The holidays can be a tricky time for those struggling with their weight. This year I was able to maintain my weight during the holiday season … Thanksgiving - New Years … and I’m sharing all my secrets with you!

The holidays tend to be a crazy busy time. We take our already jam packed schedules and amplify them to meet everyones needs. We attend all the parties, bake all the cookies, and host all the gatherings. Pretty much living in sympathy “fight or flight” mode all holiday season. Well that’s no fun, and leaves you completed drained by the New Year. Not to mention this extra stress causing an increase in your cortisol, which will pack on a few extra pounds around your midsection… your stress will literally make you fat. So how’d I manage the stress and ‘all the things’ this season …. I prioritized myself and my self care. Remember self care is not selfish, it’s something that many of us have to relearn but it’s so important. Each day I prioritized my “me time” … I literally wrote it in my planner and refused to cancel on myself. I used this time to meditate, do yoga, hit the gym, read, take a bubble bath…whatever I needed that day. This helped me to manage my stress and actually enjoy the holidays.

The next thing I did was hydrate! I can not stress this enough… hydration is everything. The average individual requires a minimum of 64 oz of pure water each day - plus 8 oz per every cup of caffeine or alcoholic beverage per day. Take a second and add up what your body needs today…. It’s a lot more than 64 oz. Then factor in your workouts… unless you are a high intensity athlete and working out for hours per day your body can hydrate on pure water alone. Consider your workouts…and add in another 16+ oz of water. This adds up to some serious hydration throughout the day! This hydration can help us from over eating, keeps our skin glowing, helps our digestion system run smoothly, and hydrates our cells. Water is everything. Let’s all have a sip right now!

Mindful indulgences. This can be tricky around the holidays especially with all the holiday gatherings. If you have 2 glasses of wine and 2 cookies in the same evening, your glucose levels will be through the roof, but also you have just consumed approximately 500+ extra (empty) calories. That’s substantial. When I say mindful indulgence I simply mean … indulge mindfully. Think about what you are eating and/or drinking. Is this really what your body wants? Or perhaps it’s craving sugar because you didn’t eat a substantial lunch.

Mindful indulgences really helped me navigate the holiday parties with ease. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it! Whenever I go out, or we host at our home, I always have a relative plan in mind. Am I going to indulge? What will be my indulgence? If it’s wine, how many glasses? For instance, we went out with friends for an early New Year’s Eve happy hour, I knew going in I was going to use my mindful indulgences for wine that evening. I also knew going in I was only going to have 2 glasses. Having this plan in place ahead of time prevented me from over indulging. Of course there are times when I have not indulged mindfully, and have gone beyond… I am human, just like you. That’s why if the focus is on mindfully indulging most of the time there is room to play.

Another example of mindful indulgences would be Christmas cookies… I LOVE baking Christmas cookies! This year my Mama and I made two different recipes. My favorite part about baking cookies is the actual baking, the creating and the recipe testing. I love to bake for the ones I love; cooking and hosting is definitely one of the ways I show my love for those around me. This year from Thanksgiving - New Years I only consumed approximately 5 cookies. That’s astonishing! I did not count, and frankly did not even notice until it came time to write this blog post. We had cookies on hand for several weeks, but for some reason this year I did not gravitate towards them. I enjoyed tasting each one we made, but never over indulged.

One of the tricks I use for mindful indulgences is “out of sight out of mind”. If the cookies or the wine is sitting on the counter, and you see them every time you pass by you are going to crave them. If they are hidden away, or simply stored out of sight, they will not be on your mind and you may choose another (healthier) option.

The last thing I did that helped me to maintain my weight this holiday was to move every day. Whether it was a power yoga class, a weight training session, or a long walk with my dog I got up and moved daily. This got all the stale energy moving, and typically inspired more movement throughout the day.