How to Prevent Holiday Weight Gain

This is an original post written by Chicago Personal Trainer, Cristina Panagopoulos.

Tis the season for holiday parties, eggnog, cookie platters and more! Who doesn’t love that? It’s all great until you realize that the holiday season caused you to gain an extra 5-10lb. It’s not uncommon and unfortunately most people do gain a few pounds during the holidays. So how do you avoid it this year?! There are ways to stay fit during the holiday season and NOT gain weight! Here are my top 5 tips on how to avoid the weight gain while still enjoying the season.

1) Bring a Healthy Dish:
Every holiday party is usually an eclectic mix of dishes, right? Do you often bring something? Why not offer to bring a HEALTHY dish. I mean, you are in control of what your making. You might be surprised at how many people are grateful for something nutritious and delicious! Offer to bring a healthy side dish to your next party. Try something like spaghetti squash casserole, green beans tossed with slivered almonds and coconut oil, or perhaps cookies made with almond flour and coconut sugar. There’s ALWAYS a way to make something healthier!

2) Limit Alcohol:
Skip the fancy drinks. Yes, eggnog sounds wonderful, but have you checked out how much calories, sugar and cholesterol it has?! Ek. It makes my heart hurt just reading it! Water and tea is always a great bet but if you need to have an alcoholic drink, stick to red wine that is packed with antioxidants.

3) Don’t Skip A Meal:
Don’t skip meals! So you have a holiday party this evening, are you thinking of skipping a meal to help save up some calories? DON’T. Skipping meals is the worst thing you could do! You’ll end up putting your body into a starvation mode that will take longer to burn calories later in the day and you’ll end up storing even more fat. Start your day off right with a good breakfast. This will keep you satisfied and starting on the right foot. You’re more likely to keep the rest of the day good if you start it off good!

4) No Leftovers:
Give away the leftovers. Don’t pack your fridge with all the goodies from your party. Give them away! Let everyone take a little bit home that way not one person is stuck with a ton of food to finish (that is most likely not healthy). Sharing is caring.

5) Keep moving:
Just because it’s cold out and your schedule might seem busier doesn’t mean you can stop what you were doing before! Keep on moving! Keep going to your yoga class, don’t cancel on your personal trainer, keep working out with your girlfriend… whatever it is you do, keep doing it! When we stick to our routine we are less likely to veer away from it.

Try these tips this holiday season and keep off the holiday weight gain! Do you have a healthy trick you use during the holidays? A fun and clean recipe your family and friends love? We’d LOVE to hear about it! Send us a note at cwphysique@gmail.com and you could be featured in our newsletter!

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Contact Cristina today to schedule a complimentary introductory session. Click here to see the original post.