Holiday Survival Tips

With Halloween upon us, and Thanksgiving and Christmas right around the corner we are in the midst of indulgence. There are mouth watering desserts, cookies, and candy everywhere. There are only a handful of studies that have actually methodically and scientifically measured holiday weight gain trends in Americans. The findings are good and bad, the weight gained during the holiday months is only a few pounds but the bad news is that those holiday pounds stick around. So you may not fret over these extra couple pounds but these pounds add up over the course of years.

I enjoy the holidays like everyone else, I love particular foods on particular holidays because, one it tastes good and two it is comforting it takes me back to a happy time in my child hood (Monkey Bread on Christmas morning). I am definitely not saying you should not indulge in these yummy treats, but I want you to be aware of your goals.

Here are some techniques I use and they work.

1. Before you attend those fun holiday parties, ruin your appetite……….eat before you go. When you arrive, that dessert table loses its power. If you arrive to party hungry that double chocolate piece of cake is actually screaming out your name “EAT ME”, and when you do it will not satisfy you so you will continue to eat.  I have also brought my  own dish to the party; making something you like that is healthier will guarantee that there will be something healthy you can eat.
2. Be prepared, we are all incredibly busy during this season.   Always have a healthy snack or two in your car or purse. I always have a ziplock bag filled with healthy snacks in my purse.  Never let yourself go more than 3 hours without eating a meal or snack
3. Maintain your exercise routine, I understand family is in town but get up earlier to get your workout in or bring your family with you. This is the biggest reason I see people fall off wagon. We all have cycles, for instance

                    Workout

Eat Well –                   – Eat Well

                    Workout

When we deviate, say skip a workout our cycle starts to look like this

                                               Skip Workout

Feel bad about skipping –                               –   Feel bad about skipping

cheat meal (unhealthy)                                         cheat meal (unhealthy)

                    Since you ate unhealthy you skip workout again

Simply be aware of your weaknesses, enjoy those holiday meals and desserts but do not overindulge. Having accountability is HUGE, so this is why we are going to be starting our “Shake it Off” Challenge over the next two months. Remember your goals, and keep moving forward!