Easily avoid Holiday weight gain

Oh the holidays.  Full of joy, laughter, friendship, communion and food.  Food can be your friend or your enemy, depending on how you approach the holiday feast.  If you want to avoid holiday weight gain, follow these easy tips and you’ll be just fine.

Have a plan.  Don’t go to the holiday parties without a plan.  It’s okay, I’m going to help you with that plan.  Make sure to bookmark these steps so you don’t forget!

Think of the holidays as a social gathering and not a feast. Mind over matter.  If you go to a holiday party with the intent to binge eat then, duh, you will.  Look at the holidays as a time to get together with your family and friends and share great moments and gifts.  Food is just a small aspect of it, yes, even Thanksgiving.

Dress in form fitting clothes.  You know you dress in comfortable clothes so you can fill up and not feel “tight”.  Don’t do it!  That way you won’t feel like it’s okay to stretch out those clothes and eat more than you should.

Eat a small meal before you go out.  Don’t show up to holiday parties and gatherings starving.  That’s a sure fire way to overeat and gain weight.  Eat a small healthy meal before you leave the house so when it’s time to eat or snack at the party, you won’t be eating more than you should.

Avoid Alcohol.  Alcohol is just empty calories, even the “light” versions.  If you must have some, limit yourself to one glass of wine or eggnog.  And believe me, you can have fun without drinking the night away.  Also, drinking may cause you to feel hungrier as the night progresses.  We don’t want that!

Eat smaller portions.  Get yourself a smaller plate and eat smaller portions.  Have a little bit of that sweet potato casserole but be sure it truly is just a “little” bit.  And avoid seconds.  This should be easy if you have a small meal before arriving.

Pick one dessert or bring your own.  Make a healthy dessert, like fruit salad, to bring so you don’t feel left out when everyone is eating sweets.  If you don’t have a sweet treat to bring, pick one dessert and have a small portion of it.  Many times we eat a few bites of every dessert and trust me, that adds up.  Instead, have a small slice of pumpkin pie.

Stay Positive! If you go into the holidays believing you will fail and you will gain weight, guess what? You will!  Don’t think that way.  Stay positive.  Tell yourself that you won’t gain weight, you will stick to your plan and you won’t give in to temptation.  I believe you can avoid weight gain during the holidays. Do you?

Take a look at the Full Throttle Weight Loss book, a great e-book on helping you lose weight without the complication.  I highly recommend it.

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