instead have some fresh juice, which will refresh you better and doesn't contain large amounts of sugar.
Enjoy Christmas fruit and vegetables, you can make some lovely salads and have the half plate of vegetables with your Christmas meals.
Keep alcohol intake in moderation and watch your alcohol units
And of course don't forget to take that walk in the evening or into the town to marvel at the Christmas lights and all the festive decorations. You will be doing that important exercise and also walk off the Christmas meal.
Plan well and enjoy your Christmas and New Year!