New Years: Why are nutritionists saying that you forget about the diet this end of the year?

When the end of the year holidays arrive, the nutritionist Lorella Barbi usually makes an unusual recommendation to her patients.

“I say that they forget that I exist, that they pretend that they do not know me and that they are fed up with eating toast,” he laughs.

And he says that this year the advice is even more necessary.

“People have survived many things, so we have to enjoy the date and celebrate, eat what we like without thinking much about it“.

Barbi, a researcher at the University of Lisbon, in Portugal, argues that although food has the function of nourishing us, it also has another role that should not be ignored.

“Food has a social and cultural function. It is not going to be a big problem if someone forgets their diet for two days if they are going to eat well the rest of the year.”

• Orthorexia, the obsession to eat healthy that can harm your health

The nutritionist Luiza Mattar goes along the same lines and emphasizes that no one should worry if he exaggerates at a dinner.

“Our body is resilient. What people earn at Christmas, they lose easily later. It’s a night and a day, it’s not a week or the whole year. “

That’s why she says you shouldn’t try to compensate after you’ve eaten a lot, much less shut your mouth early.

One risk for those who do is falling into compulsion.

“Saving your stomach for dinner is not a good strategy and it is not healthy,” he recommends.

“There are people who go on a diet for one, two or three months, or who spend Christmas without eating, and then open the floodgates. The person becomes unable to control himself because he was restricting himself much earlier.”

The nutritionist says she is against diets, not only at Christmas, but throughout the year, because he doesn’t think they work and says the vast majority of people lose the weight they gained in a very short time.

“It is not good to lose weight thinking about the end of the year and get fat again afterwards. It is bad for the body. It is better to weigh a little more and be able to maintain it.”

Nutritionist Carlos Nogueira de Almeida explains that diets are only mandatory for those who have some restriction due to health problems.

In other words, diabetics shouldn’t eat sugar, and celiacs shouldn’t eat gluten-containing foods, not now at the end of the year.

For these people, says the nutritionist, abandoning the diet, even for a couple of days, can send them to the hospital.

But if people just want to lose weight, they can eat a little more without much risk these days, says Almeida, who is a professor at the Federal University of San Carlos in Brazil.

“If we are talking about diet in the medical sense, people have to take care of themselves even at dinner, but if it is a diet in the popular sense, I do not think that the end of the year is the right time because it has the social and pleasure components that they are also important, “he argues.

The “fit dinner” can be a trap

Currently, there are a lot of tips on the internet to make the healthiest Christmas and New Years dinners.

THE “fitness” recipes of traditional dishes. There are even tips on how to lose weight or gain muscle with dinner.

But this could be a trap, Barbi warns.

“Sometimes these products fit they are even worse because they are full of preservatives, colorants … Then, the person removes the cream from the milk but is filled with additives “, says the nutritionist.

“Nobody has to make chia pudding. It can be the same condensed milk. You don’t have to eat until you feel like throwing up, though.”

In other words, you can try all the desserts if you want, but the ideal is to eat a little of each.

Nutritionist Andrea Pereira, president of the Brazilian Obesity Institute, recalls that it is important to find a middle ground between depriving yourself of things and exaggerating.

This is true not only for food, but also for beverages, especially alcoholic ones.

“This year, after being isolated due to the pandemic, people are going to have a reason to lose control a bit, although they do not need to drink as much as they have in front of them.”

The nutritionist Víctor Hugo Rosa de Oliveira says that a good alternative for those who are going to drink is do not mix alcohol with sweet drinks, such as energy, juices or sodas.

He also recommends not having too many excess days, but says that you should not stop socializing for fear of gaining weight.

“It is not necessary to have a closed mind. I have had cases where this worry has turned into a psychological disorder,” says the nutritionist.

Luiza Mattar agrees that taking care of one’s diet is harmful if it becomes excessive or an obsession. “Health also includes mental health“, dice.

“Christmas and the New Year are to eat what you like, have fun, not fight and be thankful that we are alive.”

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