Holiday Palooza 2010!

I know some people don't like the holidays and find them annoying, but I love them! I can't get enough of holiday decorations, ice skating, big coats, snow, christmas trees, and just the overall positivity I feel from everywhere! Unfortunately, there's another thing I can't get enough of during the holidays, FOOD.

There are so many parties and events and places to go and people to see that most people end up drinking and eating way too much. I think a lot of people go in to the holidays with the plan to lose weight in the new year and maybe the hoidays are one last hurrah before starting a diet. Which isn't really a great plan, because who really keeps New Year's resolutions anyway?

So I have been mentally preparing for a few weeks now to stay on a healthy track during the holidays. These are some tips I am going to follow:

1. Exercise as much as possible and especially on big eating days like Thanksgiving. You have the day off of work, might as well do something productive. Get in a good sweat session to counteract the eat session you'll have later.

2. Try to eat something healthy before you go. I have a bad habit of starving myself on Thanksgiving before dinner and I get so hungry that I end up eating a million appetizers, which is all bad! So eat a healthy meal before you go to hold you over until dinner.

3. Speaking of appetizers, these are usually loaded with calories. Stick to veggies and fruit as much as you can. Dips and cheeses are the best, but unfortunately the highest in fat. Sad.

4. Don't load overload your dinner plate! Try a small amount of each dish and eat slow. It takes about 20 minutes for your body to realize you're full, so just wait a little bit and if you are still hungry then have a little bit more.

5. Leftovers are a bad idea. Try to send them home with other people because if you have them, you'll eat them. And let's face it, Thanksgiving dinner isn't the healthiest!

6. Keep the boozing to a minimum. This is hard one for sure! I usually drink wine, so my trick is to only fill each glass I have half way (about 2 ounces) and drink water in between. It ends up making it so you drink about 1/2 as much as you usually would.

Obviously, everyone is different and this plan won't work for everyone. I think the most important thing is just to make a plan and try to stick to it as best as possible.

Good luck and Happy Holidays!