How To Beat Holiday Weight Gain

Don’t look now but THE HOLIDAYS are right around the corner!

I love the holidays – Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  The holidays around our house involve a lot of eating.  I like to eat just like the next person.  There’s food all around, Holiday movies to watch, football games to get lost in, long-lost relatives to visit with, and children to make cookies with.

But…

The excess calories add up fast, don’t they?

It’s called “mindless eating”.  So here are 3 tips to help you keep your weight in check during the “most wonderful time of the year”!

1) Stick to a schedule.

If you overeat the evening before, don’t say to yourself that you’ll fast all day to make up for it.  It probably won’t work.  You’ll just find a reason to do the same thing again in the evening when the food and drink start appearing.  So stick to a schedule.

Eat a light breakfast (I have slow digesting oats, flaxseed, Irish oats mixed together).  2 – 3 hours later eat some protein (I have egg whites with a couple of egg yolks).  2-3 hours later eat your next meal (and repeat until 8 pm or so).

2) Drink lots of water.

You’ve probably heard this one before and it’s true.

Set out a big container of water and try to drink all of it throughout the day until it’s empty.  I use a 1-gallon container.  note – don’t drink too much liquid during your meals so you don’t interfere with the digestive process.

3) Exercise

Do something. Play with the kids. Take a walk before breakfast. Go to the gym and run on the treadmill.  Ride a bike.  Go to a boot camp or yoga class.  By following these 3 tips, you’ll feel great throughout the Holidays while you enjoy eating a little more than you normally might.  A fitness lifestyle is not about refraining from food and drink.

It’s about making smart decisions, having a plan, acting on those plans, and feeling great!