7 Strategies To Survive Christmas While On Keto
The holiday season is almost there and if you are in keto, this can become your favorite part of the year! Those who doubted themselves if they are going to 'survive' this foodie-friendly period must be calm and relax. This time of the year is just as keto-friendly as any other.
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In many articles in the last couple of weeks, we tried to share the best options for your meal plan during the holiday season. Our readers can be stunned by the variety of options you can choose for both the Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner menu. In fact, the recipes that can be found are 100% keto-friendly and they can be prepared anytime because of their originality and high quality.
However, this is all just a speculation and smooth-talk if you have issues to stay disciplined during the holiday season. We mentioned the various recipes to motivate you since the start of the article. You must know that there are so many extremely delicious recipes that you cannot use 'misinformation' as an excuse not to follow the strict keto rules during this period. All of the keto-holiday recipes are keto-friendly, full of different ingredients and most of them make great crowd-pleasers. This means that you can include the keto recipes in any holiday dinner menu, under any circumstances.
Anyways, once you know that you have various options to handle your keto meal plan and adjust it to the holiday agenda, you must also know how to discipline yourselves and stay loyal to the keto diet principles during Christmas. Despite everything, having your own strategy for the Christmas holiday season will give you self-insurance and self-confidence that will keep you calm and happy. Meanwhile, you won't risk being kicked out of ketosis or have some diet complications.
Now, let's check the 7 best strategies to survive Christmas while in keto:
1. Find The Keto Version of Your Favorite Christmas Recipes
This is an awesome strategy, indeed! Some of us are more traditional than others and want to keep true to their usual traditions. However, the keto community has a solution for everything and you can be 100% sure that you will find a certain version of your favorite Christmas food that is completely keto-friendly.
2. Make Sure You Bring Your Keto Food To Parties and Family Dinners
Be never afraid or ashamed to bring your delicious keto-meals to your friends or relatives Christmas dinner tables. The keto recipes for Christmas are always great crowd-pleasers and they are carefully chosen to satisfy everyone's needs. Also, you can always communicate with the host and find out more about the nature of each dish served. This will significantly help you stay true to your keto rules even if you are not on your own 'territory'.
3. Set Goals For The Holiday Season
Setting up your goals for the holiday season is not an easy task. However, always try to be realistic and do not push yourself over the edge. After all, the holiday season is a time for relaxation and enjoyment. Weight loss should remain your goal, for instance, if that is your main purpose of the keto diet, but you should set reasonable limits. During this period it is normal to be more relaxed, to go out more often and to socialize with people. Enjoy all of the previously mentioned including more food, but stay true to your Christmas holiday rules. This kind of plan can make you feel free and relaxed and, at the same time, you will know that you won't be kicked out of ketosis.
4. With Your Goals In Mind, Make Other Simple Plans For Each Party, Potluck, Restaurant Dinner, Christmas Dinner, etc.
As you can already conclude, planning and discipline are crucial for keto during holidays. Actually, is crucial for any ketogenic diet. Make sure that you plan your events and always follow your keto meal plan. Even if you are in a position not to be able to choose or the temptation is very high, you can slip a 'mistake' or two. However, your own goals must be achieved at any cost. You must learn to compensate and not ruin your ketosis by overtaking of carbs or alcohol. Having a plan before going to a certain place can help you a lot with this process of keeping the perfect balance. So, you can be as free as you want, but you must learn to make 'sacrifices' during this period to always keep the carb intake in its allowed amounts.
5. Focus On All Types Of Self-Care During the Holidays
Staying mentally strong is very important if you want to follow a plan, especially when you are under a lot of temptation. To keep your mind and body strong you should treat yourself better during the holiday season. Try massages, sleep more than usual, try meditation, exercise well (you must not neglect your body, especially when it comes to physical exercising), go for a manicure or pedicure, buy a pet, take naps, meditate and do all activities that make you happy. These 'distractions' will not only help you stay disciplined to your plan but will also raise the serotonin, melanin and dopamine levels of your brain. You will be able to focus better on your plans and at the same time enjoy the holidays like never before!
6. Become a Keto Minimalist
Forget about perfection! This is not a piece of advice, but this is a warning. During the holiday season, you must not blame yourself for a certain mistake or have high expectations. Many people who have a keto plan for the holiday season put their expectations high or blame themselves for not losing enough weight. If you want to forge a strong and effective strategy you have to relax. Become a keto minimalist for at least a month- you won't regret it. Your ketones will be on satisfying levels anyways, maybe you won't be able to lose weight as effectively as before, but your psychological rest and pressure-release will have their benefits shown later, in the long run.
7. Remember the True Purpose Of Christmas
Last, but not least- always remember the true purpose of Christmas! Do not be obsessed with the ketogenic diet during this period. It is quite natural for beginners in keto to put their entire focus on their keto-lifestyle, but during this season you should be focused on having the best time possible with your family, friends, and relatives. Let the Christmas spirit guide you, feel the warmth of your home, and enjoy every minute in the most beautiful time of the year.