It’s that time of year when our days are cold, time is short, and holiday parties start popping up all around us.
There is a holiday party to attend each weekend, people at work are bringing in cookies left and right, and handing us homemade caramels. Let’s not forget the busy shopping schedule paired with eating quick and fast foods while we are on the go. All of this is a recipe for disaster when it comes to our health and fitness. So, how in the heck do we survive the winter without losing all of the results we have worked so hard for?

Here are a few tips to keep your weight under control during this holiday season:

1. Weigh yourself often–
   many people take the approach to only weigh yourself once a month. I believe that the scale is a tool that you should utilize. If the scale starts to creep up, make necessary adjustments to maintain your weight. Especially during the holiday season.
2. Avoid eating sugars– if you go straight for the sugar it will cause a  spike in insulin which will trick your body into thinking it is hungry. Also, a little food for thought (pun intended),  have you ever taken your first bite of sugar and just couldn’t stop? When you eat sugar a neurotransmitter called dopamine is released. This is a neural pathway to the “reward center” of our brain. Sugar makes us happy and our brains like to be happy.  
3. Focus on eating foods with protein in them– protein will help you feel fuller longer. Our body take a long time to breakdown and digest protein which gives us that feeling to satiation (fullness).
4. Make a healthy dish for the party to bring along– when we go to holiday parties we are left with lots of options. These options are not always the healthiest. If we prepare and bring a dish, we know exactly what we are putting into our bodies.
5. Don’t skip workouts-I REPEAT, DON’T skip your workouts– the last 90 days of the year could be arguably the hardest days to stay on track throughout the year. Throwing bad eating habits on top of not working out can be a recipe for disaster.

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6.  Eat a solid breakfast– missing meals will often times will lead us to overeat later in the day. Remember from the point above to eat protein? Eating a protein source early in the day will help us curb that appetite and not overeat later in the day.

7.  Write down your goals in a place that you can see them– it has been said before “a goal without a plan is just a wish.” Writing your goals down and even sharing those goals with people will hold you accountable.

8.  Unhealthy leftovers– toss them, give them away, I don’t care just get them out of your house.

9.  Avoid alcohol– most parties are centered around alcohol but thee beverages are high in calories and slow down the digestion process. Tip: Drink a glass of water after each alcoholic beverage.

10.  Get good sleep– sleep is the key for us to recover and regulate hormone levels. The holidays can be stressful in many ways and sleep is one of the best ways that we can manage and regulate those stresses.

Following these 10 tips will certainly help you through the holiday season, but it is up to you to follow through on your goals. You deserve it.