Dr. Valter Longo , the creator of the fasting-mimicking diet and longevity expert, explains his recipe for a diet before Christmas but also during the Christmas and New Year holidays. Interviewed by the Corriere, Dr. Longo provides very simple advice to avoid excesses, starting with one that may seem counterintuitive, that is to eat. And eat a lot if you want, but paying attention to some things.
Let’s see together what to do in terms of diet before Christmas but also how to regulate on holidays according to Dr. Longo.

DIET BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND DURING THE HOLIDAYS WITH THE ADVICE OF DR LONGO

How to eat during the holidays so as not to gain weight

What does it mean first of all to eat and enjoy food during the holidays?
It means eating a diet that is also abundant on typically festive days, i.e. those of Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year’s, but keeping in mind a single rule. That, in a meal such as lunch or dinner, it is better to limit yourself to 70 grams of starch at most, therefore pasta, rice, bread, potatoes, while the rest must be consumed in the form of vegetables or legumes. As an extra, a piece of dark chocolate with a high cocoa content at the end of the meal.

Having in Italy a great variety of legumes, in combination with vegetables we can create light dishes even during the holidays. Without giving up the whims, which therefore must be present but controlled in quantity.
In a meal that for example contains 700 grams of solid food, complex carbohydrates such as starches will be ten percent. But there is an even simpler alternative.

During the holidays, we can enjoy the festive meal, for example the 24th of December would be the evening one, the 25th of the lunchtime, trying not to couple sources of more carbohydrates together in that meal. If I eat a first course of pasta, I don’t also eat bread, pizzas, croquettes, pretzels, or panettone and pandoro at the end. But I try instead to accompany the rest of the meal with a lot of vegetables and a few proteins, for example preferring legumes and fish (we will see some menus below).

The rest of the day, however, must be thought more lightly. For example, skipping breakfast on both the 24th and the 25th, so as to return to the 12 hours of feeding, and limiting oneself to vegetables and broths in the remaining meal, pre or post banquet.
For example, make a broth on the 24th for lunch and then eat in the evening. Skip breakfast on the 25th, eat lunch and then have vegetables for dinner. Same thing for the 26th. In this way, every day we will have only one rich meal.
And it’s best to keep exercising even during the holidays.

Like eating before the holidays to stay light

In the days before the party we can instead prepare ourselves by staying lighter, with a vegan pescitarian or peach diet which therefore includes fish and shellfish, legumes, vegetables, fruit, olive oil and nuts, whole grains. See: longevity diet menu. 

What to do after the holidays to get a lasting healthy weight

After the holidays, the curious expedient of the 4 p’s is a good compromise to lose weight throughout the year: it means reducing our daily portions of bread, pasta, potatoes, pizza by 50 grams. And eat more vegetables. A small sacrifice that can make us lose up to 6 kg next year.

Here are some light menus for the holidays to inspire you.
800 calorie Christmas light menu.