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How to party… and stay slim

How are you going to enjoy all the festive gatherings if you can’t indulge yourself for fear of piling on the pounds? It's simple, have a strategy. Here’s how to stay slim and have fun.

Having worked hard to get into your party outfit and glitzy festive wardrobe, do you now have to be a wall flower, watching every morsel that passes your lips and denying yourself even a sniff of alcohol from now until Christmas Day?

Ador says: “No”, and agrees with Victoria Beckham that there are plenty of ways to get through the party season while still remaining in great shape. Victoria happily admits that a couple of glasses of red wine are her favourite tipple and goes on to explain how she balances things out.

“I love to eat strawberries,” she says. “I think the antioxidants make up for the damage.”

You, too, can go out, enjoy the office bash, drinks with friends and neighbours and nights out at your local during the party season, while still being able to fit into your Christmas Day outfit… as long as you follow a few simple tips.

Looking good
It is crucial that you eat well during the party season to keep up your energy and look radiant. Victoria Beckham’s tip of tucking into berries is certainly a good idea, because they are low in calories, but packed with potentially anti-ageing nutrients like vitamin C. These are good for our skin and also give us deep purple and red pigments, which may help to stop the appearance of broken veins just under our skin and in our eyes, so they don’t end up bloodshot after a few late nights.

In between parties follow a simple low GI plan, like the Sun Diet, and make sure that you get early nights when not partying to catch up on sleep. A hot bath followed by a warming mug of chamomile tea will help you to nod off, refuel your batteries and energise you for your next social whirl.

Alcohol
You don’t have to give it up, but you do need to get picky about your drinks. Doing so helps to keep the calories down and your liver in good condition, so that you don’t end up with health problems, dull looking skin, bags under your eyes and a pale complexion. Stick to no more than one to two units a day.

The best drinks to go for are:

• A glass of light and fruity red wine – It’s full of super nutrients, which seem to help keep your heart in good shape. One unit is a 125ml glass, which has around 85 calories.
• A glass of sparkling wine – This is because the champagne flutes in which they are served are 125ml, while wine glasses are more likely to be 175ml or even 250ml. For each glass of sparkling wine you drink you know that you can count 90 to 100 calories. The drier varieties can have as few as 70 calories per glass. One 125ml glass of sparkling wine is one unit of alcohol.
• A single shot of spirits, like vodka or gin, with a low calorie mixer – You can be sure that each shot has around just 50 calories each and counts as one unit of alcohol.
• Half a pint of standard lager – Like sparkling wine, you can count each glass as 100 calories and 1 unit of alcohol.

Drinks to be wary of are:

• Mulled wine – The heavy red wines used to make mulled wine have a strong alcohol content and most mulled wine drinks are served in 175ml or 250ml amounts. It usually also contains added spirits. This means that one 175ml glass can give you 250 calories and two units of alcohol. Because it is warm, it glides down really easily and before you know it, you have drunk two or three and have clocked up 750 calories and seven units of alcohol.
• Alcopops – These are incredibly easy to gulp down, but be aware that most bottles of alcopops give you around 130 calories and 1 unit of alcohol.
• Cocktails – Long drinks like Pina Colada’s can pack in 500 calories and three units of alcohol. Short ones, such as Martinis, often top 300 calories and have two to three units of alcohol. 

Also, don’t forget that for purely health reasons, not to mention your calorie count, women should stick to one or two units of alcohol per day, and men to two or three. Remember that a unit of alcohol is one 125ml glass of wine that’s 9% alcohol by volume. However, most pubs and clubs serve wine in 175ml and even 250ml glasses, while most wine nowadays is 12% alcohol by volume or more – so make sure you check this out.

Snacks
Most party nibbles are full of salt. This triggers the snack/drink/snack/drink cycle. The more salty snacks you eat, the thirstier you become. The more you drink, the less control you have over your eating and so it goes on. Just avoid those salty little numbers in the first place, not least because they are also overflowing with calories:

• Handful of peanuts = 171 calories
• Small bowl of Japanese crackers = 220 calories
• Handful of Bombay Mix = 148 calories
• Tortilla chips small bowl = 162 calories
• Handful of cashews =171 calories

Instead, before you go to your festive do, eat a snack like a small packet of unsalted mixed nuts and dried fruits or a banana and fromage frais. The party snacks will quickly lose their appeal if your tummy is feeling full before you go.

Buffets
Buffet tables are one of the easiest places to eat well on the party scene. Head for plain meats like turkey, ham, beef or chicken. Pile your plate with salad bits, and crudités and tomato salsa dips. Be wary of anything encased in pastry, rolled in breadcrumbs or which looks vaguely crispy. These foods will be calorie-packed. Try to avoid going to the buffet table with the ‘works paying, I’ll get my money’s worth’ mentality. Your Christmas bonus should be pound sterling not weight.

When eating buffet food, hold your plate in your right hand and your fork in your left, as you will eat more slowly this way. Reverse the rule if you are left-handed.

Canapés

It is really easy to wolf down snacks if someone brings them round on plates while you are chatting. Remember that calories still count when you are standing up. Go for lean looking morsels, like chicken on skewers or little baked new potatoes. Be aware that a mini quiche has 85 calories and bite-size sausage rolls pack in a good 80 or 90 calories each.

Guilt-free partying

One of the best things about the festive season is getting out and about to parties and having fun with your friends. But this doesn’t have to mean that you’ll also put on weight. Bear in mind these simple tips, and your festive partying won’t leave you feeling guilty in January, or mean that your New Year’s resolution has to be diet-related.

Of course, there are also likely to be plenty of times throughout the year when you’ll be at parties, and avoiding the calorie cows will mean you’ll always look great and not have to worry about fitting into your favourite party dress.