How To Stay On Your Diet And Stay In Great Shape Over The Holidays Without Becoming A Miserable Scrooge

7. Control your portion sizes

You can have your cake and eat it too, you just can't eat the whole thing! One of the most important rules to remember this holiday season is the law of energy balance, which states: To lose body fat, you must consume fewer calories than you burn up each day.

There are two corollaries to the law of energy balance:

1. Too much of anything gets stored as fat - even healthy food.

2. Small amounts of anything - even junk food - will probably NOT get stored as fat.

There's no reason to deprive yourself of things you enjoy. Just make sure you don't overindulge. As long as you enjoy your favorite foods in moderation, and you keep working out, it probably won't end up around your waistline.

8. Don't buy into the low standards and expectations of others

Keep your standards high, but don't expect other peoples standards to be as high as yours. Remember that most people have already planned in advance to fail at fitness over the holidays. You've decided to stay strong (haven't you?) Don't let their negative influence drag you down.

When you've reached your pre-ordained drink limit, say "When" and switch to water or a non alcoholic, non caloric beverage. When they offer you seconds on dessert, politely say, "No thank you, it was absolutely delicious, but I'm full, I can't eat another bite." And when the wee hours of the morning start to roll around, and your friends are egging you on to keep partying, politely tell them you need your sleep. Tomorrow is a work out day. If they're really your friends, they'll understand.

9. Make the best choices possible in every situation

You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies, punch, liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other goodies? Well, did you also notice that there is usually a tray full of carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery and other healthy snacks too?

No matter where you are, you always have choices. Sometimes you have to choose between bad and worse. Other times you can choose between good and better. But always make the best choice possible based on whatever your options are. If nothing else, you can choose to eat a small portion of something bad rather than a huge portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.

Chances are good that there's probably something healthy on the menu at every holiday gathering. As you know, lean proteins and fibrous carbs are a great for getting lean, so fill up on the turkey breast, try to get a vegetable in there, and go easy on the desserts.

10. If you drink, enjoy alcohol in moderation

If you enjoy having a few drinks on special occasions, then go ahead and have a drink or two. But if you're serious about your fitness goals, you must drink infrequently and in moderation. Alcohol almost totally inhibits your body's ability to metabolize body fat. When there's alcohol in your bloodstream, you're not in fat burning mode.

I've never met anyone in my life that was truly serious about fitness or bodybuilding who was a heavy drinker. Alcohol and muscles just don't mix.

The impact goes beyond added body fat; your energy levels and workouts can be ruined for days after a night of heavy drinking. A glass of wine actually has some health benefits. But there's NEVER any never reason or excuse for binge drinking or getting drunk.

So go ahead and toast to the New Year, but know when to say when.

Conclusion

You might be one of the millions of people who want and need to lose weight, and you've decided that you're going to do it. However, you may also be thinking that the holiday season is the worst time, and that you will start after New Years. The truth is, that is nothing but an excuse to keep procrastinating. There's no reason to let your exercise and nutrition program spoil your holidays, but there's also no reason to let your holidays spoil your exercise and nutrition program either! Put these 10 holiday tips into practice and you can start losing fat , not next year. To learn even more about how to eat and work out to burn off body fat naturally and easily, visit the Burn The Fat home page at www.burnthefat.com

About the Author

Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book in Internet history, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. Tom has written hundreds of articles and been featured in IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Mens Exercise. For info on Tom's e-book, visit www.BurnTheFat.com. To get Tom's FREE Fitness Renaissance monthly newsletter, visit: www.fitren.co