You’ve already known by now that wishful thinking about going through the holiday season without stuffing ourselves with unhealthy foods are almost impossible.

To enjoy all the food this Christmas and prevent unwanted weight gain at the same time, you should take preventive measures. You may try the following tips to counter Christmas weight gain.

Try Timing your Workouts Properly. If you know beforehand that you’ll battle a heavy meal, particularly one that’s filled with carbs (stuffing, mash potatoes, perogies, and others), you should try a brisk workout prior to the meal.

In your workout, try and work with higher reps with lifts. This will deplete your muscle’s glycogen stores – these stores will then have to be replaced. Then, as you eat a carb-rich, high calories meal, rather than your body storing them as fat, the carbs will start working to your benefit, replacing your muscle’s depleted glycogen levels and aiding you in getting better results from your workout.

Through this way, you are actually working towards building more muscle weight with your holiday meal! Yes, it’s possible!

Consume Protein Beforehand. The next step you need to consider doing if you have an impending bout with a big meal is to munch on a small protein snack beforehand. Good options include some scrambled egg, a can of tuna, a small chicken breast, whites and veggies, or a cup of cottage cheese.

Why? Protein is the macronutrient that makes us feel fuller faster, blunting hunger signals, so it benefits you by eating less than what you’ve expected.

Begin damage control the day after. The last thing you need to do in order to keep your weight in check this holiday season is to accomplish a damage control program right after things get out of line.

For example, if you overeat one day at a party, you can immediately start a corrective action. Accomplishing a bit more cardio the next day and reducing your fat or carbohydrate intake goes a long way in reducing the negative feedback your body will receive after a hearty meal.

Don’t feel too bad after eating a heavy meal.  Don’t give up to a week-long binge or completely ignoring to remain healthy throughout the holiday season. Neglecting to take action the next day to ‘fix’ the previous day’s eating is the worst decision you can make.

One last thing… In summary, my advice is don’t get overly frantic about going slightly off your preferred diet plan, just be reasonable in the approach you will take with your food selection and workouts, being sure to make a little room when required or making up for binging a bit the next day when you hit the gym.

It’s true, weight management is hard indeed, especially during the Christmas season, but it’s not impossible. All you need is the knowledge, willingness and sometimes a little bit of help from medications.

By being smart about the food you eat, rather than just dealing with it during the holidays, you can save yourself a great deal of frustration in the long run and will feel good throughout the season as well. Best wishes!