The holiday season is a minefield of food, parties, and alcohol. From Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Year’s, it is easy to overindulge in holiday goodies that it can take you off your regular course and neglect your fitness goals. But hey, it’s Christmas and in the Philippines, it’s the only valid season to gain some extra weight.

It’s the norm to wait until January, eat like hell over Christmas until New Year, and then convince yourself that you’ll start working out soon as the year starts. During the holiday season, the already challenging endeavor of making time for fitness becomes even more difficult. By the time the New Year comes, many of us feel bloated and out of shape. Imagine how much food you’ve inhaled after a month of Christmas parties. 

There are some simple things you can do to maintain your fitness at this time of year and yet you still get to enjoy the holiday cheer. To help you stay on track, we want to share some quality tips for you to stay healthy during the holidays.

1. Don’t show up hungry

The thing about Pinoy Christmas parties is that they’re always like fiestas. Every household always has something to share on their table. Left and right family gatherings, year-end and year starter parties are happening all month long and you just have to attend because it’s tradition. You’ll have many obligations over the holiday period, but overeating at every single gathering isn’t one of them.

When you get invited, it’s rude not to eat anything. If you’re headed out to a feast, spoil your appetite first. Don’t go to a party hungry or you’ll end up divulging all the food you lay your eyes on. 

That way you’re less likely to inhale all the holiday goodies. It’s always like this. When you’re hungry you tend to make poor decisions when eating. Have a snack an hour before the feast that should keep you hunger at bay, enough for you not to be controlled by hunger.

2. Drink your water 

You’ll never go wrong with this advice: “Always stay hydrated. Drink your water” 

Experts recommend that you drink eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day. When you keep your body hydrated, you stay active and your skin looks healthier. But without adequate hydration, you often feel tired and hungry. This can cause you to be sluggish that you’ll end up losing the energy for workout and divulge on unhealthy food, crave for more caffeine. Staying hydrated can suppress your appetite, keep your skin looking gorgeous, and even boost your metabolism. This makes it a healthy strategy to stay fit for holiday gatherings.

3. Watch your portions

Eating well and overeating are two different things. Eating well is part of staying fit and overeating destroys your healthy diet. You don’t really have to abstain completely from all the seasonal goodies. You just need to watch your portion sizes. It’s completely okay to devour that juicy lechon, as long as you watch the portions, or else face hypertension. Try to get just a spoonful of your cravings and sneak in some veggies and fruits to keep your food balanced. The same goes with alcohol. Although alcohol is part of the holiday spirit, it needs to be taken in moderation. Also don’t forget to drink some water after all that alcohol. 

4. Get enough sleep 

Depriving yourself from enough sleep can impact your weight, your metabolism and your hormones. Your metabolism slows down to try and conserve the resources (food) in it. Aside from that, the lack of sleep can increase your appetite. This holiday season, you want to stay fit yet enjoy what the holidays can bring. A restful night’s sleep doesn’t only make you feel fabulous. It sets you up for success.

5. Burn that Calories

After all that holiday feast, you may slowly get that sight of guilt after seeing that little flab on your stomach. The nearest gym may be miles from where you are which makes it hard for you to be committed to go and workout. But the great thing about exercise is that you can always get creative. So even if you are miles away from a thread mill, you can still burn that extra holiday weight and look fab for the New Year. 

With all the celebration that the holiday season brings in, looking and feeling good during the holidays can be quite a challenge. It can be tough to flawlessly fit into that holiday party dress for the next party. Other than exercise, there are other ways that you can shed off that holiday guilt fast and easy for the New Year. Keep those unwanted fat pockets at bay and transform your body for the better one this holiday season. Check out the Aivee Clinic for their non-invasive fat burning treatments that will help get that perfect body that you want as you start the year right.