Holiday Weight Gain

Plan ahead.

Take a little time in the beginning of each week to plan your schedule. Fit in workouts, shopping and baking time, and everything else that needs to be accomplished that week. Then, work your plan!

Make exercise a priority.

It can be easy to forgo your afternoon run for holiday shopping, but try to fit in the festivities around your regular exercise time. Or multi-task by going for a power walk around the mall before shopping.

Skip the takeout.

It can be tempting to stop at a fast food joint or have food delivered when you’ve been running around all day. But cooking a healthy meal can save you hundreds of calories and doesn’t have to be an all night event. One of my favorite go to meals is an easy stir fry using a bag of frozen vegetables, whole grain rice and soy sauce to taste. I sometimes add in a quick scrambled egg or some frozen shrimp or grilled chicken for protein. And it takes only minutes to prepare.

Eat dinner before going to a party.

Filling up on healthy foods in a controlled environment can keep you from overeating the high fat and high calorie foods commonly found during holiday parties.

Avoid alcohol.

Or at least skip the sugary cocktails in lieu of a glass of red wine. One of those cocktails can add several hundred calories each. In addition, being under the influence of alcohol can make it significantly more difficult to make smart food choices.