Article Submission- How to Stay Thin Through the Holidays

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TITLE: How to Stay Thin Through the Holidays

AUTHOR: Lynn VanDyke

CONTACT: articlesbylynn@...

URL: http://strength-training-woman.com

COPYRIGHT: ©2005 by Lynn VanDyke. All rights reserved

WORD COUNT: 719

FORMAT: This article is formatted to 60cpl.

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How to Stay Thin Through the Holidays

by Lynn VanDyke

It's snowing here in Pennsylvania. The snow has covered

the ground and the roads are getting slick. The falling

snow is a sobering reminder that it is about to get real

cold in the northeast! Many people have decided to throw

their diets out the window until the New Year. With

Thanksgiving past and the more holidays soon to come, it

almost seems pointless to try and stay fit.

But it is my job to tell you otherwise. Actually one of

the best things you can do for yourself this holiday season

is to pay attention to your diet and fitness program. I

realize that you may have parties to attend and holiday

cookies to bake, but that does not mean you are destined to

gain the winter 5- the five pounds of fat most of us will

gain this holiday season.

Here are a few helpful hints to keep you on track this

winter. The overall secret is to simply keep your eating

habits healthy most of the time. We will all have times

that we indulge a bit more than we had planned. We will

drink a bigger glass of eggnog or we will have an extra

slice of fruit cake. All sorts of unplanned

overindulgences can happen at holiday parties! It's almost

a given.

The trick is getting over the guilt and getting back to

normal. If you ate a bit more, forget about it and resume

your normal diet. Skipping the next meal will not help

you. It will actually hurt you. Your body does not

understand the idea of banking calories or skipping meals

for the sake of losing weight. Your body only knows that

it must be fed every few hours or else it is not receiving

the proper nutrients and glucose necessary for normal

functioning. Eating every few hours keeps your blood sugar

levels in check. Skipping a meal because you over indulged

earlier in the day is not a smart idea.

On the reverse, if you know you are going to your holiday

party at work and plan to eat until the cows come home, do

not skip meals before hand. This is also considered

banking calories and works against your metabolism. Once

we set ourself up for failure, we can only fail. As soon

as you begin to think about skipping meals so you can eat

more later you are thinking about calories and weight, not

nutrition and health. You are also mentally preparing

yourself to eat a lot and lose control.

It would be more beneficial for you to eat regular meals

throughout the day. This will leave you feeling satisfied

and you are actually less likely to over eat at the holiday

work party. Plan to succeed and not to fail.

Another way to be conscious of your diet through the

holidays is to control your alcohol consumption. Yes, we

all love our Kahlua and Cream, but drinking just a few of

them can ruin anyone's diet. Be realistic and know that

even your beverages contain calories.

Lastly, be your own person. While it is true that many

people will indulge in holiday food and drinks, that does

not mean you have to follow. Set yourself apart and get

started or stick with a great and effective fitness and

nutrition program. The yo-yo dieting method is well known

and the excuse to overindulge during the holidays only

fuels more unhealthy and unrealistic expectations. In the

long run, it hurts you more than helps.

Stay the course, stay strong, join a community of like

minded people, join your gym's fitness challenge, work with

a personal trainer, meet with a nutritionist or simply

search the web for some great ways to stay thin though the

holidays. You will be glad you made it through the

holidays without feeling guilty and without gaining an

extra 5 pounds of fat.

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Lynn VanDyke is the creator of A Step-by-Step Guide: How to

Melt the Fat & Gain a Life. It is the only program that

shows you exactly how to eat, exercise and succeed with

life. The 400+ page interactive program comes complete

with over 100 exercises, 130 daily menus, 63 ways to stick

with it and loads more. Learn more by visiting:

http://melt-the-fat.com

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