As soon as Dec.1 hits, there's a part of us that thinks "on your mark, get set, eeeaat as much chocolate/food as you want!" And we end up packing on the average 5 lbs weight gain in December.
Give yourself (or get your pet to give you;) a bitch slap, if necessary, to NOT do that.
Follow these 5 tips to minimize that holiday weight gain:
1) Plan treat limits ahead - If you're going to a get together and you know there will be lots of treats, have a plan to how many you'll have. Studies show that when people plan out exactly what they'll do when temptation arises (e.g., I'll have 1-3 cookies and nothing else), they're 2-3 times more likely to stick to their dietary goals. Telling yourself you'll have none at all could be worse because research also shows that if you tell yourself you "won't" or "can't have" something, you're just going to want it more!
2) If drinking alcohol, choose it wisely - lower-calorie drinks are wine, light beer, and vodka with club soda. If vodka and club soda are not sweet enough, add a splash of any sweet drink.
3) Eat the treat mindfully...don't just pop it in your mouth, chew it 3 times and done! Take your time with it, savour the taste and let each bite melt slowly.
4) On the days you know you'll be faced with temptations, make sure you move for at least an hour(or walk 10,000 steps), so hopefully the extra calories are cancelled out by the extra movement.
5) Jump on the scale 1x/week to see if you gained any weight and if you have, try to be super healthy for 1-3 days after, eating real whole foods with lean protein and minimal treats(of course, pick days you're not going out and being tempted!). Note, this tip is NOT for teenagers as teenagers should not be using a scale regularly to check their weight.
So enjoy some treats this month but ho ho hold on to the memory of these tips and you'll avoid that extra weight gain, for sure!