SO…

It’s the holidays and we all know what that means. TIme to meet and greet, mingle, eat, drink and spread holiday cheer, right?

Well, like it or NOT it’s also that time of year where most of us pack on a few extra pounds.

Not that it’s our fault.  Naturally, it’s all that fattening, sugar loaded booze and food out there trying to attack us. I mean we really don’t do anything to deserve it ha ha ha.

1,2,3,5,10 pounds… “READY OR NOT HERE I COME”… I can almost hear my fat singing that song.

UGH.

Let’s think realistically here ladies and gents. The holidays are fun. WAY FUN. There’s all this buildup and adrenaline as we anticipate Christmas and New Year’s. Some of us get excited for gifts, some for family, others for vacations, time off and parties.

PARTIES.

You heard me. That fantastic “p” word we all love to hear. And the holidays are full of parties, aren’t they? I mean there are work parties and then there are family parties and then the other side of the family parties… your spouse’s work party and your best friend’s holiday dinner at their house. Then there’s the dinner or two at your place. It can be quite overwhelming if you ask me.

BUT IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE.

What do I love most? SIMPLICITY and ORGANIZATION. Oh yeah, the main theme of  my Mode De Vie Fit. 🙂 All we need is a plan of attack and come mid November, early December we stick to our strategy and let the games begin!

I sound like Game of Thrones don’t I? LOL. Well, it’s a great show you gotta admit.

Okay so back to our simple, highly organized and well thought out game plan. Preparation is key. Knowing the enemy is key. Alcohol, sweets, nuts, cheeses, breads, chips, processed sugars and other such crap is the enemy. Skipping your workout to go Christmas shopping, that’s the enemy.

But everything in moderation, right? So how can we acheive balance during the most festive time of the year? I’ve come up with a simple 5 step plan to help us combat those extra holiday pounds. Stick to it and I promise you won’t gain an ounce. Heck, we may all even lose a pound or two and apply our game plan to our 2017 new year’s resolutions.

Here we go…

1. Make alliances with water. You heard me. Drink LOTS of water. Bottled still is always best but sparkling will do just fine. One of my fave ways to cheat when I’m enjoying a cocktail? I’ll drink a third of my margarita or martini then fill it back up with water. Then I’ll drink half of it and put some more water in there. This lightens my calorie load, fills me up and keeps me sober. The best part? I stay sober and don’t wake up with a major pain in the ass headache the next day! Plus we all know how great drinking water is for our skin.
2. When you’re out for a casual happy hour with your friends or colleagues, STAY AWAY FROM ORDERING EXTRA FOOD. Save money, enjoy your drink (adding water remember), and enjoy ONE shared appetizer for everyone. So I went out with friends and clients tonight at a mexican restaurant. We all shared chips and guacamole. I didn’t overeat because ALL six of us shared. When they ordered other happy hour items off the menu, I passed. I headed home and made myself three scrambled eggs with pepper, sea salt and a side of ketchup. Imagine if I’d have ordered a greasy enchilada and then had to wake up tomorrow in preparation for three more parties this weekend? I’d be up five pounds by the time Sunday comes around. Thanks to my plan, I was able to get out of that battle unscathed, LOL.
3. When you’re throwing a party and doing all of the cooking, only cook HEALTHY dishes. Trust me when I say everyone will thank you. Plus you’ll not have any unhealthy temptations. It’s not like healthy dishes aren’t totally delicious. You just need to know what to cook. Smoked fish, veggies and hummus, stuffed peppers with vegan cream cheese- doesn’t all of that sound yummy and healthy?
4. Pick one splurge for the night and STICK TO IT. I’m a cheese person even though I am working my way to becoming a complete vegan. So when I arrive at a party I survey the food scene. If there are yummy cheeses, I’ll make those my splurge and stick to lean proteins and veggies after that. No sauces, no breads, no candy, no dessert. So maybe you’re a chocolate person. So you make chocolate your cheat and steer clear of cheeses and breads. Or maybe you’re craving a sugary cocktail? Better stick to salads and green things for the night. And DO NOT DEVIATE from your plan. If you take even a nibble of that chocolate or bread, it’s GAME OVER, guaranteed you’ll have way more bites throughout the night. (Remember, alcohol makes us way more likely to give in to our temptations and which one of us won’t be drinking at their next party? I know I will!).
5. DANCE! Dance, dance and more dance. I’m telling you, seriously, get to the dance floor and fast! Not only is dancing to great music with your gal pals or man super uber fun, but you’ll burn SO many calories and sweat out all those icky alcoholic toxins. Trust me I know. Last weekend we were at my friend’s amazing party and there was dancing all night long. I totally had one too many cocktails and should have felt that the next day. BUT I DIDN’T. And you know why? It’s because I was on that dance floor for at least an hour off and on dancing my little heart out. My hair was drenched in sweat. Eeeww, gross, TMI I know sorry. BUT let me just give you the skinny on sweating out those toxins. You feel GREAT the next day. And the dancing kept me so occupied at the party that I ate WAY LESS than usual so I woke up with a smaller stomach than I had the day before! I SWEAR.

WHY ONLY 5? Seriously, any more and the party would no longer be a fun party. Don’t you agree? Let’s live this holiday season to the fullest while enjoying a few splurges here and there. Afterall, that’s what life’s all about. Wouldn’t you agree?

Any questions? Who is ready to make their plan of attack? Escape from evil calories? Call it whatever you want just be sure to write it down, follow through and complete your mission!

Ha ha ha… have faith in me just this one time guys, I promise you’ll keep those holiday pounds running the opposite direction!

xx Shanna

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