Holiday Diets

The holiday season is in full effect and chances are you will soon be celebrating holiday traditions with your family and close friends. These traditions usually include times of socializing that will undoubtedly include lots of foods that we wouldn’t normally eat and even drinks. So what’s a health conscious fitness minded soul to do?

Whether you’re an endurance athlete, amateur bodybuilder, or regular ol’ health nut you’re always aware of what you’re putting in your body. All year long, week in and week out, you’re counting calories, carbs, or grams of protein to ensure you’re on track to meet your next fitness goal. Don’t let your holiday dinner stress you out. It only comes one time of year, so I say live a little. We all miss something, whether it’s Mom’s sweet potato casserole or Granny’s famous spiced eggnog, so enjoy it. It’s okay to cheat a little, just don’t go overboard. Here’s 10 holiday diet tips to help:

1.  Eat everything you want, just eat it in moderation by keeping your servings small, even tiny for the worst offenders. Think of it as sampling, like you are sampling all the foods you love, but never eat throughout the year.
2. If you don’t love it, don’t eat it. Let’s face it, there will be plenty of foods you love to eat sitting around the dinner table and kitchen. Don’t waste calories on foods you don’t absolutely love.
3. If you eat 5 small meals a day, continue to eat 5 small meals. Don’t skip meals to save room or even worse eat 2 small meals and 2 or 3 gut busting meals. This can get tough when you are expected to eat dinner at your house, then your parent’s house, and then his/her parent’s house, so plan ahead.
4. To shave calories, go easy when adding gravy, nuts, or cheese.
5. Exercise. Either continue with your current routine or do something out of ordinary. Take a hike, pass football with your nephew, take your mom’s overweight poodle for a jog…you get the idea.
6. Skip appetizers and finger foods. You are probably already eating several small meals a day, so don’t add unneeded calories  in between meals on your holiday.
7. Alcohol. Enjoy yourself but keep it in moderation.
8. If you know you’re going to have dessert, save room during the meal. Don’t eat until you’re full then try to force down a slice of Aunt Betty’s homemade pumpkin pie.
9. As previously mentioned, you may have 2, 3 or even 4 holiday meals you are expected to attend. Pick one in which you allow yourself to cheat. For the others, stick as close to your regular diet as you can.
10. Enjoy yourself but get back to your regular diet and exercise as soon as possible.

**If you fail miserably, don’t worry. You can jump start your post-holiday weight loss with a fat burner such as VPX’s Redline or TSN's new Rapid Weight Loss Formula.

 
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