Top Ten Ways To Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

25. November 2010 by admin.

Thanksgiving rings in the holiday season’s bounty of feasts. Nothing beats getting together with friends and family and enjoying a holiday meal. The challenge of course is keeping our weight in check between now and New Year’s Day. No one wants to feel deprived through the holidays and you shouldn’t have to deprive yourself. Here is Alpha Fitness’s Top Ten Ways to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain.

10. Take a walk after a holiday meal. Not only will this help you digest your food better, it will help burn off some calories.

9. Incorporate lots of fresh vegetables into your holiday meals. They will add vibrant colors and flavors to many of your holiday favorites, more nutrition and fiber and help to fill you up sooner.

8. Bring a healthy dish. If you are attending a party or holiday get together bring your own favorite healthy dish. This will help you to at least be eating something nutritious that day.

7. Don’t arrive hungry. Having a healthy snack like vegetables with hummus, an apple with peanut butter or yogurt with fruit will help you to eat a more reasonable portion. Many people make the mistake of eating very little during the day to prepare for the large meal that they will be eating. This is likely to trigger a binger where you have no control over the amount you are eating.

6. Don’t extend the festivities past the day of the holiday or party. It’s okay to splurge once in a while, but don’t take that eating style into your daily life. One bad day won’t ruin your waistline, but a month certainly will.

5. Pick your favorites. Don’t feel obligated to try a little bit of everything. That will give you more calories than you can possibly need and won’t even leave you satisfied. Stick to your favorite options when you splurge and have a reasonable portion. You don’t have to deprive yourself of your favorites.

4. Run or walk in a turkey trot. Going for a good run or walk the day of Thanksgiving will help to burn calories and rev up your metabolism. While you might not be able to work off your entire Thanksgiving dinner, you certainly will make a dent.

3. Beware of the alcohol. I know, everyone enjoys a cup of holiday cheer, but the calories do add up. Unfortunately, they are empty calories so you are still going to want to eat in addition to the drinking. It’s okay to have a drink, but just watch how much you are drinking and what the drink is. For example, a glass of red or white wine only has about 120 calories compared to the 200+ calories found in many drinks. Eggnog in particular is high in calories with 343 calories in just one cup!

2. Make the people the focus of your attention, not the food. People feel deprived when they go to a holiday gathering and try to diet because they are focused on what they cannot have. If you focus on enjoying the time with family and friends, the food will not be as much of an issue. Enjoy the meal, but focus on the people.

1. Finally, this is a great time of the year to get a head start on your New Year’s resolution and start an exercise program. While it is not the best time of year to try and lose weight, starting to exercise will help you to maintain your weight through the holiday season, will improve your energy, and put you in the right holiday spirit.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at Alpha Fitness!

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