The Month of the Liquid Lunch

Well we are in the thick of the Christmas and New Year period – a month of partying and liquid lunching. It’s almost impossible to completely behave yourself during this period. Drinks with your boss, your colleagues, your partner’s boss and colleagues, your friends, your family… there’s almost not enough time for it all. And it’s extremely difficult to turn people down – especially when so many people are talking you into making an exception ‘just this once’… The pitfall is, that during Christmas and New Year, we don’t just make ‘one’ exception, we make the whole month an exception… and before we know it our bodies feel completely destroyed. It’s important to remember how easy it is to over-drink compared to over-eating… the intake of kilojoules in alcohol is reached extremely quickly. Just one long lunch time spent drinking and you could have taken in the recommended amount for a whole week. Even replacing alcohol with soft drinks can be dangerous. According to the National Soft Drink Association (NSDA) in America, since the late 70s the soft drink consumption in the United States has doubled for females and tripled for males. In fact, 21% of the sugar in the average American’s diet comes from soft drinks! An alarming statistic that is reflected in Australia through our astonishing obesity rates. For these people, cutting out this sugar alone could completely transform their entire bodies and health. As with every aspect of your life, your diet is about moderation and balance. Enjoy the Christmas period and allow yourself a few things that make you happy. Just remember how easy it is to over drink – and not just from the ‘being far too drunk’ perspective but from the kilojoules point of view. It takes an incredible amount of hard work to burn off excess kilojoule intake, so give yourself a present over Christmas – moderate and save yourself the extra work!