Nov 29, 2010 Jennifer Harvey
Holiday Treats - Michael Wade
“ I will loose weight after the holidays,” is a comment heard quite often during this time of year. It seems the temptations of sugar cookies, holiday parties, and over indulging has become a routine for many. However there are ways to prevent weight gain during the holiday season. If you keep in mind the following tips and tricks, the excuses for gaining weight will stop.
The holiday season is a time for catching up and enjoying ourselves with friends and family. This goes hand-in-hand with cocktails, dinners, and desserts. One of the best ways to cut the calories is to eliminate alcohol. Alcoholic beverages can have hundreds of calories that are not needed. One glass of eggnog can be around 400 calories. Think of how many hours that is on the treadmill! If not eliminating the drinks altogether, try cutting out leisure drinking and only have a drink on special occasions. The best drink option: water. Drink lots of it to flush out fats and hydrate your body.
Since avoiding holiday parties is out of the question, never arrive to a party on an empty stomach. Having a small meal before will prevent you from overindulging on snacks while there. Eating smaller meals instead of three large ones can help your metabolism. According to Womens Health magazine, your blood sugar levels are more likely to dip when limiting yourself to three meals a day and that can result in you feeling famished. Controlling your food intake is important; it has become a norm for “food comas” after indulging at a party. Just because others may be overeating does not make it an invitation for others to. It is just giving you another excuse to pack on the pounds. Keep in mind that it is okay to overindulge once in a while and you should allow yourself to taste the sweet desserts of the holidays. Having a small piece of pie or opting for the fruit for dessert is always an option.
Staying active is always important. There are more ways than ever right now to do so. While shoveling the driveway may seem a bit tedious, you can burn hundreds of calories doing so. Skiing and ice-skating are also great ways to keep your body moving. Even building a snowman or having a snowball fight burns more calories than you would think. Exercise should be present wherever you go, even to the shopping mall. Parking further away, taking the stair case, and carrying the heavy bags burns calories and keeps you in the holiday spirit while shopping for others. Also with the New Year coming around, a gym membership is always a good gift idea for you or to give to others. Gym memberships usually offer good deals around this time and are good motivations to get out of the house.
Let this be the holiday season where you do not have to pack on the extra pounds. Remember that your health and happiness tastes much better than the second round of dessert. You should not deprive yourself of anything but you should not overindulge in anything either. Everything in moderation is good for you and staying active is just as important.
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