Keep Your Holidays Healthy, Merry and Light!

Did you know that people tend to gain 8-12 pounds during the holiday season? That’s about a pound a week. Just because you want to try and lose or maintain your current weight doesn’t mean you have to skip the holiday celebrations. Below are some ways to enjoy a merry holiday season while being healthy, calorie light, and carb conscious!

Try a new app: No, not an appetizer! A fitness or exercise app. MyFitnessPal is a great way to track calories or to see how many calories might be in something before putting it on your plate. BetterMe, Couch to 5K, and Daily Yoga are all great beginner exercise apps that will help fit a quick workout in during the hustle and bustle!

Beware the Holiday Spirits… The only thing scarier than the Ghost of Christmas Past might be the amount of calories in an alcoholic drink! When enjoying holiday parties, keep in mind the alcohol is empty calories. Add into that mixers like soda or syrups and your one drink could be as many calories as a slice of chocolate cake! Limit alcohol consumption to one drink for the night and make the choice a lower calorie option like a vodka soda and then switching to water or seltzer with fruit. Even putting the seltzer or water into a wine or rocks glass can liven up your night.

Candy, Cookies, Carbs, OH MY! With the holiday season comes many temptations and sometimes nothing soothes holiday stress like a piece of pie or double fudge brownie. Being mindful of what is on your plate will help you tackle the holidays in a carbohydrate friendly way. If you are still hungry after eating the main meal, go for another serving of vegetable. Non-starchy vegetables are low in calories but high in fiber which means you can fill up without contributing to weight gain or blood sugar spikes. Dessert time? Stick to fruit if possible or have one or two “higher sugar” items. You can even cut smaller portions of the desserts to be really carbohydrate and calorie conscious!

Exercise: There are so many ways to incorporate exercise into your routine without making it a chore. Get a group of friends and family together to sign up for a Turkey Trot or Santa Sleigh 5K. Want a chance to de-stress from the holiday crazy? Try a yoga class or even a kickboxing class. You may love it so much, you may add a membership to your holiday wish list!