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Maintaining a healthy weight can sometimes be a struggle, but trying to stay at your goal weight during the holiday season might seem nearly impossible. When there is an abundance of delicious homemade food, it's hard to stick to a healthy diet and stress from dealing with family members often prompts us to overeat. If you tend to gain a few pounds over the holidays, after several years those pounds begin to really take a toll on your health. Follow these simple tips to avoid packing on the pounds during the holiday season.

1. Eat. If you don't eat all day because you are saving up your calories for the big dinner you will have later on, you will be doing yourself more harm than good. Starving yourself leads to binge eating and you will likely eat more during that one meal than you would have eaten during an entire day of regular meals.

2. Move around. If you lay on the couch and do nothing after that Thanksgiving dinner, you will be allowing your metabolism to slow down to an unhealthy rate. Keep moving after your meals. Getting a little exercise, even a walk around the block, will help you to fight off the holiday bulge.

3. Know your holidays. It's ok to eat more than you normally would during a holiday meal. Just make sure that you are not eating more during the weeks leading up to the holidays. One day of over eating will not make you gain 10 pounds, but several days of eating too much will do some serious damage.

4. Treat yourself right. If you are busy during the holidays, stress may be a factor. Be sure that you take some time for yourself to do the things that you enjoy and you will be less likely to overeat. If you are feeling stressed by family members, get away for a while and spend some time reading a book or enjoying a massage.

5. Plan some activities for the family. Instead of making the meal the main part of your family celebration, try planning a ski trip or a sledding adventure for the family to enjoy. You are less likely to focus on food and you will be getting some much needed exercise at the same time.

The average American only gains one pound during the holidays from Thanksgiving until New Year's Day. Over the course of a lifetime, though, this can equal quite a bit of weight. Setting modest exercise goals and following these simple tips can help you to enjoy the holidays without obsessing over the scale.

Learn more about this author, Jennifer Brister.
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