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It’s Black Friday, and unless you’re in the process of shopping until your bank account is dropping, chances are that you’re laying around in a bout of turkey and pie flavored guilt. And the worst part is that this is only the beginning of the fattest time of the year.

The holiday party season leads to an average weight gain of at least 1 pound every year – for fit people! If you’re already a bit overweight, chances are you’ll gain an average of 5 pounds between now and January 2. Unfortunately, despite $$$$ spent on gym memberships and millions of New Year’s resolutions, most of us don’t lose that weight once we gain it, so it’s easy to see how gaining a pound this year can lead to an unhealthy snowball effect.

The good news is that it’s not too late to stay healthy and maintain your current weight during this holiday season. Unless you’re really hardcore, or have no social life, it is nearly impossible to lose weight during this time of year, but you can definitely maintain your current weight and start the New Year off right. Here are five tips that will help you accomplish that goal – if you follow them!

1. Listen to Mom, Eat Your Breakfast. You may be tempted to skip breakfast during this time of year, thinking that you’re saving those calories for later. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really help, as you’ll just overeat by even more calories later. Instead, eat a small, healthy breakfast. Lately I’ve been rocking a banana and spinach smoothie (much more tasty than it sounds!). 2 bananas, a big handful of spinach, and some water equals about 200 calories, but packs a lot of nutrition.
2. Chomp Some Veggies and Protein Before the Party. Pre-eating is your friend if you’re trying to avoid tasty temptation. Before going to a social event, try eating a medium sized salad with some boiled eggs or chicken. If you’re vegan, substitute some walnuts. The fiber in the veggies will keep you full for a while and the protein will stabilize your blood sugar and help you fend off cravings.
3. Only Eat It If You Love It. Now, I’m certainly not going to tell you skip all wonderful pies, cookies, potatoes, and all of the other sinful delights that we enjoy so much. I mean c’mon, it’s the holidays! The way to do damage control in this area is to only eat the things that you absolutely love. If you would kill for some hot apple pie (and I would!), go for it. Not so hot on peanut brittle? Skip it, it’s not worth your time. A good strategy when challenged by an overflowing dinner buffet is to survey all of the offerings and pick out a selection of 5-10 favorites to enjoy. You won’t feel deprived after dinner, but you also won’t be rolling like a bowling ball when it’s time to leave.
4. Drink Clear Stuff. Holiday cheer often includes some delicious adult beverages. There’s nothing wrong with that, but try to be a bit sensible about things. In general, clear beverages (think vodka tonic) have fewer calories than sugary drinks like punch or margaritas. As an added bonus, the lower the sugar content of drinks, the less likely they are to cause hangovers! As an alternate strategy, drink one glass of water in between every alcoholic beverage. Trust me, you’ll feel better!
5. Interval Training Revs Your Metabolism. At this time of year you don’t have time to spend 45 or 60 minutes on the treadmill every day. Don’t despair, there is a way to fit in exercise between shopping, socializing, and decorating! The secret lies in interval training, and it’s easier than you think. Instead of working out at a steady pace for a long time, pick the aerobic activity of your choice and do 1 minute of really hard work, followed by 1 minute of very easy work. Repeat this 4-8 times depending on your fitness level. With a 5 minute warm up and a 5 minute cool down, you can get a great, fat melting workout in 18-26 minutes. Try to do this 3 times a week and it will go a long way to helping you maintain your weight.

Bonus Tip: Put Some Money On It. Last year my employer ran a contest during the holidays. Everyone interested put $10 into a pot and weighed in. If you made it to the New Year without gaining more than a pound, you got your money back, plus a share of the pot from whoever didn’t make it. I was a “winner” last year and got a whopping $14 for my efforts – but it worked! I was not about to let anyone else have my $10. You can easily do this with a group of friends or coworkers and it’s a great motivator. The money isn’t the point, it’s the competition that really inspires you skip the second hot chocolate.

As we all know, there are only two ways to control your weight – eat less and move more. During the holidays you WILL be eating more, but it doesn’t have to sabotage your health and fitness. Take the time to enjoy this holiday season, eat your favorite holiday foods, and most of all, spend some great time with your friends and family.

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Photos by severalbees and sirwiseowl

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