Christmas is only 2 weeks away, and the number of meals out and dinner party invites are increasing. Trying to eat healthily during this time of year can be difficult, so why not host your own dinner party? This way you can have control over your portion sizes and calories consumed. If you have a group of friends who are also trying to stay healthy and trim for Christmas, why not gather them together and try some of these dinner party ideas:

Meal Plan 1

Starter

Chicken Satay Kebabs – 43 kcal per stick

Main

Fish pie with swede and potato topping – 359 kcal

Dessert

Lemon and raspberry trifle –188 kcal

Total Calories – 633 kcal

Meal Plan 2

Starter

Cucumber and salmon – 184 kcal

Main

Chicken, goat’s cheese and cherry tomato bake – 339 kcal

Dessert

Rhubarb and Strawberry meringue pots – 160 kcal

Total Calories – 674 kcal

Meal Plan 3

Starter

Avocado and tomato salad –195 kcal

Main

Spicy root and lentil casserole – 378 kcal

Dessert

Refreshing lychee and lime sorbet – 137 kcal

Total Calories – 710 kcal

If you have a friend who is interested in losing weight, why not refer them to The Slimming Clinic? With our referral scheme, you can get a week’s free slimming. Find out more here.

Since this time of year can be very busy and it may be difficult to find time to go into the gym, why not try to incorporate some of these ‘free ways’ to burn calories:

• Walking – research shows that people who fit moderate activity, such as walking, into their daily life burn more calories than those making weekly visits to the gym. Instead of using the car to pick the kids up from school, why not walk home.
• Cycle to work – Cycling to work is an easy way to fit exercise into you day. It also saves you money on travel costs.
• Park games – Playing games such as ‘tag’ are ideal with the family to get active together and burn calories while having fun.
• Skipping – Skipping can be done anywhere and is an inexpensive way to workout – all you need is a skipping rope! The average person will burn up to 200 kcal in 15 minutes.
• ‘Shopping’ walking – For people who don’t normally walk very much, ‘shopping walking’ is brisk walking through shopping centres.

If you are looking for some workouts that are a little bit more adventurous, you can view our article on weight loss activities here.