Now that we’ve established that Fall Body is a thing, it’s time to turn our attention to most magical time of year.
For every Christmas, turn, turn, turn.
There is a temptation, turn, turn, turn.
And a plate filled with cookies and holiday cheer.
Tell me: HOW can any self-loving woman resist all the splendours of the season? It’s almost impossible to turn down a glass of Irish cream on ice or a second helping of savoury stuffing. And please don’t judge the amount of baked goodies that I can consume without batting an eyelash. If there’s a time to create a Healthy Holidays plan, it’s now!
(Homemade salted caramels? Oh yeah, they’re also a thing chez Lena.)
Today, I’m pleased to share some tried and true tips for managing your weight throughout the holidays. Some are common sense – like don’t overeat! – but for the times you do find yourself indulging a little too much and a little too often, there are ways to circumvent those added inches.
1. Tackle Fall Body Head On. Read my previous post for tips on how to manage your diet and exercise before the holidays arrive, so you’ll already be ahead of the curve when it comes to resisting (or giving into) holiday sweets.
2. Learn How to Say No. Or rather, no thank you, because we’re Canadian and polite. Practice with me now, “No thank you.” No thank you, I cannot make it to your holiday party. No thank you, I would not like a second helping. No thank you, I will not take a doggy bag of goodies home. Especially around the holidays, we feel our resolve weaken because it’s so hard to say no. Learning how to accept one less invitation or one less offer of more food is very beneficial to your waistline. Pick and choose the calories that are worth consuming!
3. Be the Hostess with the Mostess. Sure, hosting Christmas dinner or holiday get togethers is much more work, but it allows you to stay in control of what you serve, and how much you put on your own plate. Plus, you can offer leftovers to guests or send unopened gifts of chocolate or other indulgent foods to the needy.
4. Make it Happen. Fitness, that is. The holidays and weight gain are synonymous, so expect that you’ll need to get some physical activity in to combat holiday weight gain. GoodLife Fitness, with over 350 fitness club and gym locations across the country, offers 24/7 and 24/4 gym locations that let you work out on your own time – late night, early morning, or anytime in between. Plus, they have a large amount of women’s only gyms, so you can work out where you feel most comfortable, too.
(Try GoodLife for FREE with a 3-Visit Pass which includes access to everything a GoodLife Fitness Membership Offers. The holidays are the perfect time to follow a path to better health!)
5. Don’t be too Hard on Yourself. Trust me when I say that you are NOT the only person who will battle the bulge over the Christmas season. However, create a Healthy Holidays plan, make good choices whenever you can, and enjoy every moment with friends and family!
Tell me – how will you stay on track this holiday season?
This Blog post was written as part of the GoodLife Fitness Blogger Ambassador Program, however all opinions expressed are my own.
I stay on track by locking away the bacon till the new year. Mmmmm veggie burgers and humus.
Hubby is working over the holidays so our time spent out visiting/indulging is very limited this year so hopefully that will help!
another sure fire tip is to cut out liquid sugars while celebrating.
This year, I’ll be too busy with 3 new grandchildren to put any food in my mouth lol
Will keep this in mind over the holidays its so easy to over eat
I am dreading it already! I recently took time off work to care for my daughter and its gonna be for quite some time. I love to Christmas bake and I have already been snacking way too much as it is.
I am a member with weight watchers but truthfully these last couple weeks I’m not doing so great, I need to get back to tracking, tracking everyday sure does help!!
I know when i just started writing down everything i put in my mouth in the run of a day i was shocked!
Not beating yourself up over a ‘fail’ is key.. we all are only human! One bad day doesn’t need to make a bad week
YUM! These look pretty tasty! GOOD tips!
Some good things to keep in mind
Turning down those homemade salted caramels would require more willpower than I (want to) have.
everything in moderation
I do fine when I’m busy. It’s those quiet days at home with all the snacks that are harder so my plan is to do everything.
These are some great tips that are easy to implement, thanks for sharing. Now I want some salted caramels though, look so yummy!
Great tips, especially for this holiday season. I try to make sure I exercise or go to the gym at least 4 times a week and watch my portion size.
I watch the liquid calories and try not to drink too much alcohol, especially the really decadent stuff like eggnog!
I have to say, showing pictures of chocolate covered caramels and talking about losing or maintaining your weight is just cruel. lol I’m terrible because I’ve gained a lot of weight this past year and I’ve got to lose it somehow