You’ve been such a good girl, following your diet and weight loss rules all year long… and then the holidays hit. There’s Halloween, Thanksgiving. Christmas, all of them apparently designed to tempt you into dietary excess and distress. But fear not, my dear, I can help you stay on the straight and narrow without making you feel like a deprived holiday hum-bug. Here are 8 must-know weight loss rules for the holiday season.
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1. Learn Your Servings
Now more than ever, it’s important to know what a serving of something tasty looks like. Most side dishes ought to be small enough to fit in a cupped hand, and servings of meat ought to be about the size of a deck of cards. Knowing a serving size is one of the weight loss rules to remember when you’re dining out, during the holidays especially.
2. Get an App
Not sure how many calories are in a serving of Gramma’s apple crisp, or how many minutes on the elliptical will make up for it? Download a free calorie-tracking app, and you’ll know within seconds! Most calorie-tracking apps already know all the applicable weight loss rules, and can remind you of them when you’re making a poor attempt at rationalization.
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3. Count Drinks, Too!
Double-mocha latte with whipped cream, pumpkin spice cider, ultra-rich cocoa, Uncle Bob’s famous egg nog… all of these holiday drink favorites have one thing in common — they’re teeming with calories. That’s fine, as long as you don’t forget to count them. Remember, the calorie counting weight loss rules aren’t suspended when it comes to drinks!
4. Bring Your Own
There’s nothing worse than staring down a tray of gooey brownies when there’s no diet-friendly alternative in sight. Save yourself the unnecessary heart-ache and deprivation by bringing your own, then! There are so many desserts that follow your weight loss rules and diet conditions, so why not whip up a little something to console you, and the other dieters in the room?
5. Eat before You Party
Very few of us get truly last-minute holiday party invites, so most of the time, we know well in advance when we’re going to be tempted to break our diets. Why not eat a little something, something diet-friendly, before you leave the house for a party?
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6. Make Time to Exercise
No one is strong enough to resist the dietary temptation for an entire holiday season, and why would you want to? Give yourself a tiny margin of error, and keep your abs and legs toned by committing to the gym, no matter how busy you are this holiday season. Working out regularly is one of the weight loss rules you just can’t break, no matter how much you want to. Don’t make another New Year’s fitness resolution. Stick to the one from last year, and make sure you keep working out through Thanksgiving and Christmas.
7. Get Support!
All those co-workers who bring in pumpkin rolls and chocolate cookies don’t know you’re struggling to stay on your diet. They’re not tempting you on purpose. If you team up with other dieting co-workers and friends, you can support and encourage each other, and maybe even form your own healthy alternative pot-luck and cookie exchange.
8. Indulge… a Little…
You know what? It’s the holidays, darn it! You can’t deprive yourself for three months, so go ahead and indulge… a little. Don’t over-do it, and be sure you’re following the “keep working out” weight loss rule, and a little indulgence won’t wreck your diet. Treat yourself to one iced sugar cookie (eaten in small, lady-like nibbles, rather than three you demolish like Cookie Monster). Enjoy!
These weight loss rules are valid all year long, of course, but they’re especially important this holiday season. Like I mentioned above, why bother with making another New Year’s resolution to lose weight, if you’ve followed all your weight loss rules all along? It’s so much easier to STAY fit than to GET fit! Which of these rules works best for you during the holidays? Or do you have another holiday-time weight loss rule to share?
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