Maintain Your Healthy Habits During the Holidays

#lifestyle

The holidays are a great time to celebrate with friends and family. Unfortunately, some of us celebrate just a bit too much each year and end up giving ourselves the gift of a few extra pounds to start the new year. Today, I thought I'd share a few tips with you to help you stay on track during the holidays, especially as you get together for holiday meals with family and head out to parties with friends.

Stay on Track with These 5 Tips

1. Don't Skip Breakfast

Just because you're planning to have a big holiday meal or celebrate later in the day, doesn't mean you should skip breakfast. Eating breakfast will help you jump start your metabolism and keep your blood sugar steady and you'll be less likely to overeat later in the day.

2. Use a Salad Plate

Small plates mean smaller portions. On a smaller plate, correct portion sizes make the plate look full. When you use a regular dinner plate, correct portion sizes often look small, which leads to us taking more food than we actually need, just to fill the plate.

3. Stick to Water... most of the time

The holidays are great for celebrating and you may want to have a drink or two. That's fine. Just remember that going overboard will do nothing but lower your inhibitions and make you more likely to overeat later in the evening. Use this formula to find out just how much you need.

4. Offer to Cook Whenever You Can

When you cook, you control the ingredients. Challenge yourself to make a healthier version of one of your favorite holiday dishes or try a recipe for a healthy new party appetizer!

Talk to your family and friends about doing the same. You don't have to get rid of your holiday staples, just try to make some healthy substitutions like reducing the amounts of butter or sugar, adding extra vegetables to casseroles, etc.

5. Don't Forget to Exercise

The gym is open 24 hours, even on holidays, so use it. But if you can't steal away from the home go for a walk before or after your meals...For an added bonus, make it a family affair. And of course, there are other fun activities like playing a quick game of tennis or going sledding.

Now you tell me,