Enjoying Your Holidays:Holiday Weight Management Tips

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By Rachel Derry
Staff Writer LIFamilies

For everyone who celebrates, the holidays are the toughest time of the year to try to watch, lose, or maintain your weight. You’re spending more time than usual in social gathers and every gathering is focused on food! There are a million different cookies, grandma’s stuffing, and mom’s awesome sweet potatoes; what are you to do?

Don’t worry, you are far from alone. When it comes to celebrating the holidays, now is not the time to try to go completely cold turkey and deprive yourself of everything but water and carrot sticks. Here are a few tips to help you maintain your happy holiday composure and your weight at the same time.

Plan to be the happy hostess! When you go to holiday get-togethers and social events, you never know what is going to be available for you to munch on. The odds are good that everything is going to be fatty, fabulous, and exactly what you’re trying to avoid! When you are planning the gathering you can choose the healthier food options. Everyone will be the healthier while still enjoying your smart-version of the usual yummies.

Drink before every meal. Before you sit down at the fully-stocked table or visit the hors devour counter drink a full glass of water. This will help fill you up quicker, while keeping you hydrated at the same time! Remember, drinking plenty of water also helps you burn fat faster and stay healthy.

Remember to go little by little. When it comes to the holiday feast, you need to do a little at a time in two ways: make sure to prepare a small plate of smaller portions and to take smaller bites. By only taking small portions on a small plate you will reduce your intake, and by taking small bites you will give your body the needed to time to realize it is full sooner.

Keep boredom away, if you can. By making sure to stay involved at your social get-togethers there will be less lulls and boredom. These lulls lead to senseless eating and drinking. If you stay active you will also slowly fight away the calories that you are consuming.

You’re not a fish so try not to drink like one. Drinking the seasonal cocktails provided at your social gatherings are a large obstacle in your path to weight lose/maintenance. Cocktails and drinks not only pack on the empty calories, they also cut down your inhibitions about eating. Like previously stated, don’t deprive yourself of that long-awaited mulled wine; just be sure to watch your consumption. Also, there are many “skinny” drink alternatives to be found for most of your seasonal favorites, you need only google it!

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