Thanksgiving is almost upon us and that marks the beginning of the holiday eating season and those dreaded extra pounds that usually accompany it. The holiday eating season is what drives quite a few people to choose Weight Loss, Diet or Fitness related New Year’s Resolutions. Well here are a few tips to keep those extra pounds off and will maybe allow you to choose a different type of New Year’s Resolution this year!

The most important tip I can give is to use moderation. The holidays bring lots of temptations when it comes to food and trying to keep from gaining unwanted pounds doesn’t mean you can’t partake in the goodies, you just need to make sure you don’t over eat. I know we are all guilty of over eating and Thanksgiving is the first test. Thanksgiving usually brings turkey, sweet potatoes, dressing, cranberries, pumpkin pie and all the fixings and usually in large quantities. The large quantities tempt you to eat more then you should, just because it is there. If you can restrain yourself and only eat a normal portion it can save you big time.

This same rule can be used when it comes to cookies, candies and all the sweets that come with Christmas. It is very unrealistic to think that you will be able to not eat any treats, so go ahead and try them, but eat just one (or a reasonable quantity). There’s no reason you need to be the one that finishes off that plate of cookies that someone brought in to work!

The second tip I can give you is to make sure to not forget about exercise. The holidays can be stressful and busy, but getting in your exercise is a great way to keep those extra pounds off and keep your body burning calories. It’s also a great way to relieve some of that extra stress! Keeping up your exercise routine will also help you out later on if you need to increase the amount of exercise after the New Year, in the case that you do pack on a couple extra unwanted pounds.

The last tip I will give is a pretty obvious one. Eat healthy. There are usually tons of choices of what to eat and some of them are obviously much more healthy and better for your diet then others. That being said if you are really craving something eat some in a moderate amount or it will come back to haunt you, as you will probably gorge yourself on it later and eat WAY too much.

Have a great holiday and use these tips to stick to your diet over the holidays and avoid those dreaded holiday pounds!