It’s that special time of the year when thoughts are filled with the jolly fat man in his red suit, reindeers and all the fruit cake you can eat.

So what if you feel that this time of the year is stressful and costly in more ways than one. Dollars quickly leave the wallet and kilos are quickly found as we watch our belts get tighter and tighter with over indulging on Christmas treats.

If you have successfully lost weight over 2012, the last thing you will want to do is blow it all in December. With holidays on the horizon and food available that we don’t have very often, making the right choices can be a challenge even to the most disciplined of slimmers. I find the best way to tackle this time of year is to plan ahead.

Here are some tips:

• Increase your exercise times or level to help compensate for over eating.
• Try and have more good days than bad and if you do have a few functions that will tempt you then either take some food with you or eat before you go. You can still enjoy what is being offered but if you go on an empty stomach your resistance will be weaker and temptation may win.
• Reduce or avoid partaking in having too much alcohol. Alcohol is wasted calories and also can be the cause of an undisciplined attitude which may cause you to make the wrong choices when it comes to food.
• Take your good intentions with you and remember that little pickers wear big knickers.
• Write a food diary leading up to Christmas. This way you can see how much you are eating on the days when you have outings and can reduce over the days to follow. This is how I manage and it works really well.
• If you don’t watch what you are doing you may find that when January hits you’re not only a few kilos heavier but your commitment to eating healthy could be out the window.
• Christmas doesn’t mean weight gain. I know of many people who with discipline and focus not only had a great time but also breezed through the mayhem of scorched almonds, mince pies and pork crackling. Decide ahead of time what you will eat and how much you will have and work it into your program.

Remember nothing worthwhile comes easy but the rewards are many. Do the right thing and your health will be the winner.

About The Author

Annette Sym is a bestselling author, Australia’s No. 1 low fat cooking expert, award winning businesswoman, and international motivational speaker. To date Annette has sold over 3.5 million of her Symply Too Good To Be True cookbooks all self published, and endorsed by Diabetes Australia.

Annette has received many accolades for her business success including recently being given a Senior Fellow Award of the Sunshine Coast University, Australia in recognition of her contributions to small business, entrepreneurship and health advocacy.  She has also received many other prestigious awards.

Annette has helped thousands of people to obtain a healthier and happier quality of life, and she continues to share her message of healthy, achievable and permanent weightloss through her low fat cookbook series, speaking events, workshops, her popular symplytoogood.com.au website, newsletter and Facebook page.

Other posts by this author:

• Brownie Recipe
• How to maintain healthy skin