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Can you believe it’s already this time of year?  This is my favorite time of year because of all the happy memories of past get-togethers with family.  I love getting together with family, just like I’m sure a lot of you do, but our beloved families can spell disaster for our determination to achieve the body weight we want.  Though this is a great time of year, for many, this time of year can be a complete downer because of the extra pounds that magically appear on our friendly bathroom scales.

So what do we need to do to change this most unfortunate event?  Well for starters, how about not going off the deep end with our eating habits.  The biggest mistake that so many weight loss warriors make is they turn Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day into Thanksgiving and Christmas Month.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for enjoying grandma’s cooking, but there’s a fine line to that enjoyment.  The most important thing I stress to my clients around this time of year is Thanksgiving and Christmas are each one day.  If my clients have been working extremely hard for the months leading up to this time of year, and believe me, they do, then they’ve earned the enjoyment of the great food we are privileged to have on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  There’s the kicker, they can enjoy great eating on those days, not those weeks.  I think where people get into trouble is when they turn the days after Thanksgiving and Christmas into “see how much of the leftovers we can eat before the week is over.”  One day of good eating on these two holidays isn’t going to make or break your weight loss efforts, but a week’s worth will.  So start this season off right with a good eating game plan.  Stick with the turkey, stuffing, ham, pie, and mashed potatoes for the two big days, but keep it to those two days only.  After that, feel free to enjoy some of the leftovers, just portion them out.  Full plates on Thanksgiving and Christmas can be fine, but after that, go back to a few leftovers here and a few leftovers there for the days following the two holidays.

Ready for another way to get the best of Thanksgiving and Christmas?  I know it sounds crazy, but be active with the family.  Go ice skating, or walk around the mall, or a great family game of football (ok, maybe that’s more for the guys), or how about a walk around the neighborhood?  Believe it or not, a lot of gyms are open on Thanksgiving and Christmas, so even taking the family as guests to the gym could be a fun activity to get out of the 100° house because of the oven being on for 48 hours straight.  Maybe that’s an exaggeration, but you get my point.  When the family leaves, or you get back home, hit the gym.  Start burning off those calories with cardio and resistance training.  Don’t let the complacency of time with family get you out of your exercise routine. 

So now you have some great ideas for exercising with the fam.  Here’s the best idea that you’ll ever here though.  Dance, Dance, Revolution!  If you’ve never heard of this game, it’s a video game that you follow dance steps on a dance pad.  It’s a great game, especially if you turn it into a family tournament to see who can keep up with the dance moves the best.  If you do it right, the calories sweat off, and the laughs keep rolling.

Ok, team huddle; we have the game plan.  Limit the full-plate eating to Thanksgiving and Christmas Day, find a way to keep up with the exercise routine, and be the saving grace to the family.  Think of how excited you’ll be a few months from now when you fit into that new outfit you want.  You can do it.  Don’t let this holiday season be another stumbling block to your fitness goals.  The choice is yours!

Dan Falkenberg is the co-founder and co-owner of Your Live Trainers.  He can be reached at DanFalkenberg.com.

Tags: exercise selection, nutrition, weight loss