Dieting During the Holidays

With Christmas just a few days away, my mom showed me the whole day's menu. Let's just say it's more food than the old me could have eaten in one day. When it comes to November and December there are a lot of eating holidays for most people. This may not be encouragement to some of you, but during these times, I celebrate with a feast!

I eat well all year long, so on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and during all the other holiday get-togethers, I eat to celebrate! There are so many traditions and things to enjoy during the holidays and I'm not going to sit in the corner with my Garden Burger while everyone else is eating Prime Rib! This, to me, is a reward for all my hard work and self control throughout the year.

So what if I put on 2-5 pounds during the holidays. It makes for a good New Year's Resolution, and it's still 4 or 5 months before I will have to put on my summer clothes! Now, this is not an excuse to eat bad all winter. I try to counter the effects of the few large unhealthy meals by eating less around those meals and increasing my activity and exercise during the winter. I also stick to a few basic rules and use healthy alternative dressings, spreads, drinks, etc.. Just because you're on a diet, it doesn't mean you can't have yummy holiday meals (and desserts)! Most people will cheat during the holidays anyways, so you might as well expect it, enjoy it, and not feel bad about it. Just remember that once it's over, it's back to eating healthy again!