As a personal trainer, I have heard every excuse, struggle, frustration that goes along with the holiday season, year after year. It's as if all self-control goes out the window because people are overwhelmed with the tremendous amount of food, parties, and get-togethers. It's as if people give themselves a window of time to let themselves go and then the New Year comes and they don't know how they got where they are! I'm going to help you put an end to this cycle by giving you some tips on how to stay in control so that you don't start the new year 10+ pounds heavier than you are today.

Well, we can start by being thankful that we made it through Thanksgiving, which is always a LONG weekend of overindulgence. However, we have a few weeks to get rid of those pounds gained before the real difficulty begins. We're now approaching the Holidays which include numerous family get-togethers, the non-stop parties and the many celebrations, which always revolve around lots of food and drink. Then, once we're finished with Christmas (or holiday of choice), it's on to New Years. It feels so overwhelming to most people that they figure they'll get back on track when the New Year has begun.

Think about it; Thanksgiving is in November, and New Years Day is Jan 1. That is almost two months in which people give themselves an excuse to let themselves go. I can't say how often I hear people tell me "It's the Holidays," as if they have no choice. Come on people! You have choices and you need to take charge of yourself. I'm not saying it's easy, but nothing worthwhile ever is. The result of not having self-control during this time is feeling horrible about yourself when the holidays are all over. As a personal trainer, I see it every year. It is not easy, but I am going to give you some tips so that you don't have to sabotage all your hard work because "tis the season." I will start by giving you some realistic nutritional tips that will help you stay in control, both during the holidays, and in general.

1. Always eat breakfast

The problem with skipping breakfast is that, while you may think you're cutting calories, you will inevitably eat more because by the time you do eat, you're starving. Not to mention, it is important to get your metabolism going for the day. Breakfast is exactly that, you're breaking a fast after sleeping all night and in order to get your metabolism working again, you need to eat. I often tell people that, while they MUST eat breakfast, sometimes pushing it back a little later may ultimately reduce the amount of food eaten during the day. For example, if you eat breakfast at 10:00 instead of 8:00, you can push lunch back a couple hours and actually eat less during your day. Just make sure you eat breakfast!

2. Try to eat 3-5 small meals a day instead of 3 large meals

It is very important to avoid getting to the point where you're starving. That just leads to haphazard eating consisting of huge amounts of unnecessary, usually unhealthy calories. It is important to eat every 3-4 hours. An example of this type of eating is:

- 9:00 breakfast: ½ cup Oatmeal or ½ cup egg whites w/ piece of whole wheat bread

-1:00 lunch: Salad w/ chicken or ½ turkey sandwich on whole wheat (no mayo).

tip: try mustard or humus

-3:30 snack: ½ cup lowfat yogurt w/berries or apple w/1 tbsp all natural peanut butter

or cottage cheese

-7:00 Dinner: Salad w/ some form of protein (chicken, fish, etc)

-Night snack: Not recommended. But if you must, have something along the lines of yogurt,

low fat popcorn, applesauce, etc.

Please note: This is just a sample menu to give you an idea of portions. It is important to pay attention to this, especially if you're going to eat often. Example: Use the size of your fist for protein portion and use measuring cups for other. Usually ½ cup is a good portion size.

3. Eat a snack before you go to parties

While you may be hesitant to eat before a party, it is very important to do so. If you eat a healthy snack, you won't go into the party starving, grabbing appetizers or anything you can get your hands on. Also, force yourself to drink water before you go: this will also reduce hunger.

4. Try to limit alcohol intake

I know this is difficult at a holiday party, but alcohol has a ton of calories. If you don't want to give it up, at least go for the less fattening drinks. Stay away from drinks with sugary mixers and juices; If you must drink, stick to drinks mixed with seltzer, diet tonic or diet sodas. The fancy mixed drinks are just not worth the extra calories.

5. Make good choices in what you eat

While it is not easy for most people to eat well at a party, it is possible. When getting food, start with the salads. Fill up your plate with salad and than add a piece of protein that is not soaked in sauces, cheeses, etc.You will be full and you won't feel terrible the next day. If you must, taste a dessert, don't eat the whole thing. A trick I often use to stop me from eating is put a piece of gum in my mouth. This always puts an end to my meal. The bottom line is, think about what you're eating! Don't just impulsively grab food.

6. Don't give up your exercise because life is crazy.

I know when you start shopping and preparing food for the dozen parties you're giving or going to, exercise seems to be one of those things you don't have time for. The truth is - YOU have to make time for it. You're so busy doing things for everyone else, you somehow forget about yourself. You can give yourself an hour a day. Everything will get done and you will have gotten your exercise in. Don't let it be the thing you skip. How do you do this?

My tip is to get it over with before your day starts. Once you get out and start doing your thing (cooking, shopping, etc.) the chances that you will do your exercise are slim to none. Get up a little earlier and make it a priority!

Some suggestions:

1. Get up and go for a brisk walk/jog (depending on your level of fitness). By this I mean, get your heart rate up. Find a hill to walk up and do it a couple times. Or do a series of jogging for 3 minutes and then walking for 3 minutes. Whatever, works for you. The important thing is to get your heart rate up! Push yourself a little harder each day so you challenge your body. If you don't challenge yourself, your body becomes efficient at that particular workout and stops burning calories the way it does when you push yourself. Keep it intense!

2. If it's too cold and you don't want to go out, challenge yourself in the house. You
don't need weights or a gym. For example, depending on your fitness level, try this circuit:

a) Jump rope (1-3 mins);

b) push-ups (10-20);

c) Body weight Squats (20-50) fast, no weight;

d) Bicycle crunches (30 sec-1 min).

Do this circuit and then repeat 2-3X. Kick it up as you get stronger. The bottom line is, if you work hard, you can exercise for as little as 20 minutes a day and see results. The key is intensity, intensity, intensity!

3. If you belong to a gym, make sure you don't skip that class you usually take or your personal training session. Don't use the holidays as an excuse. It only backfires in the end.

That being said, I hope you have a wonderful, healthy and fit holiday season. If you would like more tips or additional exercise routines, please contact me through:

http://NewBeginnings-PersonalTraining.com