With the holidays coming, most of us are looking forward to eating all the goodies we have been avoiding since the last festivity. The winter season makes us crave for heartier foods which go well with the cold outside. Stress with possibly having to travel home sets in. So along come the comfort foods to fight off all that stress, the colds, and your occasional flu.

There are so many parties and dinners to attend. All this action takes place, and then by New Years Eve, when we want to look our very best, we have gained 10 – 15 pounds. That would be a nightmare for me.

For your information – I don’t own and will never buy a set of bathroom scales. You see, numbers can throw you off. As women, we are used to having a little added water weight during the month. I don’t weigh myself – I live by the fit of my clothes and occasionaly a tape measure.

So ladies, you have found that perfect dress for New Year’s Eve. Gentlemen – you don’t want your tummy to flip flop about the place either. You still want to look good after Thanksgiving and Christmas, which might throw up some problems – holiday dinners and company parties can curse your New Year’s Eve.

Here are a couple of my secrets to avoid the worry and the pounds.

How to keep your weight for New Year’s

Eat plenty of salads. Seasonings like cayenne pepper, ginger and curry naturally boost your metabolism. Add lemon to teas and iced water. Rule out caffeine and salt.

Prior to the holiday dinners, you need to eliminate the following – as hard as it may seem:

• butter
• gravy and white sauces
• cheeses
• white breads
• sugars and sweets
• alcohol

To eat and drink in moderation is key before Christmas dinner. What you need to do is maintain your healthy eating habits throughout the winter time, so that you are in a position to dig in during the festivities with no regrets.

The day of the dinner

Drink a couple glasses of water before the meal. Take a walk afterwards. If leftovers are offered, don’t give in to the temptation. Another suggestion: I use cranberries on top of my turkey, and applesauce on ham. Not gravy – but that’s just me; Bunny will allow you to have this treat, now that you have been so good and waived it for the time preceding the holidays.

I grew up surrounded by potential dangers

Between the apricot and cherry glazed duck on my parents’ holiday dinner table, you may find Mommas lasagna. Or Papa’s calabaza dulce. This is pumpkin steamed in the skin, then butter spread over it, then covered with sugar and cinnamon. So you see, I had pitfalls all around – but I was taught early on to keep it manageable. And this is what I am telling you today – as tempting as it may be to start the holiday dinners in September and officially end them in April, don’t do it. Even today, after having Christmas dinner with my parents, I don’t take more than one rubbard tart or piece of pumpkin cheesecake home with me.

Then, when you get home, start exercising.

Keep our goal in mind: looking good on New Year’s!

Preventative measures are always best. It is easier (and makes more sense) to lose a couple of pounds than to wait for the scale to show a double digit increase before you start. Remember that I don’t use scales? If you notice a change in your weight, get on top of it before it’s too late.

Here’s what I like to do.

Running Exercise

For the past 20 years, I have been a runner. This helped me condition my body and learn self discipline. I started reading books on nutrition. My goal to stay fit and healthy pretty much started there.

I always thought someday I would run in a marathon, but I have only come close to the Chicago Marathon four years ago. I seriously was training for four months before I moved away.

How to exercise the right way

• Always wait about 3 hours after eating before exercising.
• You should always do some warm up stretches before you start any exercise. I always do stretching exercises before and after running.
• The workout itself – cardio workout for up to 30 minutes is what I do. I run five miles usually, at full pace on the treadmill. On a high stress day, I run 10 miles.
• For upper body strength, I run with 5 pound hand weights. I feel that is as heavy as I need to ward off the nasty under wings.

Like I mentioned above, I have the convenience of a treadmill at home. That is fine for cardio, but there are advantages to going to the gym. I miss the leg extensions and the elliptical machines. At some point, we want a home gym that will benefit Thumper’s and my needs.

Pilates

Pilates is another part of my exercise regime. A yoga ball is fun and very useful for finding muscles you never knew you had.

• Pilates is perfect for sculpturing and toning your abs, butt, and thighs.
• Pilates strengthens the whole center core of your body. It benefits balance and posture, since it improves the aliment of the spine.
• This resulting in better blood circulation and a better overall flexibility.

If you have the interest to use a yoga ball – go for it. Yoga balls are relatively inexpensive and fun. I balance on mine for a half hour before moving on to the next set of exercises I do.

Yoga

This is not your basic beginners Yoga. I have been doing Yoga exercises for five years – and I love it. I feel it is best to go to a few sessions for a couple of times first, so you can properly learn how to breath with the positions. Yoga instructors are very compassionate teachers and will help you get started in this discipline if you are interested.

Kick Boxing

The best abs I ever had was when I was into kick boxing. If you have the time, I suggest you try this. After a couple months, I had female trainers asking me how I got my abs.

• I look for muscle definition and strength, without looking like a female Hulk.
• Kick boxing also has the benefit of learning self defense.
• I have to warn you though – this takes dedication and discipline.

For me, it was something I wanted to try and will do again.

I want to wish you all happy holidays – even though I may be a little early for that, it’s never too early to start working on yourself. What do you do during the holidays to avoid gaining weight?

PS. I love listening to this song when I do my Yoga exercises, and I wanted to share it with you. It’s not a video, just the music – so you can let it play while you write me a comment, if you wish