Tips On How To Avoid Gaining Holiday Pounds

It's that time of year again. The time where junk slowly sneaks into our pantries at Halloween and drags on through the News Years Celebrations. We joyfully eat those decadent and savory foods that we all love and look forward to this time of year. We push snooze on the alarm clock and snuggle under the warm covers a little longer instead of fitting in time for our workouts. Some where along the way our waists have expanded and our thighs are screaming to be set free in a pair sweats instead of skinny jeans. It almost seems futile to try to resist. I, mean after all, what are the holidays for if you can't eat your favorite foods, right?!

Well, here are 10 tips to help you fight the battle of the bulge over the holidays:

Tip #1 - Make sure you are drinking enough water. In the winter, we tend to forget to drink because it is not usually hot. We can sometimes think we are hungry when we are in fact dehydrated.

Tip #2 - Make sure you keep fresh fruits and veggies on hand at all times. Frozen is a good choice too!

Tip #3 - When invited to a party, steer clear of the foods laden with sauce and fat. Instead, fill up on the fruit and veggies. Before going to a party, try filling up on foods containing fiber. Examples : apples with peanut butter, broccoli with hummus, or greek yogurt.

Tip #4 - Plan a "Turkey Trot 5K" or a "Christmas Crunch Circuit" event for your family to participate in. It doesn't have to be anything very elaborate. It can be as simple as emailing an invitation to join you on your 5K or 1 mile walk or do a workout video together. Something to encourage the family to burns some calories!

Tip #5 - Make sure you are eating several small meals throughout your day.

Tip #6 - Plan ahead before those holiday shopping trips. Pack a healthy snack to avoid paying higher prices on junk food.

Tip #7 - Try to only eat out once a week. Planning your meals out at the beginning of the week will help save on your pocketbook as well as your waistline.

Tip #8 - Make sure you set goals for yourself fitness wise. Try to get in a minimum 3 days a week 30 minutes(or more) of cardio and two days a week of weight training.

Tip #9 - Be aware of what you are eating everyday. There are a lot of great apps and websites to help you track your nutrition and exercise. Check out SparkPeople.com or MyFitnessPal.com.

Tip #10 - Offer to make a healthier dish to bring to your family holiday events. You might surprise a few neigh-sayers with a better tasting healthy dish as oppose to one that is loaded with calories.

I hope this tips are helpful. You can check out this blog at the 405moms.com website too. They have invited me to be a 405moms blogger. Feel free to share with me some of your favorite tricks to avoid holiday weight gain or ask questions that you would like to see answered!