The holiday season is the time of Christmas dinners, seasonal treats (hello mince pies, mulled wine, and marzipan!), copious amounts of home cooking, and weather that doesn’t seem conducive to those morning runs or trips to the gym. With these unfavourable conditions, it certainly seems that all fitness and healthy eating goals are doomed to failure. A few small habits and choices, however, can minimise guilt whilst still allowing indulgence in the season’s delights – after all, Christmas only comes once a year.
1. Eat a small, healthy snack before parties
It’s tempting to ‘save up’ calories if you know you’re going to a party with going to be lots of tasty treats. This plan usually backfires, however, because by the time you see the buffet table, you’re absolutely starving and promptly devour everything. Oftentimes before you know it you’ve consumed much more than you intended to and now feel neither proud nor trim. Thus it’s a good strategy to have a small, healthy snack about an hour or so beforehand so that you’re not ravenous. Fruits, vegetables, and/or protein are recommended options: for example an apple or pear, some carrots and/or celery with hummus, a boiled egg, or a slice or two of turkey.
2. Pick and choose indulgences
Image Credit: Simon Cocks
If you’re like me, it’s super hard to pass a mince pie without wanting to buy one (or in my case, actually giving in and buying one…). But how many do you actually need to feel festive? Try prioritising your treats, making sure that each delicious serving is truly the best you can get. Why buy a large yet lacklustre pack of waxy fudge when one fantastic, high-quality piece yields greater satisfaction? Additionally, it might be worth making a list of which holiday indulgences you’d like to partake in and then ‘checking them off’. This way, you can make sure you get each and every seasonal delight whilst neither depriving yourself nor missing a favourite.
3. Get plenty of sleep
With all the exciting events at this time of year, it’s easy to skimp on sleep. Since lack of sleep decreases your ability to cope with stress, increases unhealthy food cravings, and reduces energy for exercising, this is not a good thing for your waistline. Try to aim for 7-9 hours every night (failing that, an additional afternoon nap) to keep you sane, fit, and away from mindless snacking.
4. Keep up exercising
Yes, this is an obvious one. The weather, the crazy social schedule, and the all-too-common bloating makes fitness extra hard at this time of year, but even a few minutes of movement each day can improve quality of sleep, boost concentration, and stave off cravings. So even if it’s just a quick twenty-minute routine in your room, a bit of exercising goes a long way to increasing wellbeing during the Christmas season.
Image Credit: Akuppa
5. Relax and enjoy!
You can follow the first four tips to the letter and have a horrible holiday if you’ve stressed over every guilty pleasure. Part of health is happiness, and it’s far better to gain half a stone and enjoy every second of the festivities than to maintain your figure amidst stress and deprivation. So enjoy those seasonal Costa lattes, massive Christmas roasts, and glasses of mulled wine – it’s only once a year!
Do you have a plans for Christmas? Why not let us know on Facebook and Twitter?
Harriet Barter recently told Exeposé Lifestyle why Inter-Railing is an amazing way to travel, especially for students. Here, Online Editor Liam Trim shares his 18 top-tips for avoiding calamity on the continent, based on his experience in the summer of 2012.
Image Credit: Liam Trim
1) Do NOT rely on a ‘pocket towel’
This tip is number one for a reason – it’s something you must remember before you leave the UK and it’s very, very important.
It’s vital that during preparation for Inter-Railing you identify essential items to take. It’s also important you travel light. Therefore, you might be tempted to buy a snazzy space saving gadget, such as a pocket towel. Whilst I would not want to say all pocket towels are a waste of time, I can confidently say that they can be disastrously rubbish. A friend of mine had been advised by a family friend, a travel veteran apparently, that pocket towels were wonderful little things. They stayed dry, they kept you dry and they folded away to handkerchief size. Perfect for Inter-Railing right?
Wrong. By the end of our trip my friend had been restricted to drying herself with a tiny, shrivelled damp rag for days. Not something you need to be worrying about in strange surroundings. Also, my ordinary towel was still going strong and hardly took up any space in my bag.
2) Travel with a friend who has a fetish for organisation
Sitting down with the initial idea to go Inter-Railing is great. You’ve never been to a bunch of cool, cultured European cities and you want to tick them all off your wish list in one summer. Better yet, you want to go with your mates. Which hopefully means a fun filled few weeks, rather than seven days by an overcrowded pool with your bickering relatives.
But after everyone has committed to go, there’s a fair bit of daunting organisation to be done. This isn’t a package holiday that comes neatly wrapped from a travel agent. There’s plenty of advice and help online but in the end you have to build your Inter-Railing experience yourselves, from flights to trains, from destinations to accommodation. Anyone who has ever struggled with Ikea furniture knows that self-assembly can be stressful.
So it helps to go with a friend who actually enjoys the little details of precise planning. Sure, someone who is too controlling could kill the vibe of an enjoyable trip but I was certainly very grateful to head off with a trustworthy friend to guard the paperwork and a step-by-step colour coded Excel spreadsheet.
Find a balance between fun and ‘going with the flow’ and you’ll be fine!
3) Go with people you actually like
News of a group holiday can spread like wildfire amongst a group of mates. But unfortunately chances are that Inter-Railing would not work practically if you wanted to take every single one of your Facebook friends. It’s also true that some personalities may not get on in a cupboard sized hostel room, even if they click so well on a night out at Arena.
Remember that Inter-Railing is an expensive and perhaps once in a lifetime experience, so be careful when planning your trip. Don’t go with someone simply out of politeness but also be open minded about travelling with friends you don’t know as well, because they may want exactly the same experience as you. Luckily I went with two close friends and had a great time, but don’t worry if balancing friends at the planning stage is hard, you’ll get there if you really want to go!
Image Credit: Liam Trim
4) Check and double-check hostel bookings BEFORE you travel
When I went Inter-Railing I was in charge of hostel bookings. Initially I was daunted by my task – how did I go about finding affordable accommodation (that wasn’t disgusting) in strange places I had never visited? Thankfully, there are loads of ratings online which are a great help. When we left the UK I felt reasonably confident about the choices I’d made.
But at our first stop in Paris my efforts unravelled. I had somehow booked the wrong dates. The hostel thought we were arriving the following night and staying longer that we actually were. We had nowhere to stay. I had screwed up my only job. As the frustratingly chilled French woman at the hostel said…”Oo la la Liam, you are in the shit”.
I should have checked the details of the hostel bookings more thoroughly than I did. But things did not turn out too badly, as it turns out people can be nice! The hostel helped us find a hotel and this was pretty much the sole cock-up of the entire trip.
So even when things go wrong, try not to panic!
5) Read hostel ratings – they might actually help
This tip comes courtesy of a friend who had to flee a hostel in Budapest because it was so bad. Crazy men knocking in the night and dirty, foul smelling rooms are not ideal when you’re exhausted from travelling. So make sure you at least TRY to avoid disaster by cross referencing a few different ratings from previous visitors to the hostel you’re considering.
Sites like Trip Advisor can be good for hostel ratings. Image Credit: Trip Advisor
6) Do NOT take things you ‘might’ need
Luxuries are not really possible when travelling light. Neither are bulky sleeping bags you don’t need which your friend ends up carrying for the whole trip…
7) Learn what landmarks actually look like
If you have a vague idea of what a famous landmark looks like, it’s probably best to consult a map for further info. I learnt from experience that heading towards what I thought was The Louvre, based on a hunch from our vantage point on the Eiffel Tower, can end with your friends being rather irritated at you after walking for what feels like miles in the wrong direction.
8) Make use of universal languages
There are quite a few universal languages that can help you when you don’t speak a word of the local lingo. Food, song, art and sign language can all bring people of different nationalities together. In our case the most useful universal language proved to be football, as we won over some owners of a bar in Milan by enthusiastically praising their team Inter. Cheap wine, great service and a quiet table just 30 seconds from our hostel – not a bad return from just a little football knowledge and flattery.
9) Stay with relatives, friends of friends, forgotten pen pals…
…anyone who can save you money! Staying with a relative who lives abroad is not only cheaper than a hostel but it can provide you with a friendly, English speaking guide to local sights. It may not be possible but it’s worth looking into. You may also end up seeing things you wouldn’t have considered looking at otherwise and some homely hospitality mid-trip certainly recharged our batteries.
10) Do NOT let kindly old men help you purchase tickets
A smiling Italian man lurking by the ticket machines of the Milanese underground system may seem harmless (alright maybe I was just really naive) but there’s a chance he’s after your money. Fear of tricksters can just result in us Brits being very rude whilst abroad. But nevertheless, hide your confusion and struggle onwards, don’t be a doormat!
11) Sometimes steak just means steak…
…no fries, no salad, just a huge plate with a huge piece of meat. Actually no, there was a slice of lemon, too. Don’t assume European menus function in the same way as ours, check out what other diners are doing and follow suit. Nothing but a giant steak for dinner isn’t as awesome as it sounds.
Image Credit: Jo Porter
12) Catch up on sleep on the trains, but don’t miss your stop!
This one is pretty simple. European trains can be surprisingly comfortable and you’ll need to sleep on them at points. But if you have to get off before the last stop make sure one of your party stays awake to keep an eye out.
13) Leave money for essentials: namely water and hangover-cure breakfasts
Water is expensive. Do not underestimate its power to drain your budget. Hangovers are painful and can sometimes only be defeated by a hearty breakfast. I’m very glad I had some Euros left to buy a much needed omelette on our final day in Amsterdam.
14) Take lots of photos…but not too many!
Having a good stock of photos when you get back will help you appreciate how absolutely brilliant Inter-Railing was, when the tiredness and the desire to be home has finally vacated your bones. However, don’t spend all your time clicking away on your phone or camera. Enjoy the moments as they happen as well.
15) Do things you wouldn’t normally do
I’m glad I can say I’ve had a stein of beer in Munich, even though it wasn’t the most enjoyable drink of my life. I’m glad I tried what the waiter called “5 star KFC” in Amsterdam, even if the meal didn’t exactly warrant a 5 star billing. I’m glad I went to the sex museum because it was a damn good laugh. On a normal day, or a normal holiday, I simply would not have done any of these things. But random trips to places like the BMW museum (yup it was great!) make Inter-Railing the unpredictable and unforgettable experience that it is.
Image Credit: Jo Porter
16) Don’t get changed in a tiny shower and then accidentally turn said shower on
Imagine a shower with a saloon door. Imagine getting changed in this shower to maintain your modesty in front of your two friends, just inches away. Imagine a sudden stream of water. Imagine the resulting laughs.
17) Don’t forget your Inter-Railing pass!
Sounds obvious right? Even your super-organised friend is capable of this infantile error though. Worst case scenario, you can get your pass sent out to you by loving parents, or you can buy your pass at your first destination. Both of these things happened on my trip (although, I’d like to add, I was at fault for neither of them).
18) Photos just aren’t allowed in the red light district…
…even if your curiosity is entirely innocent, you may inadvertently anger the locals.
Chances are, freshers’ week was probably your first ever full week of eating exactly what you want, when you want. And on top of all that, you probably drunk the most you’ve ever drunk in a week. So are you starting to feel the effects of it? Is that leavers hoodie feeling a bit tighter than it used to? Don’t panic because we’ve all been there, and Hannah Davies is on hand with some helpful tips to help you beat that dreaded freshers’ flab!
We all love a drunken snack… After copious amounts of Jaeger in Arena, many students can be found salivating by the infamous ‘Arena Chip Van’, (and who can blame them, its fantastic). However its not rocket science to know that having cheesy chips every other night isn’t going to do you any good. And as for the ‘But it soaks up the alcohol!’ excuse, this may be true… But did you know that your average donner kebab can contain 2000 calories? Thats one statistic that will hopefully prevent many of us stumbling into golden horn after a good night. So why not keep some ‘drunk food’ stashed at home such a wholemeal bread and crackers, which will still soak up the alcohol but will do so at a tenth of the calories.
2) Don’t mirror what your flatmates eat
Everyone learns the hard way that some people can just eat what they want, and never gain a pound. Living with people like this can be hard, but don’t let yourself fall into the pitfall of ‘They’re eating pizza for dinner every night so surely I can get away with it too!’. Sadly, this is not how the rules of weight work, and you’ll end up gaining weight without realising. The same rule applies if you’re a girl and live with a lot of big-eating boys, don’t try and justify that ‘second dinner’ just because the boys had one, as tempting as it may be…
3) Make exercising sociable
It goes without saying that exercise will help you lose weight, but trudging up the hill to the gym can seem like a dreaded task. Try asking around if any of your friends are keen to start exercising with you – you will be 10x more motivated to go if a group of you regularly go together. The university also offers a lot in the way of sport, so why not try something completely new with a friend, as a fun way to workout! I personally recommend Zumba, and if you go with friends you’ll find it more fun when you’re laughing at everyone’s (including your own) dodgy hip-shaking.
4) Mum DID know best
For most of us, this is the first time we’ve had to fend for ourselves in terms of cooking/shopping… And suddenly there’s no one to stop us from having chips every night with tea; fantastic! But remember, our mums used to nag us about healthy eating for a reason. Try going a couple of weeks without fruit and veg and you’ll soon see why you were forced to eat your peas. Believe me, it is so easy to fall into the trap of eating cheese toasties and ready meals every night for dinner, but you’ll soon start to feel the effects.
5) Limit your drinking
It’s a phrase no student wants to hear, but its sadly true. I know this can be a hard rule to follow (ESPECIALLY as a Fresher), but just try and have a few days off drinking a week, and use those days to really detox and drink a lot of water! Drinking piles on the pounds as it’s full of sugar, and also makes you retain fluid, causing you to look bloated. And if that doesn’t scare you off, ‘drinkaware.co.uk’ state that a pint of cider is about 210 calories, about the same as a medium sized pie… So how many pints did you see off last night?!
At the end of the day, you have to enjoy your uni life and don’t fall slave to diets and exercise, a pizza for dinner once in a while isn’t going to hurt anyone, just follow these tips and hopefully they will help you look and feel your best!
Term has officially started with the promise of plenty of lectures to keep us busy, and while some of us have learnt how to deal with 9am’s in Newman over the years, the auditoriums may be new to you freshers. So listen up, as Hannah Davies has given us her handy top tips for surviving your first term!
1) First of all, actually go to them!
Sure, maybe they say first year ‘doesn’t count’ but it secretly does, and put it this way… If you have 6 hours of lectures a week, that works out as over £60 a lecture, and as students we can’t ignore this waste, you’re paying for it! Hopefully that statistic will help to motivate even the laziest of students to brave the 9am lectures. And as for the ‘I’ll borrow my friend’s notes later’ tactic, you probably won’t, and you’ll actually end up confused when it comes to revision. Trust me.
2) Try To Stay awake
No-one wants to be THAT person who’s known for always sleeping in lectures. It’s embarrassing, unproductive, and no one wants to wake up with dribble on their notepad and judging looks from the lecturer. Invest in a cheap Starbucks thermos and bring a morning coffee, you’ll thank me later.
Photo Credit – TheGuardian.com
3) Check your appearance
We’ve all been there, it’s so tempting to roll out of bed ten minutes before a lecture. But just remember, there is nothing attractive about last night’s makeup, a smelly hoodie or a fake eyelash still caught in your hair. I guarantee it will be just your luck, that that will be the day you bump into every crush/ex/fling on campus. Dry shampoo is a must have, and if the weathers nice enough to get away with it… wear your sunglasses! They’re guaranteed to cover those glazed over ‘I don’t remember last night’ eyes.
4) Make friends
First year is the most important time to make friends, and somewhat surprisingly lectures are the perfect place. You may have to be brave and put yourself out there, but it’ll work in your favour to have people you know in class with you; you can walk to them together, revise together, and struggle over ‘late-night coursework nights’ together.
5) First year DOES count
So people say it doesn’t count towards your degree… When actually your tutors, future employers can still see your 1st year mark, and it can often play a role in dissertation selection; put in some effort and third-year-you will thank you!
Overall, try and enjoy lectures. It will help you to realise what aspects of your course you really enjoy, and that can make the daunting future a lot easier.
exeposedev 