I don’t know about you but I’m soooo excited that it’s the holiday season…

…spending time with my family, parties and all the presents,
I can’t wait!

Are you with me on this one? Or are you dreading the holidays as far as all the food and drink is concerned along with the potential weight gain?

You’ve been good all year; perhaps you’ve even started your new healthy living lifestyle and had success in burning some of that hard to shift body fat.

If I were to ask you, which of these two categories would you say you fit in to?

1. “It’s the holidays; so I’ll eat whatever I want because in January I’ll go on a diet and lose all the weight that I’ve gained.”

Unfortunately that rarely happens!

Or

2. “I promise to myself that I’ll have a couple of treats but that’s it. I can control myself.”

Unfortunately that rarely happens either!

Let me help you change the way you handle the holidays once and for all.

There just seems to be so much that we have to deal with over the winter holidays.
More rich foods, more alcohol, more parties, more family gatherings, more temptations
and so much more stress…

There’s so much more of everything, it would make any woman run screaming for the hills!

What can we do?…

Well, you can…PLAN PLAN & PLAN

You plan your meals and workouts throughout the year right, so why should the winter holidays be any different? Sure you have more parties to go to and you’re surrounded by so much more temptation but that really shouldn’t be a reason to throw all of you hard work down the toilet.

I’m going to give you a survival check list to follow…

1. Keep track of everything you are eating, don’t stop writing in that food journal. If you have a slice of cake, then you know that you have to cut back on the calories for the rest of the day.

2. If you are going to a dinner party, take a couple of homemade low calorie dishes with you and eat that food only. By doing this you will know that what you are eating is calorie controlled, natural & nutritious and you are contributing to the party

3. Write your workouts on your calendar. You’re not going to miss a family gathering or holiday shopping, so why should you miss out on your workouts?

4. Watch your alcohol intake. We all like to have 1 or 2 extra drinks over the holidays but what you need to remember is alcohol contains lots and lots of calories and when we’ve had one too many, it definitely limits our inhibitions and when that happens our nutrition plan goes straight out of the window. A small glass of wine is one of the most diet friendly drinks you could choose, but remember to limit the amount you consume.

5. Food gifts that are given to you, re-wrap and give them to a friend or a work colleague. It saves money on your part and it also saves you from adding extra weight. *An important point to remember though is to always make a note of who gave you the gift, because you certainly don’t want to give it back to the person that gave it to you in the first place!!

Obviously the holidays are for enjoying yourself but stick to my tips and you will go into 2010 looking and feeling amazing.

Happy Holidays!

Stay fit, keep focused and feel fabulous!

Steph Rice
Author of The Sexy Flat Stomach Solution