How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain Without Depriving Yourself!

This time of year can be awesome for your spirits, but as we all know, it can also be killer on your waistline. It is easy to justify ignoring our health and fitness goals from mid November thru January 1st … because after all, ‘Tis the Season! Which usually means cakes, candies, office parties, wine, spiked eggnog, and yes… even fruit cake for you adventurous types!

But I am your bearer of Good News! I am here to show you how to avoid holiday weight gain WITHOUT depriving yourself! Let’s start with some obvious facts:

Regardless of how busy your holiday season is, you do not have a holiday party or get together every day! In fact I would go out on a limb and say that most people, even those with big families, have no more than 10 events from November 24th thru January 1st. So 10 events in roughly 40 days. That is ⅓ of your time. The magic in being able to avoid holiday weight gain is in what you do with the other ⅔ of your time.

The #1 mistake I see people make this time of year goes something like this:

“Well since I can’t be 100% on my food and exercise plan this time of year, I will just splurge as much as I want. Stop working out and restart January 1st!”

Don’t make this mistake! I want you to enjoy your holidays with those you love to the fullest extent.  But I also want to save you any guilt or self loathing for gaining 10-20 pounds during this short 40 day period.

The best way I know to help you, is to show you exactly what I will be doing from now until January 1st.  So without further adieu, here it is…..

Coach Jimmy’s 3 Steps to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain Without Depriving Yourself!

1.  Have a exercise plan to follow.

You’ve heard the saying before:  ‘Those who fail to plan, Plan to Fail’.  It is so true.  So if you write out your workouts from now till New Year’s on your calendar, that gives you a guide to follow.  For me, I will be doing Shaun T’s Insanity the Asylum Volume 2.  It’s a 30 day program that gives me some sort of structure.  There is a greater than zero chance that due to holiday schedules you won’t do every workout you write out.  But by having a workout schedule written on your calendar, it will help you workout more consistently during the holidays than if you just decided to ‘wing it’.

2. Cook meals in bulk.

If you are frequent visitor to this blog then you know I am a big fan of cooking meals in bulk on the weekends.  In fact you can see here you can see exactly how to eat healthy when you have no time. You can use the same strategy here.   Not only will it keep you eating clean between holiday parties, if you are really serious about not gaining weight during this time of year, then have a healthy meal from your bulk food before you leave for the party!

Here you can see some of my favorite healthy Holiday Meal Replacement Recipes so you can keep up your festive spirits while enjoying your healthiest meal of the day!

Following these simple 3 steps will allow you to avoid holiday weight gain while enjoying this time of year to the absolute fullest!!!

Have more questions, need more recipes, or just want to report how you are activating these tips?   Then I invite you to connect with me on my Facebook Page.  I always love hearing from you!

Happy Holidays! – Coach Jimmy