I hope you had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and that you enjoyed lots of delicious food and quality time with your family! I know I certainly did! I filled up on some delicious veggies like dijon brussel sprouts, gluten free stuffing and butternut squash with kale and apple. I even contributed some skinny sweets like vegan chocolate covered ‘caramels’ made from dates and almond butter as well as my vegan pumpkin oat balls! I ate reasonably but somehow still feel kinda yucky post-Thanksgiving and wanted to get myself back in line. I wanted to provide you guys with five easy tips to help you do the same because I know the holidays are a diet danger zone for most of us and it’s pretty impractical to do a full on detox or juice cleanse when you have holiday parties up the wazoo and family gatherings at every turn. So instead, just take these five, relatively simple steps seriously and put them into action. I guarantee you will start feeling better and looking better after just a few days!

FIVE TIPS FOR SLIMMING DOWN FOR YOUR HOLIDAY PARTIES

1. HYDRATE. I can’t stress how important drinking enough water is, especially this time of year! Drinking water is always crucial to helping you feel good, digest well and keeping your hunger at bay but with all the sugary concoctions tempting you at every corner this holiday season you need your H2O to stay strong. Drinking around 8 glasses a day will help your body de-bloat and flush out toxins, so not only will you look better, you’ll feel better! Who doesn’t want that?

2. ADD VEGGIES. Instead of focusing on what you shouldn’t be eating, why not focus on what you SHOULD be eating at every meal, veggies!! Want to feel better, have more energy and slim down? Well, it’s time to fall in love with veggies! I love to challenge my clients with eating 3 vegetables a day to get them in the habit of incorporating them into their routine but if you really want to kick it up a notch, challenge yourself to make half your plate veggies at EVERY meal. You’ll start filling up on the good stuff and be less tempted to mindlessly eat those christmas cookies hanging around the office.

3. SIP SOME TEA. Tea is a wonderful, wonderful thing. In my opinion, it’s nature’s medicine, you name an ailment, there’s probably a tea for it! I love peppermint tea for settling my stomach, ginger tea for improving digestion and oolong tea for digesting fats. It’s cold outside and we all love a nice, steaming hot beverage to warm our hands and tummy with but start choosing teas this season instead of that eggnog latte. You will feel SO MUCH better and your waistline will thank you.

4. SKIP SWEETS, MOST OF THE TIME. Don’t hate me for this one. I don’t like excluding anything, that’s why I say “most of the time” but if you want to get down to business and see an improvement in a minimal amount of time, sometimes you got to be a little stricter than normal. Processed food in general will keep that nice insulated layer around your middle but sweets, I feel, are particularly tempting culprits during the holidays. There’s chocolate, cookies, gingerbread houses, cupcakes, etc, everywhere you turn, which is why I say CHOOSE WISELY. I love sweets, obviously, but I’m very careful to make sure I’m getting the best bang for my calorie buck. I think a good rule of thumb is to pick one day a week where you allow yourself to indulge in a special decadent treat. Save it for those amazing cupcakes your girl friend makes ( wink, wink) or your mother’s bread pudding, something special and delicious. Don’t waste it on some store bought cake or overdone cookies from someone at work. Be smart with your sweets!

5. GET MOVING. I will be the first one to tell you that losing weight is 70% diet and 30% exercise. So why does ‘get moving’ even make my top five you ask? It’s for your own sanity! The holidays can be an incredibly stressful time and it is SO important to release some of that stress and anxious energy in physical activity. Take care of yourself! Working out will help keep your stress levels down, burn some calories and keep you on track for your happiest, healthiest body. It’s so easy to forget about taking care of ourselves in the season that’s all about giving to others, let exercise be your me time! Just remember that you are the best version of yourself for your loved ones when you are taking care of YOU! So make yourself, job one and don’t skimp on your exercise and self care.

I hope you find these tips helpful! I promise if you really put them in to action they will absolutely help you get through the holiday season feeling great and looking slim. I do still have a couple coaching slots available, so if you’re serious about getting into gear and need a partner to help you achieve your happiest, healthiest body – take action! Reach out, email me at gosweetandskinny@gmail.com (or just reply to this email) and let’s schedule a 30 minutes skype breakthrough session to help us get to know each other and see what goals we can accomplish together.

Looking forward to hearing from you!