Yes, we are at the most wonderful time of the year again. Yes, there are lots of irresistible holiday foods being cooked for us to enjoy. And, yes, that leaves us with setting an above-average new year’s resolution to knock off the extra holiday heftiness *cringes at the thought of exercising more than I need to*. So what do we do? Take care of it before it gets here! Don’t wait until January; start with good habits now, and you won’t have to work as hard later- less time in the gym is nice, amiright?
How to Avoid the Festive Fifteen:
1. Stay away from (too many) sweets.
I’m not saying avoid the dessert table completely; I love a good slice of pecan pie (smothered in Cool Whip, of course) just as much as the next girl, and I am not about to give that up. But, when you’re browsing through the sweet treat options, take really small pieces of each, or just pick one. Don’t try all of the pies and get a normal slice of each. Just get a little piece of each or share it with someone.
If it’s too hard to stay away from the sweets (they get me every year), try avoiding them altogether. Sweets get your brain to crave more, so you can always avoid the hard-core cravings by grabbing some more stuffing or turkey instead.
2. Don’t Netflix all day.
I know. You’ve been hitting the books all semester and doing absolutely nothing is the only thing on your agenda after finals. But you can’t lose all of your routine! You gotta keep moving and burning off those holiday calories, no matter how badly the couch calls you. Think about it: Do some exercise, and you don’t have to worry about taking an extra helping of mashed potatoes!
3. Keep your motivation (or find it).
You just finished a tough 16 weeks of non-stop work. But don’t take that out on your body! If you’ve taken care of it this semester and you feel confident in it, keep. it. up! If you want to feel more confident about your body, now is the time to start working on it. You have a whole month off to get a routine going and start seeing results!
Don’t become a victim of the Festive Fifteen. Come back from the break feeling more confident in how you look and feel; kick off next semester with a bang by getting started now!