Here's How to Get Through the Holidays Healthily and Happily!

When Thanksgiving begins, so does the madness of the holiday season. It is pretty much a two month binge of excitement and excess which leads many to put on a few pounds. Cookie parties, work lunches, potlucks, leftovers, meeting old friends for a few drinks at happy hour…These are all easy opportunities to shift your focus from your new and healthy lifestyle to caloric mayhem. Here are a few guidelines to keep that waistline you have worked so hard for!

Avoid excessive alcohol. I know, bummer. Generally the libations are flowing quite freely and often throughout the month of December and who doesn’t like to “celebrate” the season? The champagne just looks so pretty with those pomegranate seeds in it and who doesn’t look elegant with a christmastini in one hand and caviar in the other? Resist more than you did last year-remember all of those resolutions you made? Well aren’t you there or almost there? Keep it up!

Alcohol has a bevy of empty calories. It goes down easily and lowers your ability to say no once a few have slipped down. In turn, it also makes it easier to pick up every canapé that comes by on a tray. Open bar at work-sponsored parties, cocktails at neighbors homes-just because it’s “monetarily” free to drink at that event doesn’t mean you won’t “pay” later in blood, sweat, and tears.

Personal Trainer Laguna Beach says to:

Watch the sugar! I should know since I am the worst. The sweets are everywhere. What other time of year can you actually eat a whole house made entirely out of gingerbread and candy? The lady at your job that reminds you of Paula Deen keeps bringing in her famous cinnamon rolls? Resist! Your sister is taking a cake class and brings you her latest A+? Resist! Your grandma who is visiting from
Kansas bakes the German Christmas cookies from your childhood? Resist! (Mostly) You might have to partake a little in this one just for educational purposes so you can pass the recipe on to your kids…

So you get the point…Just keep reminding yourself that you can have sweets anytime throughout the year in small doses. This is not your last chance.

This is not a free-for-all Over-eating is not a holiday pastime but we like to tell ourselves it is! That sick feeling you have when you have eaten everything on the holiday table twice? That is your body screaming out for mercy because your mind has taken over and kicked in to the “eating for pure pleasure” mode.

Remember how great you look and feel now? Did you get here by eating seconds on a regular basis? Well losing weight and maintaining that weight is about consistency. Pick great habits and just stick to them like you don’t even have a choice. This is a great time to stick with the habit of just eating one plate full (and smaller portions at that) and then being finished when you are “almost” full. It is tempting to continue indulging but that is a slippery slope left better unvisited.

Personal Trainer Mission Viejo says to…

Don’t eat half of what you bake. Need I say that much more? If you enjoy seasonal baking like I do (it gets you in the holiday spirit!) then you know how easy it is to takes bites of this and that and then lick the spoon. Of course, when anything comes out of the oven you have to try it to make sure it is good. And if anything requires adjusting, it must be tasted again and again! Make a deal with yourself-something like for every bite or lick you have that is an EXTRA ten minutes on the treadmill. Those bites will stack up quick when you look at it like that. I would never say don’t enjoy a little here and there but make sure it is all in check because you know how hard the road is to get to where you want to be-you wouldn’t want to throw it all away over some cookies and not fit into that shamelessly hot dress you plan to wear on New Year’s Eve.

Don’t eat too late at night-even if it seems “festive”. If your family is visiting and you are staying up late with your favorite aunt or cousin, it is easy to want to crack open a gallon of ice cream in front of The Christmas Story on television for the 405^th time and reminisce about old times. Those stories are just as great without late-night snacks. Savor them, not the frozen treat.

And finally Personal Trainer Garden Grove says that…

Guests are not an excuse. When family and friends are staying in your home for the season don’t use them as an excuse to overindulge or change your eating routine. Try to stick with your healthy habits-keep as close to your eating schedule as possible, making delicious and nutritious choices for everyone when making meals (if your good at what you do, they won’t even notice!) When visiting theme parks or the mall try to go for the healthier options that many outposts carry now like salads and fresh fruit. If you feel the need to make somewhere like Starbucks part of your morning routine with your visiting mom, order the non-fat sugar-free gingerbread latte instead of the peppermint mocha.

Keep exercising even when your schedule is busy. Just get there. That is what I always tell friends who are just starting to work out. Just get there. That is more than half the battle. You just have to schedule your work out and honor the commitment. Again, it is the consistency that will get you where you want to go. You will see that the closer we get to Christmas, the smaller the crowd at the gym. Look around and be proud that you are one of the elite.

Just don’t give up. Keep doing what works and striving forward toward your goal weight (or maintaining it). Don’t drop your great habits because the season has changed. This is a new you and you have new rules for yourself. Follow them and you will never be sorry. This is not just about weight and lifestyle. This is bigger and broader than that. This is about making a promise to yourself that you can keep no matter what comes your way.

This has been an Exercise Orange County Article