How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

December 13, 2018

Pin this Guide

Four easy ways to avoid holiday weight gain while still enjoying everything the holidays have to offer!

Holiday parties are in full effect and so are all the extra treats that come along with them. Whether you’re feasting on potato latkes, eggnog, or Christmas cookies galore, you don’t need to be a victim of year-end holiday weight gain. Keep the weight off this holiday season by following these few tips. You’ll enjoy all the holidays have to offer and still fit into your little black dress on New Year’s Eve!

Mark Your Calendar

Your calendar is probably filled with cocktail parties and events over the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find time to exercise. Just like you schedule all the holiday festivities, mark your calendar with specific times to move your body. Whether it’s a walk around the block during your lunch break or a full-on sweat session at the gym, you’ll feel better physically and mentally if you get your adrenaline flowing.

Be Choosy

While you’re at it scheduling in exercise, take a look at how many events are on tap for the week and decide if it’s necessary – and worth it – to go to all of them. Sure, you don’t want to miss your best friend’s amazing bash, but do you really need to go to every office mate’s holiday party? Save your time and energy (and calories) for the events that matter the most. And while you’re at it, be choosy about what treats you enjoy at the events you do go to. They won’t all be as nutrient-rich as the baked goods and desserts I share in my recipe library!

Stick to Routine

You may think it’s better to save up calories for all those holiday specialties, but if you skip meals or eat too little the day of a party, your body will hold on to every last morsel you put in your mouth. Instead, follow your normal eating routine (which hopefully includes regular meals and snacks) to keep your metabolism going and your body in balance. If anything, just make better choices during meals and snacks on days of holiday parties.

Spend Wisely

I’m talking about calories, not money (although with all the holiday gifts you’re buying, that’s important too). There’s no doubt you’ll be eating more than usual over the next few weeks, but that doesn’t mean it should be a free for all. Before you fill your plate at parties, survey the offerings to see what appeals to you the most. And whatever you do, don’t deprive yourself of what you really want – restriction only backfires, leaving you thinking about and craving that forbidden fruit even more.

These tips don’t seem too difficult, do they? And come January 1st (or maybe January 2nd, as the case may be for most people), you’ll be thanking me!