It is possible to make it through this years festivities without gaining weight. Here are some simple tips to help you fight the holiday bulge.

Many of my clients express concern this time of year about how to make it through all the festivities without gaining 10 pounds.  This can be a challenge with so many tempting treats around.  From staff parties, various family dinners and New Years parties the opportunities to mess up our hard work seem to be endless.  But with a little careful planning you can fight the holiday bulge and not gain a pound while still enjoying some holiday favorites. 

Plan ahead.  Take a look at the entire month ahead of you and mark the events down.   Use this as a guide to select cheat days from your diet.  Generally it is ok to have one day a week where you can relax a little and eat a few items that you would not normally have every day.  It works well that most parties are on the weekends so during the week you can stick to your healthy eating schedule and then enjoy a little extra Saturday night. 

Eat before you go.  A lot of holiday events are buffet style or they are just simply jam packed with sauces, gravies, sweets and calories, calories, calories.  So one thing I find works well is to eat a plate of veggies before I go to an event; especially a buffet.  Steam a big helping of various veggies and eat it right before you walk out the door to your dinner party.  By the time dinner is served you will have enough appetite back to enjoy but you won’t be so starving that you make poor choices.   And in the case of a buffet style, I always start with all veggies and salads, then whatever room I have left I can carefully select a few worthwhile heavier items.

Choose dinner or dessert.  Find out what is being served for dessert.  If it is something you simply cannot miss out on then order a salad for dinner.  Or do the opposite and just order tea while everyone else is indulging after the meal. 

Exercise before any big event.  Make this part of your getting ready régime before you head out to a party.  A high intensity workout with lots of intervals can make going into a high calorie night a little more guilt free.  It is ok to consume more calories and carbs after an intense exercise session.  In fact, it is encouraged.  So work out an hour before your party and you can enjoy those calorie packed carbs.

Go for a walk.  After Christmas dinner get the entire family involved and head out for a brisk walk.  30 minutes after dinner will help burn some of those excess calories and help the wound up kids to fall asleep.  Maybe there is snow on the ground?  Suggest a snowball fight or go make a few snowmen in the yard.  These are all great ways to burn calories after a heavy meal and create some fun family traditions and memories. 

Don’t drink your calories (within reason).  I know it is impossible for many people to imagine getting through the holiday season without having a little alcohol.  So I am not going to tell you not to drink at all.  Just be careful about what you do drink.  Red wine is always one of the better options.  Avoid high balls mixed with pop and syrup.  Creamy liquors are a big no no as well.  My favorite drink is grapefruit gin martinis.  Gin is lower calorie as far as hard booze goes and grapefruits have many health and weight loss benefits.  Just make sure you go for fresh squeezed and not concentrate.  You will be surprised how many restaurants have this option if you just ask. 

Avoid all the tempting marketing at Starbucks.  Do yourself a favor and go to the Starbucks website and read up on how many calories are in all of those amazing holiday drinks.  It is simply not worth it.   One example for you is a Caramel Brule Latte, size grande packs a whopping 420 calories.  That is an entire meal. Stick to your Americano through the season guys. 

Don’t bake or buy things for around the house.  If you are throwing the party then purchase for that party only.  A lot of us get nostalgic around the holidays and want to have our holiday favorites easily at hand.  You will get a chance to try little samples at all the parties this year so don’t tempt yourself everyday at home. 

Wear a tight dress.  Yup, you worked really hard all year and have earned that tight little black dress.  So wear it proudly and let it help you not over eat.  You don’t want to be half way through your night and feel like your stomach is sticking out so this can help guide you from eating too much.

Well I hope some of these tips help everyone steer clear of holiday weight gain.  It’s a tough time of year to get through for our bodies, but you will feel much better come January 1^st if you manage to pull it off.  Good luck!