CBHS Health logo
  • Health insurance
    • Types of cover
      • Hospital & Extras
      • Hospital cover
      • Extras cover
      • Packaged cover 
      • Ambulance cover
      • Dependant cover
      • GET A QUOTE
    • Lifestage cover
      • Singles & couples
      • Families & sole parents
      • Mature families
      • Retirees
    • Why CBHS
      • Why join CBHS
      • Testimonials & stories
      • Member-owned fund
      • Why do I need private health insurance?
    • Health insurance explained
      • Check your eligibility
      • Switching health insurance providers
      • Waiting periods
      • Restricted services
      • Government initiatives
  • Member health
    • Health & wellbeing
      • About health & wellbeing
      • Healthy living
      • Events & resources
      • CommBank Health Hubs
    • Get care
      • About getting care
      • Before your hospital stay
      • Hospital in the home
      • Rehabilitate & recover
    • Managing your health
      • About managing your health
      • Services at home
      • Artificial aids & healthcare aids 
    • Health services
      • Health services A-Z
      • Common procedures
      • Find a service or hospital
  • Tools & support
    • Handy tools
      • Tax statement
      • Member discounts
      • Forms & downloads
      • CBHS mobile app
      • Going to hospital
    • How to
      • Pay my bill 
      • Refer a friend or family
      • How to claim
    • Updates
      • CBHS news
      • Service updates
    • Find a provider
      • Hospital search
      • Access Gap Cover
      • HICAPS provider search
      • Choice Network provider
  • Mind & body
  • Call
Member login icon Login
Get a quote
CBHS Health logo
  • Health insurance
    • Types of cover
      • Hospital & Extras
      • Hospital cover
      • Extras cover
      • Packaged cover 
      • Ambulance cover
      • Dependant cover
    • Lifestage cover
      • Singles & couples
      • Families & sole parents
      • Mature families
      • Retirees
    • Why CBHS
      • Why join CBHS
      • Testimonials & stories
      • Member-owned fund
      • Why do I need private health insurance?
    • Health insurance explained
      • Check your eligibility
      • Switching health insurance providers
      • Waiting periods
      • Restricted services
      • Government initiatives
  • Member health
    • Health & wellbeing
      • About health & wellbeing
      • Healthy living
      • Events & resources
      • CommBank Health Hubs
    • Get care
      • About getting care
      • Before your hospital stay
      • Hospital in the home
      • Rehabilitate & recover
    • Managing your health
      • About managing your health
      • Services at home
      • Artificial aids & healthcare aids 
    • Health services
      • Health services A-Z
      • Common procedures
      • Find a service or hospital
  • Tools & support
    • Handy tools
      • Tax statement
      • Member discounts
      • Forms & downloads
      • CBHS mobile app
      • Going to hospital
    • How to
      • Pay my bill 
      • Refer a friend or family
      • How to claim
    • Updates
      • CBHS news
      • Service updates
    • Find a provider
      • Hospital search
      • Access Gap Cover
      • HICAPS provider search
      • Choice Network provider
  • Mind & body
Member login icon Login GET A QUOTE
  • Home
  • Mind & body
  • 3 Easy Steps for a Happier, Healthier Christmas

At CBHS we help you manage your health challenges. We believe in offering you the services, support and tools you need to live your best life.
Our Better Living Programs are available to support eligible members towards a healthier lifestyle. Each Better Living Program is subject to its own eligibility criteria.
Contact us for more information and to confirm your eligibility for a program.

3 Easy Steps for a Happier, Healthier Christmas

28.03.2017
nutrition

If you're trying to make your end of year celebrations a little healthier, then follow these three steps!

Step 1: Set realistic health goals

The key word in that sentence is ‘realistic’. You’re going to be seeing friends and family for breakfasts, lunches and dinners, which means more time spent away from your usual exercise routine and more time consuming calories.

Unfortunately, we can’t all be mountaintop-dwelling Buddhist monks free from desire, and there’s no shame in having a little extra helping of your favourite once-yearly foods.

But if you’re keen to keep as close to your health goals as possible, adapting your plans will lead to less stress and more readily achievable goals.

 

Step 2: Eat smarter

Working smarter is better than working harder, and the same principles apply to your food. You can always

Use a smaller plate

Our brains are both incredible and borderline useless, and a great example of this is with food portions compared to the size of the vessel carrying them. If, for example, you have a lot of a food on a plate that makes it look small, then you’re brain thinks that there is less there than a small amount of food on a plate that makes it look huge.

So when you’re in line, desperately eyeing the potato bake as it rapidly diminishes, grab for the smaller plate along with your cutlery to ensure that you’re loading up on what your brain thinks is a lot.

Bring healthier foods

Unless you’re sporting the powers of a Greek deity, chances are you can’t manipulate the people at your Christmas events to bring healthier foods to ensure you’re safe from temptation.

You can, however, help yourself by bringing along a healthier dish that you know you can enjoy. It might be something as simple as a salad, or a lean protein source like salmon or kangaroo. At the very least, you’ll be giving yourself the choice of a healthier option.

Bring your own booze

It’s easy to forget the calories hiding in a nice shiraz or a hearty pilsner, but they’re there, just waiting to be quaffed with joyous abandon.

On top of this, it’s extremely hard to refuse a drink that’s been offered. You might not want to appear rude or ungrateful, or it could be that they’re offering something foreign, aged, expensive and delicious.

Bringing your own drinks, in the amount you want and feel comfortable with, gives you the chance to take complete control over what and how much you consume.

 

Step 3: Set an end date

If you’ve been good all year, or think that you might not have the willpower this time around to resist grandma’s pudding, then one of the best things you can do is set an end date to your festivities.

How long this might be is completely up to you – there’s no point in forcing yourself to miss out on the things you enjoy because of an arbitrary date. Also, guilt and shame aren’t good motivating factors when it comes to reaching or maintaining health goals.

So why miss out or stress out?

What is important when setting an end date is that you stick to it on the day.

After a full Christmas, however, chances are you’ll be begging for it to come sooner than you expected!

 

All information contained in this article is intended for general information purposes only. The information provided should not be relied upon as medical advice and does not supersede or replace a consultation with a suitably qualified healthcare professional.

Health and wellbeing

programs & support

You Belong to More with CBHS Hospital cover:

  • Greater choice over your health options including who treats you
  • Get care at home with Hospital Substitute Treatment program
  • Free health and wellbeing programs to support your health challenges

Live your healthiest, happiest life with CBHS Extras cover:

  • Benefits for proactive health checks e.g. bone density tests, eye screenings
  • Keep up your care with telehealth and digital options
  • Save on dental and optical with CBHS Choice Network providers

See all our programs and support

You might also be interested in

Load more

Latest articles

Load more
  • Health insurance
      • Extras cover
      • Packaged cover 
      • Ambulance cover
      • Why join CBHS
      • Member-owned fund
  • Member health
      • Healthy living
      • About getting care
      • About managing your health
      • Health services A-Z
      • Mind & body
  • Tools & support
      • How to claim
      • Tax statement
      • Member discounts
      • Forms & downloads
      • Pay my bill 
      • Find a provider
  • CBHS Corporate
  • CBHS International
  • Contact us
  • About us
  • Careers
  • Disputes & complaints
  • For providers

The CBHS Group acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Custodians of the lands on which we gather, live and work. We pay our respect to First Nations peoples and their Elders, past and present.

Got a question?

No problem, we're here to help.

CareyCarey
Minimise chatbot
Close
  • apple app store
  • google play store
CBHS Health logo
A Member Health Fund
  • Glossary
  • FAQ
  • Terms of use
  • Privacy policy

Copyright © 2025 CBHS Health Fund Limited ABN 87 087 648 717