The right portion: Portion control during holidays

Accurate portion control is a struggle for many Australians throughout the year. With the silly season upon us and its variety of associated treats, The CEO Magazine spoke to leading health expert and Director of Love Your Weight Loss Sally Symonds about how executives and their families can indulge without over-indulging this holiday season.

The CEO Magazine: How can executives minimise their weight gain over the holidays and ensure accurate portion control?

Sally: The holiday season can often mean a holiday from healthy living. Unfortunately, not everything that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Your body will still remember the consequences of everything you eat, drink, and do—or not do—even if the details remain foggy in your mind.

"The holiday season can often mean a holiday from healthy living." – Sally Symonds

Try to get in tip-top shape before the season begins. If you’re feeling trim, taut, and terrific when the festive season begins, not only will you look super fabulous in your little black dress; you’ll also be much more likely to maintain your healthier habits during this time because you’ll remember all the hard work that went into losing the weight in the first place!

Always select set menus over buffet options. Studies show that people eat significantly more when faced with a wider variety of choices in front of them—it’s easy to lose track of portion sizes and how you much you’ve eaten.

If you do partake in a buffet and try something you don’t particularly like, don’t eat it just because it’s on the plate. Also, don’t forget that one of the easiest ways to inject flavour into a meal or snack is by adding fat or sugar—the chef who prepared the buffet choices probably isn’t too concerned about the impact they’re going to have on your waist line, so be mindful of what you choose and how much of it you eat.

Establish what is actually ‘silly season’ time for you and what is merely the days in between. Strictly speaking, there are only three public holidays between 10 December and 10 January. For some people, merely creating a rule that these are the only three days on which they can over-indulge is enough to avoid any weight gain.