6 Steps To Surviving Holiday weight Gain!...By Morris County NJ's Personal Trainer

By Jose Fuentes/Certified Nutritionist /M.S./CPT


Here we go again, we attend parties and office gatherings to share a few festive moments with family, friends, colleagues and lots and lots of food. But when the holiday season is finally over, the bathroom scale reveals that you've gained some weight again.
I always recommend to my clients that they just try to keep their current weight, as opposed to focusing on losing weight," Even though it's hard to resist temptations all around you, there are simple steps you can take that can keep the extra holiday pounds off."

1-Say No Politely
Many times I feel forced to eat foods because people keep putting it in front of me. I learn to say no politely, such as "No thank you, I've had enough. Everything was delicious", or "I couldn't eat another bite. Everything tasted wonderful". Try it. You'll find saying no isn't so hard to do after all.

2-Functional Train Your Body
Functional training emphasizes using full-body, compound movements to enhance the fat burning and muscle building elements of your workout, while at the same time providing a whole bunch of fun and interesting new exercises for you to start doing.

3-Never Go To A Party Hungry
I always tell my clients before they go to a holiday party, eat a healthy snack such as a serving of a favorite fruit, fat-free yogurt or a low-fat, whole grain granola bar. Therefore, When they arrive at the party, won't be craving hors d'oeuvres.

4-• Watch the drinks
Alcohol calories are totally lethal!. About 15 calories per gram. Therefore before you ask for your favorite drink do the math.
When restricting your alcohol to one or two servings, you also need to restrict the type of alcohol. "For example, instead of high-fat eggnog, have a light beer or wine. After that, stick with calorie-free drinks such as water, unsweetened ice tea, hot tea or coffee."

5- Focus on socializing
Don't stand around the food table when you are at a party - focus your energies on making conversation with others instead of focusing on foods. Conversation is calorie-free.

6- Portion Control Your Food For The day
Making sure you eat six servings of fruits before your holiday party is a great way to help fill-up your stomach but not your calorie level. When compared to other snack foods like chips, crackers and cookies, gram for gram, fruits and vegetables contain fewer calories and tons more nutrients. What's more - the fiber in fruits and vegetables fill you up faster than snack foods. Make a pact with yourself that you'll eat your six-a-day before you holiday party. You're sure to take in fewer calories overall.

Here are my Top 4 Holiday Foods To Avoid:

1- Worst Holiday Drink: Eggnog
At 350 calories and 19 grams of fat, eggnog--even without the booze--is on the naughty list because it consists of milk, cream and eggs. If you want a festive seasonal drink, choose homemade hot chocolate instead. Just limit how much whipped cream you squirt on top.

2-Worst Holiday Entree
This coveted holiday cut comes from one of the fattiest parts of the cow, which explains the thick rim of greasy stuff you must saw through to get to the meat. Remember, you can pretty much guarantee that any time you see the word "prime" on a menu, you'll be ordering an extra 50 to 100 calories over the next dish, easily. Beef tenderloin is just as tasty with just a small fraction of the calories and fat.

3-Worst Holiday Appetizer
I can name a lot. However, the worst I consider are Parmesan Breadsticks They seem innocuous, and they're a lot less messy to eat while standing than some party foods. But think twice before you pick up one these soft-baked breadsticks. They pack anywhere between 190 and 230 calories each, with 9.4 grams of fat. Two of them will do more calorie damage than a grilled cheese sandwich.

4-Worst Holiday Dessert
Here is no pie that has more calories, fat and sugar than pecan. Even though some of the 810 calories and 65 grams of fat come from the healthy nuts, most come from the corn syrup and sugar filling. A better alternative after a filling heavy meal is angel food cake. Made from egg whites, it's virtually fat-free. Better yet, eat fruit!