How to enjoy Christmas without busting your seams

I love Christmas time.  I love all of the corny decorations, the parades, the Christmas church service and even though I’m in my late 20′s I still LOVE Charlie Brown Christmas and all of the puppet movies like Little Drummer Boy. Now lets talk about what I don’t love. Candy at every desk. Brownies at every meeting, and wine at every Holiday dinner party. How are you supposed to get through this month without gaining weight?

One step at a time, one day at a time and one week at a time. Here are some of my favorite tips!

STEP ONE: Pack food. From breakfast to lunch and all of the snacks in between. Put it in a bag and in the fridge at work. Eat every 2.5 hours, that way when they break out the brownies it will be easier to walk away.

ONE DAY AT A TIME: From the moment that you get out of bed, to the moment you come home at night you should have a mental plan of attack. Being healthy doesn’t just happen. It has to become a practice. Put your workout clothes in your car so  you can fit in a quick lunch break workout. Have healthy snacks in reach so you don’t fall to the candy. Eat frequently so you never get to that “I’m so hungry I don’t care” point. Also plan your rest hours. Thats important. For example. I will not workout after 6pm. That is my time to get dinner ready and prepare for the next day before I unwind. So I know that I have to get my workout in before then. Procrastination is not an option.

ONE WEEK AT A TIME: Plan for a cheat day. Allow yourself one cheat meal and one cheat dessert a week. Don’t go crazy, but give yourself a break. No one wants to be that person. You know that person thats always on a diet, or can’t eat anything at the party because “they’ll get sick if they eat whats there.” Gimme a break! Be mindful. “I know I promised to go to my office Christmas party this weekend. So I’ll eat really healthy throughout the week, since I know that my healthy options will be limited there, and most likely I’ll have dessert.” Just plan ahead. Also I find that drinking water and snacking on veggies before the main courses come out helps a lot by limiting amount of bad food that you consume.

LASTLY: Enjoy the Holiday Season! Have some wine, have some cookies, have some chocolate. Just a small amount of it. Just once or twice a week, and be sure to stay active. Get a walk in whenever you can. Go to Bootcamp before work and be done with your workout for the day. You’ll enjoy the Holiday favorites and you won’t gain weight in the mean time. You’ll be satisfied with your sugar cookie and your small glass of wine at your in laws and your butt will still fit into your jeans;)

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good weight!

-Grace