Maintain, No gain #holiday #diet

December is the most stressful month of the year. What a terrible time to go on a diet!

Sorry, Annalisa - I mean, make a healthier lifestyle change. Which is really what I know I need to do.

We at the RRHA (and on our Facebook page) have a goal this month - to NOT GAIN WEIGHT DURING THE HOLIDAYS!! We aren't even trying to lose, that would be a bonus!

Every year we eat so many yummy extra num nums that are usually only around during the holidays, then we have to make an empty New Year's Resolution to shed the extra pounds.

So here is some advice for Maintaining and Not Gaining, but still being able to experience the Joy of the Season!

• Smaller portions - There are so many delights, you want to try them all. You can with smaller portions.
• Smaller bites - and savor each one, then you're done!
• Share a plate with a friend - you will eat less because there's less AND you don't want to eat more than your friend! And you both usually leave something on it (You can have it. No, you can have it...)
• Bring a healthy dish to the party! - I seek out something healthy to balance out all the yummy bad stuff!
• Stop eating BEFORE you feel full - Hate that bloated feeling! Your eyes are always, always bigger than your stomach. And if you want your stomach to shrink without a medical procedure, you have to train it to be satisfied with less.
• More fruit/veg/protein on the plate than carbs - Remember to have a colorful plate of food, not just a colorful plate your kid made!
• Be aware of calories/carbs - Take a glance at that box of cookies or the ice cream carton before you take a bite. Sometimes sticker shock can help you turn away. Is that goodie worth ALL THOSE CALORIES?
• Park farther away - Shopping is the best form of exercise. Make it count. Especially in a shopping center where you have to visit several stores. Shop til you drop, then hike out to the car and be amazed and feel accomplished at all your steps!
• DIET is a FLW (four letter word) - 
• A diet is a temporary thing. A healthy new lifestyle is what we're aiming for here.
• A diet is usually an extreme change, a shock to the system that the system will resist - these smaller changes can move you toward better eating habits that you can keep and continue to improve upon!
• A diet usually fails - immediate results don't last
• Once the diet is over, you usually crash back to your previous weight.
• Try it, don't diet!

The above helpful healthful hints could carry you into next year, too. Plus with a little more exercise, you could lose pounds and inches that have snuck up on you!

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