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4 Ways to Manage Your Weight During the Holidays

November 26, 201517 Comments

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You don't have to gain weight during Christmas and the holiday season. Here are 4 weight management tips for this busy (and high-calorie!) time of year. Weight loss | Diet tips | Healthy living | Lose weightWell, the “eating season” is upon us. The number of opportunities to overeat will soar between now and Christmas, making the next few weeks the toughest time of the year for women to lose weight or even maintain their current weight.

During this busy and calorie-laden time of year, weight loss is going to be very, very tough. (However, if you’re on a good weight loss trajectory and want to keep it up, go for it!)  For most of us, the best strategy is going to be to maintain our current weight over the next few weeks. That’s the strategy I’m planning to use – I want to enjoy holiday meals and treats, but don’t want the scale to register 5 extra pounds by the end of the year!

Whether you’re trying to lose some weight or just maintain, here are 4 ways to manage your weight during the holidays:

  •  Avoid an “all or nothing” mentality.  It’s easy to think of this season as a lost cause in terms of diet, nutrition and weight management. But it isn’t. Most days will be normal (albeit busy) days. Christmas dinner will come around once (maybe twice!), you’ll attend several Christmas functions, and you’ll probably make some Christmas cookies or other  treats. But on many days you’ll be able to eat normal healthy meals and snacks. So don’t write off the entire season by assuming you’ll be eating “badly” for 5 straight weeks! Don’t even write off Christmas week as a “loss.” Plan for 10-20% “holiday eating” and 80-90% normal eating.
  • Develop an intentional approach to eating.  One problem with the “eating season” is that foods you don’t want to eat often present themselves unannounced. For example, Thanksgiving “turkeys” made with Oreos, candy and icing have been known to show up in my office. The same with decorated cupcakes from a grocery store bakery. These things are cute and fun, but they aren’t delicious and I don’t need to be eating them. And you don’t have to eat that sort of thing either – the packaged cookies at your child’s Christmas party, your aunt’s candy that you’ve never really liked, a tired buffet at a holiday party – stay away from them. But, I do want to eat my family’s favorite Christmas cookies and some pumpkin pie (actually, quite a bit of pumpkin pie!). And you may want to eat your mother’s famous dressing, your husband’s special fudge, or your friend’s fabulous cookies. So be intentional – choose the things you really want to eat because you enjoy them or they evoke special memories, and leave the other stuff on the counter, table or buffet.
  • Plan for problems.  Most women will be busier than usual over the next few weeks – shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, traveling and shuttling children to Christmas activities. Opportunities to eat well will go into hiding, while opportunities to eat poorly will abound. So develop plans to address problems before they arise. If you’ll be out shopping for an entire day, how will you avoid the low blood sugar that sends you to the nearest drive-thru window? If your family will be traveling by plane or car, how will you avoid relying on airport food or fast food restaurants for all of your meals and snacks? If you’ll be attending your neighbor’s dessert drop-in, how will you avoid eating an entire meal of desserts? Use strategies such as stocking up on healthy snacks, prepping healthy foods before you need them, and packing a cooler with fruit, snacks and water for trips and long days of shopping and activities. And when you’re at home, rely on quick, simple and healthy meals. My free ebook, The Busy Woman’s Guide to Quick and Healthy Meals, can help.
  • Move your body.  One of the best ways to manage your weight during the holidays is to move your body regularly. You’re going to be eating more calories over the next few weeks, and moving your body helps burn them rather than store them. So even though time is short and your to-do list is long, keep moving. Take your family to a walk-thru Christmas lights display, walk as much as possible while you’re out shopping, plan an active date with your husband, go ice skating, take the children to a park or playground – anything that helps you stay active. Or crank up the intensity of your activity. I’m adding a little bit of jogging to my normal walking routine, just to increase the amount of calories I burn. As a bonus for your efforts, all that activity will help reduce stress and strengthen your immune system too!

Do you have a strategy that has helped you manage your weight during the holidays? Please share it in the Comments – I would love to hear from you. And I’d love for your to download my free Christmas ebook – The Christmas You Really Want – 75 Healthy Ideas for Your Life and Marriage this Christmas.

You don't have to gain weight during Christmas and the holiday season. Here are 4 weight management tips for this busy (and high-calorie!) time of year. Weight loss | Diet tips | Healthy living | Lose weight
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Filed Under: Healthy Eating, Healthy Life, Healthy Weight Tagged: diet, exercise, physical activity, weight control, weight loss

Comments

  1. Lisa says

    December 3, 2013 at 4:39 pm

    Gaye, loved your ideas! I especially by-passing on the so-so treats and save for family favorites. And upping the exercise is something I started this week to help. Also trying to drink more water each day!

    Reply
    • GC says

      December 3, 2013 at 8:01 pm

      Hi Lisa – Thanks so much! I have to keep reminding myself to stay away from the so-so treats, many of which appear in our kitchen at work. And yes, I am working on the “more water” effort too.

      Gaye

      Reply
  2. Diane (@SimpleLivingEat) says

    December 1, 2013 at 7:32 pm

    Great advice thanks we all need to enjoy and balance.

    Reply
  3. Kathy Gossen says

    December 1, 2013 at 5:59 pm

    These are great tips on weight management…especially as I sit here looking at what I’m going to cook/do for exercise for the next few crazy weeks. Thanks for the reminder. Also really liked your beauty within post. Found both via Pinch of Joy and love each. Thanks for sharing!  I’d  love to have you link this to Titus 2 Tuesday this week on Cornerstone Confessions.. I hope to see you there. 
    Kathy

    Reply
    • GC says

      December 1, 2013 at 6:38 pm

      Thanks so much, Kathy. And thanks for the invitation to link up with you.

      Gaye

      Reply
  4. jugglingrealfoodandreallife says

    November 29, 2013 at 8:42 pm

    Hi Gaye! I’m stopping in from Let’s Get Real today. These tips are great! I try to stay true to your first tip. Just because I eat at a party, doesn’t mean that I have to eat junk the rest of the day too. When I know I’m going to be eating things that throw me off, I try to eat even better the day before and after. I get the water going the day after to flush out my system. It really seems to help. If foods give me a tummy ache, I like to drink peppermint tea. I am trying to be more intentional about my eating this year. If it doesn’t taste great, don’t eat it. I bought some pumpkin pie out at a restaurant and it was horrible! I took a couple of bites, set it aside, and finished my water. No need to eat calories that aren’t fantastic.

    Reply
  5. yumeating says

    November 29, 2013 at 2:36 pm

    One tip that always sticks with me is eat before I leave my house. I always eat something healthy before going to others holidays meals. I also make sure everyone knows I need raw vegetables and salads. Otherwise, I am the one that brings those vegetable platters!

    Reply
    • GC says

      November 29, 2013 at 4:19 pm

      Thanks Chrystal. I try to remember to eat something healthy before I leave the house too, especially if I’m going shopping or to a Christmas party.

      Gaye

      Reply
  6. Susan Brahs says

    November 29, 2013 at 11:52 am

    These are great tips! I’m really trying to be more conscience of making our traditional treats healthier this year. Thank you for sharing @ Let’s Get Real!

    Reply
    • GC says

      November 29, 2013 at 4:18 pm

      Thanks Susan.

      Gaye

      Reply
  7. Lori Ferguson (@Ready2Encourage) says

    November 27, 2013 at 10:09 am

    Ah yes.
    It remains true, even in this season:
    Move more than you eat. 😉

    Great strategies, Gaye!

    Reply
    • GC says

      November 27, 2013 at 11:45 am

      Hi Lori – Yes, sad that it’s still true during the holidays. Calories that don’t “count” would be a vacation would be a lovely Christmas gift!

      Gaye

      Reply
  8. Antionette Blake says

    November 26, 2013 at 7:44 pm

    Too late….I’ve already opened the crackers and cheese! Happy Thanksgiving!

    Reply
    • GC says

      November 27, 2013 at 11:51 am

      Ha ha – Oh well, as long as it’s yummy cheese and crackers!

      Have a great Thanksgiving!
      Gaye

      Reply
  9. rockhisworld says

    November 26, 2013 at 6:18 pm

    Great list of tips, I especially love, well really all of them. I used to teach healthy living classes and all that you are saying is very wise. I know I try to fill up on the healthy food first and then I may eat a tiny bit of something sweet, but since I am full of good stuff, a little bit of pie does not hurt much, especially if you are being good most of the time!

    Reply
    • GC says

      November 27, 2013 at 11:53 am

      Thanks Jed. Yes, eating healthy food first is a great strategy. I especially like to eat something healthy before I go to a party that I know will include a lot of unhealthy foods.

      Have a great Thanksgiving.
      Gaye

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Weight, Healthy Eating, Fitness, and the Holidays | A Life in Balance says:
    December 13, 2013 at 6:28 am

    […] 4 Tips for Managing Your Weight during the Holidays from Calm, Healthy, Sexy […]

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