Taste.com.au’s guide to surviving Christmas 2023 and New Year’s Eve

It’s tempting to overindulge at this time of year. Our simple tips mean you can enjoy yourself but still feel good over summer.

4 min read

December 15, 2023 - 4:00AM

Food

Don't miss out on the headlines from Food. Followed categories will be added to My News.

If it were just Christmas day when we enjoyed feasting upon laden tables of rich food and drink, there wouldn’t be a problem!

But nowadays the partying seems to go on for months and seasonal weight gain is the result. If the fun you’ve had shows on your scales each New Year, then perhaps you need to take preventative action. Try not to rely on New Year’s resolutions to fix things as weight is notoriously harder to lose than to gain, and Australians are gaining weight every year. Aim to balance your eating and drinking with an active lifestyle. Don’t worry though – our tips mean you can still have fun.

Surviving the silly season:

Planning ahead

Surviving the party season is all about planning ahead. Have a strategy in mind to prevent overindulgence for different situations. Limit high-kilojoule foods and avoid over-eating to the point of being stuffed. Also, avoid drinking too much.

Drinking it in

In warm weather it’s important to drink plenty of liquids to keep cool and stay well hydrated, but take care not to overdo the kilojoules. Liquid kilojoules seem not to satisfy the appetite as well as solid food and it’s easy to drink a lot of kilojoules and still look forward to a three-course dinner.

Water is the best kilojoule-free drink, followed by diet cordials and diet soft drinks. Flavoured mineral water has just as many kilojoules as other soft drinks (see below).

A word on juices

Fruit juices are seen as the healthier alternative but while they do provide vitamin C and antioxidants, they are also higher in natural sugars and kilojoules. Juice bars are increasingly popular, and the serving sizes can be very large, containing the juice from as many as 5 to 6 pieces of fruit! Choose the smallest size you can, and remember that juice smoothies are not a balanced meal replacement. Juices contain by weight almost as many kilojoules as soft drinks, so keep the quantities small. Try diluting your juice with water to tone down the sweetness and kilojoules but maximise refreshment. Fresh fruit is better than juice because of its fibre and filling power.

Alcohol

Alcohol is high in kilojoules – while it’s true that the kilojoules are burned straight away, this makes it even more likely that those fatty finger foods and bar snacks you eat with your drinks will turn into body fat.

Alcohol can make you careless about what you’re eating, not to mention the cravings for greasy breakfasts after a big night. If you’re going to drink, then go easy on the amount. Try 1/2 nips of spirits, light beer, wine and soda spritzers, and alternating alcoholic drinks with water. Choose lower kilojoule options (see below) and avoid high-fat foods while drinking.

Surviving the silly season:

Binge drinking

Safe drinking guidelines recommend having no more than 2 standard drinks a day for women and 4 for men, with 2 alcohol-free days a week. More recently, Dietary Guidelines for Australians have recommended only 1 drink a day for women and 2 for men, in an attempt to address Australia’s obesity epidemic.

If you’re justifying drinking alcohol on the grounds that it’s good for your heart, bear in mind that benefits result from drinking small quantities of alcohol regularly, not from saving up drinks for a binge on the weekend. And these benefits for the heart only apply to people of middle age or older.

Women having more than 5 drinks on one occasion, and men more than 7, is considered risky because of the chances of misadventure, injury or assault from being drunk and out of control, as well as the toxic effects of alcohol. Worryingly, 15% of Australian women report drinking at least this much.

What is a standard drink?

A standard drink contains 10g of alcohol, and is less of your favourite drink than you think. Generous wine glasses can contain up to 3 standard drinks. All alcoholic drinks must state the number of standard drinks they contain on the label so take a look. Standard drinks are equivalent to:

1 middie (280ml) normal-strength beer
2 middies (560ml) light beer
100ml wine
1 nip (30ml) spirits

Surviving the silly season:

Pig-out prevention for every occasion

The office party

Get involved in organising things so that you can ensure there are healthy choices available.

The all-you-can-eat buffet

Visit the buffet once only and ensure half your plate is vegetables or salad.

Take your time and eat slowly and get involved in the conversation.

Dismiss thoughts about getting value for money (overeating is not worth it).

Cocktails and finger food

Limit how much you drink and pace yourself with mineral water and diet soft drinks.

If you are nervous meeting new people, be conscious of not eating and drinking too quickly for something to do with your hands.

Have a healthy, low GI snack (fruit, yoghurt, smoothie) during the afternoon to reduce hunger.

Avoid foods that are deep-fried.

Keep track of how much food you have eaten.

Restaurant meals

Stick to one glass of wine.

Limit yourself to two courses.

Have an entree-sized main course.

Share a dessert.

Skip the garlic/herb bread and stick to plain or none at all.

Family feasts

Help plan the menu to ensure there are light and healthy choices available.

Resist the pressure to eat more than is comfortable to please the cook (offer to take leftovers home).

Take-a-plate parties

Take along a plate of something healthy, such as a salad.

Serve yourself small portions, and balance your plate with meat, vegetables and grain-based foods such as pasta, rice and bread.

Have a small taste of desserts.

Good party food choices

Antipasto of olives, artichoke hearts, marinated vegetables (low oil), vegetable sticks and light dip
Popcorn
Pita bread triangles with hommus or tzatziki
Rice crackers and salsa
Sushi and sashimi
Meat or chicken skewers (lean)
Chargrilled vegetable kebabs
Barbecued chicken pieces, without skin
Prawns and oysters
Sandwiches (try to choose wholemeal or grainy breads rather than white)
Wraps
Steamed dim sums
Rice paper rolls
Vegetable frittata
Mixed fruit platter