The holidays are coming and you know what that means, right? The challenge of keeping on your diet will be even harder. In fact, not gaining an ounce seems all but impossible. From Halloween candy to New Year’s Dinner and everything in between, you will be bombarded with high fat food calling your name. This is the toughest time of year to stick to a diet. This is also the toughest time of year to resist food since it is so festive and tempting. It isn’t everyday you get gingerbread man cookies or great Aunt Mabel’s famous pumpkin pie. So admit it, you have no real hope for sticking to your diet and your best plan of action is to at least not go backwards on your diet.
As difficult as this time of year is there are things you can do to minimize the damage of great Aunt Mabel’s pumpkin pie. It is possible to stick to your diet during the holidays. Oh but you have sugar plums dancing in your head and hot chocolate waiting for you in front the TV ready to watch It’s a Wonderful Life with a plate of sugar cookies. Let’s stop a minute and think what is more comforting a cup of hot cocoa or five extra pounds on your hips? As comforting as the hot cocoa and sugar cookies sound you will not regret passing it up for hot holiday flavored tea or diet hot cocoa with one sugar cookie and not a dozen.
Tips to help you keep you from devastating your diet this holiday season:
Find foods to replace high fat or high sugar foods.
Get mindless eating out of your mind! Instead of mindlessly eating a dozen cookies, savor one or two and then stop.
Bring your own low fat festive plates to parties.
Find the time to squeeze in extra working out sessions. Even an extra five minutes in the morning to run, do jumping jacks or the treadmill will help.
Do NOT deprive yourself. It is better to eat small portions of yummy food than to deprive yourself to the point you jump over great Uncle Earl to get to the dessert table.
Just stay smart and keep your head on straight. We can get through this season unscathed yet.