Wanna kick holiday weight gain?

So Christmas is upon us,  and the wine, beer, cookies, cakes, brownies (O, how my mouth waters) will be at our disposal over a 2-wk course, right? For some, you can eat and eat and eat and probably lose a pound or two. For others (points two fingers at my face), this is most definitely not the case. I pretty much gain weight when I look at food. Yup, one of those girls. gucchi-goo-little-chubby-bunny :) .. right here.

Anyways, this Christmas I plan on not over indulging with the excessive over-eating, but rather swimming in the sea of alcoholic beverages and consuming my calories there (umm hmm). Obviously, I need to drop some poundage (funny word) so I don't exceed my current weight over the happy holidays. It's pretty close to Christmas and I'm hoping to lose approximately 5-lbs (well actually, I'm not weighing .. but I want my clothes to fit loose). Reasonable, right? In order to eliminate minimize Holiday weight-gain,  I've set a few personal guidelines to attempt at following this plan. Something that will set some structure around the countless temptations and numerous 'hand-in-bowl' moments that generally take over in late December.

Below, I give you my personal tips on how I plan and how YOU can stay focused during the holidays.

Tips to stay focused during the holidays

Throw aside a day for exercise 

Don't throw the towel out the window cause it's Christmas time. That:
1. cannot be justified
2. will leave you feeling disgusted with yourself when the holidays are over

At the beginning of the week, schedule in a 45min-1hr workout for X amount of days during your partying week. The vast majority of us will have some time off work and we will already have our Christmas events planned. So if it takes waking up an hour earlier than planned, do it. Work out, sweat it off .. then attend your party and drink your wine. You're better off working off a little of what you're gonna be working on ...  rather than drinking your face off and gaining on Days 1-3!

Bake some healthy recipes 

So you're probably planning on visiting this one, that one and the other one, right? Well of course you're gonna have a nanimo bar (omg yum) at mom's house, and the apple pie at nan's and the blueberry oat bar at your friends house (lies .. the blueberry oat bar is from Starbucks).. so why not balance it out on the days that they come to your house? Google some healthy recipes and have them on hand for when the crowd visits you. You'll feel better about your eating and their bellies won't hang over their pants when they leave your house and head to the next.

Stop Snacking while Baking
Half a cup of raisins for the granola, a handful for me .. quarter cup of chocolate chips for the cookies .. handful for me.. 2T of candied coated almonds for the Christmas squares, 1T for me.

"Hmm .. I wonder is this cooked? I made 12 so I'll just try 1. Ok they're cooked now. Did I over-cook them? Hmm .. I'll try one". DON'T-DO-THIS! My god, you'll be like me at Bulk Barn. Walking in starving, rolling out the double doors when you've paid. Add the ingredients, bake the cookies and serve. Don't snack snack snack while baking.

Eat Regular Meals
 It's easy to forget meals when your schedule is all out of whack, right!? By skipping meals, we're constantly increasing our hunger and justifying eating everything we see when we walk into the holiday party. It's kinda like the 'don't go to the grocery store hungry'. Obviously you're gonna spend way more and make some irrational food choices because it seems alright at the time. So eat your supper and then go to the party. Perhaps you'll be so ful-filled from your delicious 5 o'clock monster salad, that you won't stick your hands in the m&ms. Who knows!  

Schedule your 'cheat' days

Is it really necessary to over-eat the pastries every-single-day while on holidays? Of course it's not.

Don't feel as if you have to eat terribly every day because everyone else in your presence is. Make a schedule if you have to (this is a plan I tend on testing). Maybe you'll allow yourself to eat sweets on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. You can get clean and green on Tuesday/Thursday and wing it' on the weekends. I can guaranteed you won't wake up on Sunday morning feeling like you can't even fit into your house coat.

So pick today, skip tomorrow!

Like eating above, play the balance game with your drinking. If you plan on going to a Christmas gala on Friday evening and you know that you're probably gonna drink 8+ beer, make an exercise vs alcohol rule.

For every beer I plan on drinking, I have to walk a mile prior (obviously it doesn't have to be a mile, but you get the drift). If you over indulge in your drinking and sweet eats, make up a little with the exercise the next day. I honestly think this is a very reasonable means to live by during the holidays.

Eat only what you LOVE
If you're anything like me, you see a treat (any sweet treat) just sitting on the table, and you think the brand will discontinue their product if you don't grab it and gobble it right then and there. How about saving your indulgences for the treats you 'absolutely must eat'. Just because. I bet I could definitely limit my eats from 6 to 3 by having this mentality (though I'm sure I can fit in more than 3 treats in one sitting). Yum.  

Don't sleep your day away cause it's 'Christmas' 

It's safe to say that if you sleep in until 3-pm, then you'll wake to feeling like you've already lost your day. That the day is ruined. That you can eat anything. Eat the first thing you see. Drink the egg nog and be a slob, right? Wrong. Eliminate this all together by waking up early, eating clean and getting a little (or big) sweat on. Do some stretches, eat some fruit, drink some water and herbal tea (getting artsy here).. but you get the drift.

Plan a 20-40 Minute Workout Every Morning
Chances are, if you start your day with a high heart-rate, you're gonna feel too good to eat sh!t! You're not gonna wanna eat what you just lost. You're gonna feel like a champ and wanna keep that feeling! You don't have to workout for 2-hours each and every morning of holidays, but c'mon .. a few lunges, few squats, few push-ups/sit-ups never killed anyone, correct? What's your excuse not to?

Plan a Healthy Breakfast Every Morning

The majority of the parties are gonna take place in the evening over the holidays, so why not start every morning off healthy and happy? As soon as you wake, enjoy some fruit, protein and something delicious yet nutritious. This will impact your day and leave you feeling energized and ready to take on the world. It'll influence the choices you make later in the day and won't start your morning with the sugar spike that will soon come crashing down.

Drink more of this and less of that
If you're having a night of alcohol, drink water throughout the day. Why drink the pepsi, gingerale and juices? Skip that tall glass of orange juice with breakfast to save on your sugar count. If you want pepsi, treat yourself on a day when alcohol is not involved.

Do it
Now, let's see how many days from Monday to Friday we feel like a champ?
Let's see how many belt buckle holes we extend to during the holidays.
Let's see how many workouts we can X onto our Christmas Holidays

Remember guys, you can't out-exercise a bad diet!

Questions
1. How bad do you eat during the holidays? Or do you?
2. Does Christmas give you the 'eat-all-day-every-day' card?
3. Have any big plans for December?
4. What are your tips for eliminating weight gain during the holidays?