So how do you enjoy the holidays and not gain weight?  Here are five simple tips to help you enjoy the holiday season without putting on the pounds.

Set Party Goals

Set goals ahead of time to help you stay focused when attending each holiday gathering.  Decide how much you will eat before you get there.  To the best of your ability choose foods that are healthy and high in fiber.  Try to make sure you eat at least one serving of fruit and one serving of vegetables. The high fiber in fruits and vegetables will help you feel fuller longer which leaves very little room for over indulging.

Keep in mind the one holiday party will not add pounds to your waistline.  However, turning everyday into a holiday party definitely will.  To combat the urge plan to eat only one holiday treat at your home or office each day but also plan on declining the many other offers of food and party treats that come your way.

Offer to Bring a Dish

Take your favorite healthy dish to the party like a veggie salad with low fat dip or baked chicken with brown rice.  This will guarantee that there is at least one healthy option available to eat.

Don’t Drink Your Calories

We are usually more aware of the food that we eat than the liquids we drink.  Most holiday drinks contain 500 calories or more.  Eggnog, for instance, has 360 calories per cup.  Cutting your calorie intake during the holiday season can be extremely helpful.  However, be careful not to deplete your carbohydrate intake.  Muscles need carbohydrates to function so keep them nourished.  Calorie intake should never drop below 1,200 for women and 1,800 for men. Try to drink as if you are the designated driver even if you are not.  Your body will love you for it!

Step up Your Workout

Increasing or intensifying your workouts to keep the calories burning is an essential to keeping the weight off during the holiday season.  Your busy schedule may not allow you to add an extra day of exercise to your regimen, but increasing your intensity level will surely do the trick.

One of the most effective forms of cardiovascular exercise is Interval Training.  Interval Training is alternating burst of high intensity activity with intervals of low intensity, light activity.  Take walking for instance.  Incorporate short, 30 second bursts of jogging into your regular brisk walking routine and you have just super charged your workout.

Remember the Reason for the Season

The true reason for the holiday season is to celebrate, rejoice and gather with friends and family.  Focusing on the people you love rather than food you love is a key component to enjoying the holiday season without putting on the pounds.

Here are a few ideas to help you keep moving through these chilly months and maintain a regimen for your fitness success, while enjoying the holiday celebrations.

STAY FOC– USED

Setting goals can be a great way to keep you focused through the fall months when you don’t feel like exercising and/or eating right. Setting goals going into the fall/winter months will help you have something to strive for, making the months ahead exciting. Goals tend to energize you and as you accomplish one goal it makes the next goal easier to achieve, leaving you feeling emotionally rewarded for each small step you make in the right direction. Setting goals can mean the difference between success and failure this fall.

MAKE EXERCISE A PRIORITY

Try to exercise first thing in the morning before your day becomes demanding. Exercising first thing in the morning will allow you to be consistent during this time of the year when there are more opportunities for you to put on unwanted pounds.  With the holiday season approaching, keeping the calories burning is very important.

FIND A PARTNER OR DEVELOP A TEAM

Exercising with a partner or a team of people can be a great support to accomplishing your goals. A workout partner can hold you accountable, push you to the level of intensity you need to win and keep you honest about meeting your goals.  Working out with a team of people you may find that you are able to get more from the workout by drawing on the collective energy of a group of people all striving for the same or similar goals.  A certified personal trainer can also be a great benefit, allowing you to keep your workouts fresh and always progressing.

CREATING A WORKOUT REGIMEN THAT WORKS

Cardio Vascular Exercise, resistance training and a structured diet plan are the key ingredients to a successful workout regimen.

Whether you’re walking, running, biking, or swimming, it doesn’t matter what you do, as long as you do something.  There is a list of benefits from cardiovascular exercise that go beyond weight loss which makes this form of exercise an important factor in your overall health.  Benefits such as; increased energy, decrease in anxiety and depression, it increases HDL cholesterol, lowers blood pressure, improves immune system and it helps protect the body against a host of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and osteoporosis.

Adding resistance training to your workout regimen allows your body to burn calories at a faster rate, even while resting.  Resistance training raising your basal metabolism and helps too prevent your body from storing fat. The more muscle you have, the more efficient and effective your metabolism is.  Resistance training not only helps you lose more weight, it helps you keep the weight off.

Developing a structured diet plan is the single most important part of the puzzle.  A healthy diet plan should include protein; such as chicken, turkey and fish, which supports muscle growth and provides basic nutrients, carbohydrates that are low in glycemic index, high in fiber and gives you a steady release of energy; such as brown rice, yams, and oatmeal, and good fats (Omega 3 and Omega 6) that your body needs to survive and cannot be synthesized from any other substances we eat.

ENJOY SMALLER PORTIONS

Trying to stay away from food you enjoy will leave you feeling deprived and cause you to eat more, so avoiding restrictive diets over the winter months and holiday season is important.  Learn to enjoy your favorite foods in smaller portions using the palm of your hand or a clinched fist as your guide, which is a basic portion size, and cutting that basic portion size in half when you want to indulge in something not so healthy. Limiting these enjoyments to a free day once a week might also be a great idea for you consider.

SPREAD OUT YOUR MEALS

Don’t feel like you have to eat everything at once. Spreading out your meals is the key to retraining your sluggish metabolism and keeping it moving throughout the day. Men should eat 6 small meals per day and women should eat 5 small meals. Eating 5 to 6 small meals per day, will increase your energy levels, accelerate muscle growth, and speed up your metabolism without storing fat. In fact, by eating super-clean, high protein foods at each of your six meals, you will find that your metabolism goes into overdrive, burning up to 50% more calories and becoming extremely efficient.

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

It is just as important during the fall/winter months, as it is in the summer months, to drink plenty of water. Water helps counter the dehydrating effects of drinking alcoholic beverages, other high calorie drinks, the effects of travel and it helps to release toxins and unwanted fat cells out of your body.

When staying fit is your focus, these fitness secrets will allow you to relax and join in the holiday celebrations, while staying focused on what’s important and continuing to make your fitness success a priority.

Although some fruits and grains rank high on many healthy foods lists, the healthiest foods are those from the vegetable category.  But what about all the other foods? With so many lists claiming to highlight the “top superfoods” how do you choose which “superfoods” to add to your list? A great way to identify the best foods is to use the “Similarities Method”. Multiple lists share similar items because those items are more proven and universally accepted. The next time you see the same foods on multiple “healthy foods” you can confidently add them to your personal healthy food list.

Here are a few from my list of “Healthiest” foods:

#5 Acai Berry

This is a slightly chocolaty tasting berry from a palm tree in the Amazon. This berry contains twice as many anti-oxidants than other berries and is ranked high among healthy foods.  It’s also full of amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.  Other fruits and berries rich in anti-oxidants are:  Strawberries, Raspberries, and Blueberries.

#4 Sweet Potatoes

Listed in the top 5 of all anti-oxidants Sweet Potatoes are rich in beta-carotene and boast 150% more antioxidants than blueberries. This easy-to-make treat can be easily incorporated into any breakfast, lunch or dinner. The purple Okinawan sweet potatoes called beni-imo are the best, but the more common orange sweet potatoes pack a similarly healthful wallop.

#3 Broccoli

Broccoli has long been touted as one of the healthiest vegetables available. This superfood is loaded with fiber, antioxidants and vitamin C to aid in iron absorption. While not equal to milk broccoli is a great alternate source of calcium for controlling blood pressure and building strong bones. To get the most from these “good-for-you” benefits add broccoli as well as other cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts, several times per week.

#2 Garlic

Considered a daily super food, Garlic is great at promoting cardiovascular health. Garlic works to dilate blood vessels, lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels and prevent the oxidation that contributes to cellular damage. Even those with arterial or heart problems can benefit from garlic’s almost miraculous healing properties which are considered, by many, to be as beneficial as penicillin and tetracycline.

#1 Tomatoes

The humble Tomato found in your salad is actually a super food that is a rich source of many nutrients.   Tomatoes contain high levels of beta-carotene, an antioxidant that supports the immune system and even helps maintain healthy skin and tissue lining. Tomatoes are also packed with potassium, antioxidant flavonoids and Vitamin E which are essential for heart health.  One medium-size tomato can provide 50% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C. Tomatoes contain no saturated fat, are low in salt, starch and sugars, high in dietary fiber and have a low glycemic index.

Whether you add one of these wonderfully healthy foods to your diet or you do a little homework and add foods from one of the many “healthy foods” lists available…adding HEALTHY foods to your diet is the key to a long, healthy and “Fabulously Fit” life.