It is traditionally a time when people spoil themselves with more food and drink than they would normally consume, and spend an increased amount of time relaxing without feeling guilty.
However, despite the season of indulgence, some people will not be letting their hair down completely this Christmas as, having changed their lifestyle this year, they have decided to stick to the regimen regardless of how many mince pies are doing the rounds.
We spoke to some strong-willed souls who all gave up something over the past year and will continue to adhere to their new plan no matter what everyone else around them is doing.
Sharon Kearns from Naas gave up caffeine in January of this year as she found it was impacting her life in a negative way. As a mother-of-two and business owner, she felt that she needed to be less reliant on stimulants as they were making her feel unduly stressed.
“I switched to decaffeinated tea and coffee as I was experiencing an increase in anxiety which sometime turned into a panic attack. With my heart racing some nights it took hours to sleep, which had an impact on the next day, especially looking after a young family and my fashion retail bushiness, Your Style, Your Story.
“I thought I’d cut caffeine for a few days to see if there was any improvement and this came very quickly and I began to fall asleep much easier, so I decided to completely give it up.
“The first week was difficult as I could actually feel withdrawal symptoms, but since then it is great. My anxiety has definitely reduced, especially at bedtime and I don’t have that urgent need for a caffeine fix first thing in the morning. I’ll definitely miss my treat of a Bailey’s coffee over the Christmas with friends, but this year I’m going to be drinking it with decaffeinated coffee.”
Alcohol
Radio DJ Keith Walsh gave up alcohol at the beginning of the year with the intention of staying off it for 100 days, but as his physical and mental health improved he decided to quit altogether.
“After Christmas last year I set myself the goal of giving up alcohol for a certain period of time as I’d seen people doing other challenges like 100 Days of Walking and others giving up booze, so I decided to do the same.
“I didn’t realise how long 100 days actually was and thought it would take me to St Patrick’s Day, but it was actually April. However, I was busy with work in January and didn’t really think about it too much and then lockdown started so I carried on until the 100 days was up.
“I didn’t miss it at all and noticed a marked difference in things like my sleeping patterns which improved dramatically, as did my anxiety levels which went way down. After I had reached my goal I decided to have a few drinks one weekend, but I didn’t enjoy it and in fact felt an overwhelming sense of doom for a few days afterwards – like something terrible was going to happen or that I was a really bad person.
“I attributed these feelings to the alcohol and realised that it wasn’t worth the after-effects, so I made the decision to quit again as it just wasn’t for me.
“Normally I would enjoy having a few beers most days over Christmas, but I’m actually looking forward to not drinking this year – I want to enjoy it without feeling groggy and I am intrigued to see what it will be like. I think I will experiment with non-alcoholic beers and cocktails, and will probably eat too much chocolate instead.
“If anyone else is considering giving up alcohol for health reasons I would say to stay off it for at least a month because it takes a few weeks to notice the difference. Maybe giving it up has been easier for me because it coincided with lockdowns and social distancing, and I totally get that some people need to have a couple of drinks to feel relaxed, but if they want to try and stop, I’d say just give it a go – it might not be long term and they might not enjoy it, but on the other hand they just might feel better.”
Meat
Mick Rooney from Co Clare gave up meat this year and says it is too early to tell whether or not there have been any health benefits. But while there are some foodstuffs he will miss this Christmas; he will be sticking to his new regime while his family tuck into the traditional festive feast.
“I would previously have had a ‘meat and two veg’ diet. However in recent years I often choose poultry or fish over red meat. I had been observing how my daughter had been doing since she gave up red meat in January and then after a colleague recommended that I watch a film called The Game Changers, I haven’t eaten any meat or poultry [for the past few months] which was produced by killing animals.
“Since then I have learned that there are various types of vegetarians, and I’m somewhere between a “lacto vegetarian” and a “lacto-ovo vegetarian” as I will eat wild fish occasionally but have cut out dairy products from my mainly plant-based diet.
“I do miss some of the meals I would have cooked before, but there are lots of very tasty substitute products out there. Also, while one of my initial concerns related to protein intake, there are lots of ways to get it from non-meat and dairy foods – however a Vitamin B12 supplement is advised.
“I’m not too worried about the Christmas feast as there will be so many savoury vegetable dishes and desserts, and I also like a bit of monkfish and prawns which will go well with the mash and roasties.
“But turkey and ham will be on the menu for everyone else and I will miss my wife’s sausage meat stuffing and the ham – but hopefully at that point the plant-based diet should be well ingrained in me.”
Vegan
Sharon Dooley, who lives in Co Galway, decided to try a vegan diet for Lent this year because she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia in 2020. Rather than go on medication she wanted to try her own form of self-healing which she says has worked wonders.
“When talking to vegetarians in the past I had always said they should give up dairy as well if they are going to stop eating meat, so when I decided to give up meat I thought I had to practice what I was preaching. So I said I would do it for 40 days to see if it had any affect on my health.
“I was surprised with the results as, firstly, I have always been a dieter and found that while being vegan I didn’t need to worry about food intake as without chocolate or cheese the weight just fell off me. I started to feel a lot better in so many ways and the pain I had with fibromyalgia began to improve, so I decided to stick with the diet, but reintroduced eggs.
“In the beginning I had tried to find replacements for all the animal products I had given up, but I found that I was disappointed that they didn’t taste the same. So once I made the decision not to look for a replacement and cook something different instead, I found everything so much easier.
So, for example, if I was cooking a chicken curry for the family, instead of doing something with vegan chicken for myself, I would just adapt the dish by having a vegetable and chickpea curry.
“My health has improved a lot due to a combination of my new diet, and also taking magnesium, practising yoga, self-love and investing in myself. I have changed my attitude to how I looked after myself as I was definitely heading for a burn-out, and now the pain I had from fibromyalgia has gone from 95 per cent down to 20 per cent – it has been unbelievable.
“If someone offered me meat I don’t think I could put it in my mouth as I really see it as flesh now, but the look of the basted turkey on the day will be hard to ignore.
“So this Christmas will be really weird as I know I will miss everything that everyone else is having. I don’t know what I am going to eat yet as I can’t think of anything which seems special enough for the main meal – and I’ll miss the tins of chocolates and all the other goodies – but I have got some vegan mince pies so hopefully they won’t disappoint.
“If anyone else is thinking of going vegan I would say, just take the first step – don’t think of it as depriving yourself, instead think of all the lovely foods you can now try. Be adventurous and don’t try to replace things. Instead open your mind and try some new things.”
