How To Avoid Gaining Weight During The Holiday Season

As I sit here this week and fill up my calendar for the up coming Holidays, it’s starting to look like I will have a holiday party almost every weekend leading up to New Years starting next weekend. Talk about crazy! I’m not complaining though because I absolutely love the Holidays. Everything about this time of year just makes me smile. I love all of the festive festivities! The one thing I do not look forward too though, is the vast amount of food the holidays revolve around. I mean, co-workers bringing treats to the office, cider at the Holiday parties, Christmas cookies and Holiday yams galore. While it is all absolutely delicious. It all starts to add up. 

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Self-love and body image love are so incredibly important but so is health.  And if you’re worried about having diabetes after the holiday season is over, then we have a problem lol. The truth is, more than 58.3% of people gain weight during the Holiday season and that weight ranges anywhere from 7-10 lbs. While that doesn’t sound so bad at first, the truth is, it could take up to 5 months to lose the holiday weight and most people do not ever work it off. So each year, the number on the scales continues to rise.  

So I am here to help you! I promise you can enjoy the Holidays and all of the food the holidays brings while not having to stretch your waistline. After almost 7 years of following these rules, I have yet to put on one pound during the holidays, swear. The best part? I never felt like I missed out once. 

Excuses You Need To Leave Behind

• It’s too cold outside, I don’t want to work out! 
• Why should I even bother starting now? Thanksgiving is next week and then it is Christmas! 
• It’s the Holiday’s, I deserve this.
• Well, I ate that pie at lunch…. looks like I messed up for today. I’ll just try again tomorrow!

The Standard Rules  

• Don’t Give Up After One Bad Meal: So you ate terribly at your offices Thanksgiving Party? So what! Don’t give up! If you eat badly at the one-holiday function, make sure your next meal is smaller and healthier. Drink a lot of water and make sure you have a workout planned for the next day. Just don’t eat poorly and then say “well, that was a good try, I’m going to eat whatever I want now!”. Instead, keep moving forward. 
• Up Your Workouts: In general, I workout 4-6x a week, but during the Holidays, I really make sure to not miss a scheduled workout. Even though they say “abs are made in the kitchen and not at the gym”, I do this for balance and for my metabolisms sake. I also do this, so that I do not start slacking. It’s easy to not go to the gym, but if I am making a point to put in the extra work, I won’t start to slack. 
• Schedule Workouts On The Day Of Holiday’s or Holiday Parties: For example, the Turkey Trot. Every year, my family runs (you can walk too!) in the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning. It’s a great way to get a workout in with all of your friends and family before indulging in Thanksgiving Dinner. Even if you only have 15 minutes! A 15 or 20-minute workout is better than no workout on days like these. 
• Drink More Water That You Can Handle: For every alcoholic drink or sweet you have, make sure you are drinking at least one glass of water in between. 
• Get To Know The 80/20 Rule: There are a lot of Holiday’s and Holiday parties coming up, I totally get it! But if you really want to know the best way to balance yourself out, really get to know the 80/20 rule. Meaning, if you have a weekend full of Holiday parties coming up, make sure you are eating clean and working out every day leading up to the party. If you have a holiday lunch at your office, make sure your breakfast and dinner are both light and clean. It’s eating your best 80% of the time while giving yourself a break the other 20% of the time. It is all about balance! Think of it like balancing your checkbook. 

Holiday Parties 

• Pick Your Drinks Wisely: Stay away from the sugary ciders, sangrias, and eggnog concoctions. Lets put it this way, one 8 oz glass of spiked eggnog is over 400 calories with over 32 grams of sugar. So instead, stick to basic choices that have the least amount of sugar like a basic glass of red wine. To even things out,  in between every drink, add one glass of water. 
• Avoid Grazing: Instead of walking by every few minutes for a cheese and a cracker, make yourself a plate so that you can monitor everything you are putting in your mouth. This helps keep you from overeating. 
• Fill Your Plate Accordingly: Fill your plate with more proteins and greens rather than starches. If it is Thanksgiving, personally, I am going to have the dressing ( or stuffing) because I love it, but I am not going to fill my entire plate with it. Instead, I’ll have more roasted vegetables and turkey, then a smaller portion of the dressing. 
• Eat Your Greens First: Before you eat the rolls or candied yams, make sure you eat all of the healthy stuff on your plate first. That way, before you are able to stuff your face with unwanted and unhealthy calories, you’ll already start to notice you’re full and will eat less. 
• Bring A Healthy Dish: You may be called that person. But, who cares? I’m telling you, there will be somebody around that will be thanking you. You’re not the only one trying to stay healthy during the holidays. Also, just because something is healthy, doesn’t mean it isn’t delicious! Here is a whole list of healthy items you could bring. 

At the end of it all, my best advice is to enjoy yourself. Moderation is key. Don’t forget to sweat and eat healthy when you can. If pumpkin pie is your thing, then enjoy it! Just don’t lose sight of your goal. Don’t give up just because it is the holidays. You can do this! 

xo,

Lauren 

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