By Alejandro Rodriguez, Fitness Coach, Fitness Together Alexandria
The holidays are here once again, and everyone knows what that means: lots and lots of food! What follows the sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving and the holiday ham on Christmas are those unwanted extra pounds. Thankfully, they only come once a year, and you do not have to sacrifice having some of the delicious holiday food with your family and loved ones. Let’s go over 10 tips that will assure you can enjoy your end-of-year celebratory meals while keeping the extra weight off!
The holidays are here once again, and everyone knows what that means: lots and lots of food! What follows the sweet potatoes on Thanksgiving and the holiday ham on Christmas are those unwanted extra pounds. Thankfully, they only come once a year, and you do not have to sacrifice having some of the delicious holiday food with your family and loved ones. Let’s go over 10 tips that will assure you can enjoy your end-of-year celebratory meals while keeping the extra weight off!
- ADD SOMETHING A LITTLE HEALTHIER TO SOME OF YOUR DISHES – If you are the one that does most of the cooking during the holidays, always try to add healthier options to the selection of food at the table. This does necessarily apply to every meal you have, but something with a little less butter and a little more greens wouldn’t hurt!
- REMEMBER YOUR GOAL! – Whether it’s fitting into that brand new dress, or maintaining the weight goal you just hit, remember why you worked so hard this year to lose those extra pounds, and let that inspire you every time you pick up the plate.
- KEEP UP THE EXERCISE – It does not matter if it is before or after the holidays, but make sure you don’t stop working out. Find a few minutes before and/or after Christmas dinner to break a sweat.
- EAT WHAT YOU CAN ONLY EAT ONCE A YEAR – If certain foods cannot be missed during this time, then treat yourself to having a bit of them in order to be satisfied, and you will stick with your diet longer.
- KEEP A FOOD LOG – Logging your foods with apps such as MyFitnessPal can help you know how much you’re having, and if it’s too much or too little of what you need. An app will also help by personalizing the stats to your specific body type.
- BRING A HEALTHY OPTION – If you are invited to have dinner with family or friends, then you are always welcomed to bring more dishes to add to the table. Bring over a healthy option for yourself, and then you can share those culinary skills!
- WATCH YOUR DIET AT HOME – While you’re spending time off at home during the holidays, you can always plan to keep a good diet to counter the other days, when you’re not home and can’t stick with it. This brings us to the next point...
- CHEAT DAYS = HOLIDAYS – Use days like Thanksgiving and Christmas as your cheat days during the holidays. This way you can reward yourself every now and then for maintaining a healthy diet, and you don’t have to miss out on the Christmas cookies!
- LISTEN TO YOUR BODY – If you start getting that feeling of fullness in your stomach after only having a small amount of food, do not ignore it! Listen to your body when it tells you that it has had enough. Stop for a few minutes, and if you don’t feel satisfied after a while, then have a bit more.
- DON’T OVER STRESS - These are the times during the year that you want to relax and enjoy the time you get to spend with your loved ones. Don’t let a couple extra calories stress you out and ruin your evening. As long as you can keep some control over your diet, you can always start back up!
Follow these tips and you won’t be gaining any unwanted weight, then your New Year resolution can get started a little earlier! Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!
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