9 Ways to Manage Your Weight During the Holidays

It’s pretty obvious why December is the month in which people gain the most weight. Those Christmas cookies and festive drinks are hard to resist, especially when you’re in the holiday spirit. Many people are also incredibly busy with shopping, party planning, and decorating, making it hard to stick to a workout routine.

As a dietitian, I feel that it is my responsibility to dispense some valuable advice for those who are worried about holiday weight gain. Take notes, everyone!

9 Ways to Manage Your Weight During the Holidays

1.  Take an extended overseas vacation during the month of December. That way you avoid the office potlucks, church Christmas parties, and free cookies at the local boutiques.

2.  If you are a stress eater, do not volunteer to host any parties, tell your family you’re having a “minimalist” Christmas, and give everyone Amazon gift cards.

3.  If you eat less during periods of anxiety, host the church Christmas party, volunteer to work at the toy drive, and keep reminding yourself that the presents you bought are probably not good enough.

4.  Limit your consumption of alcoholic beverages by avoiding your in-laws as much as possible.

5.  If attending an office potluck, arrive late and be sure to serve yourself a generous portion of the potato salad and any dish that contains rice or pasta. These dishes are the most likely to give you food poisoning.

6.  If you tend to overdo the eggnog, knowledge is power. Here are the nutrition facts for one cup (8 ounces) of eggnog:

If this label doesn’t deter you, allow me to elaborate. In order to burn off one cup of eggnog, you would have to run nearly 3.5 miles. It also contains over half of your daily recommended limit on saturated fat (the bad fat) and cholesterol, and that’s if you only have one cup. If you’re drinking homemade eggnog, there’s a good chance it contains raw egg yolks. That’s right, you’re drinking raw eggs, which are the products of hen menstruation (read: chicken periods). Chicken-period-nog.  You’re welcome.

7. Arrive late to all parties. I don’t mean fashionably late — I mean almost rudely late. This increases the chance that all of the good food is already eaten and the food that’s left isn’t worth the calories. In fact, you should probably just stick to that apple you keep in your purse.

8. Refrain from turning on your heat and wearing extra clothes until the holidays are over. This way your body will have to burn more calories to maintain your body temperature.

9. Instead of loading the family into the car to drive through the lights festival, walk through it this year! Everyone will get extra exercise, and it will last longer . . . much, much longer.

I hope you all found at least one tip that will help you stay a little healthier during this holiday season. I know it can be difficult to resist temptations and keep your weight down, but remember that the more you let yourself go, the harder it will be when you try to fulfill your New Years resolution to get in shape.

Be good to yourselves, enjoy the holidays, and stay healthy!