If you’re a fitness enthusiast or a seasonal dieter you may be dreading the upcoming Christmas period and all the excess it has to offer. You won’t want to undo all the hard work you’ve worked for all year. Indulging in more calories than normal and doing little to no exercise is inevitable for most of us over Christmas. So what can you do to combat the extra calories?

The biggest concern for most of us is calorie consumption through drinking alcohol. Here’s a quick tip you can do to help stop gaining weight that comes with drinking alcohol.

Eat healthy fat and protein before you consume alcohol, it’s as easy as that! The last meal before a drinking session or just right before your first drink should be just protein and fat from real food and no carbs whatsoever. The protein and healthy fat will help slow down the blood sugar response from the sugar in the alcohol. Controlling blood sugar is important for maintaining body weight and especially for losing weight.

Remember to always choose good quality protein and healthy fats. If you’re not a vegetarian go for easy and convenient options such as pate and cold cuts of meat. Vegetarians could go for nut butters or raw nuts and seeds or avocados.