As we enter the holiday season, many of us stress out about gaining excess weight. With all of the delicious meals & family gatherings filled with baked goods, how could one not be tempted? There are many ways to stay on track & even improve your fitness level before the New Year rolls around. This year let’s try to do things a little differently…No more punching extra holes in your belt, refuse to buy yet another pair of stretchy waisted pants to help with post-meal discomfort & win the battle of the bulge! If you’re looking to maintain or lose weight this Holiday Season, here’s a SMART PLAN you can refer to help you stay in shape & avoid the typical holiday weight gain.

Sweets

Meals

Alcohol & Agua

Rest

Training

Plan ahead

Light

Adjust your Attitude

Nutrition

Sweets: Sweets & treats are THE downfall of the Holiday Season. You can have them, but limit your sweets & treats to the actual holidays and days that being with “S”. Eat your sweets slowly & REALLY enjoy your treats. Savoring the flavors will cause you to slow down and be more conscious of what & how much you are eating. You can indulge, but remember to do so in MODERATION!

Meals: Eating 5-6 small meals a day instead of 2-3 large meals will help keep cravings and overeating at bay. Each meal should be between 200-300 calories and be rich in lean proteins, produce and whole grains.

Alcohol & Agua: Limit your alcohol consumption and increase your water intake. When drinking alcohol, try to make low-cal choices like wine or champagne and stay away from high calorie drinks like daiquiris. Also, drinking water or a low-cal non-alcoholic drink in between your alcoholic drinks will help reduce your calorie intake.

Rest: All of the running around we do during the Holidays can be exhausting. Make sure to get your 7-8 hours of sleep a night. Being rested will lead to you making better food and exercise choices and ensure you have the energy to keep up with all the holiday activities.

Training: Get in 30-60 minutes of exercise 3-5 times a week. Exercising doesn’t mean being a “slave” to the gym. You can make it fun – take the kids outside & go sledding, snow shoe on hiking trails, have an old fashion snowball fight. Whatever it is, just get yourself moving.

Plan Ahead: Schedule workouts in your day planner & treat them like you would any other important appointment. Make a grocery list of good food choices for healthy meals so you won’t be tempted to buy “whatever is easy & in a box” at the store. Having a plan in place will make it easier to stick to your goals. If you know you are going to a big Holiday party on weekend, then you can plan out healthy meals and a workout schedule for the week so you won’t feel guilty splurging a bit at the party.

Light: As the amount of daylight decreases, so can our moods. The combination of the cold weather & the lack of sunshine can cause you get the winter blahs and want to snuggle up on the couch with some junk food until spring. Get outside and exercise or open up the shades on sunny days to let the rays in to increase your mood.

Adjust Your Attitude: Stop thinking “It’s the Holidays, it’s ok to put on a few pounds” and start thinking about how you can look HOT FOR THE HOLIDAYS! You can stick to a healthy diet and moderate exercise program and still have fun. Eat healthy and exercise most days of the week and you can “cheat” without destroying your diet.

Nutrition: Make sure you are getting the right foods to keep your body healthy during the hectic Holiday Season. A diet full of colorful fruits and veggies, lean proteins and whole grains will give your body the nutrients that it needs to stave off sickness, give you energy for workouts and keep you up and running to all those Holiday Events.