Now that December is upon us, we can’t help but feel, well, festive. After all, there are so many parties to attend, gatherings to be at, and of course, quality time to be spent with our favorite people. Unfortunately, the holiday season also makes it that much more challenging to stick to our fitness and body goals – especially when it’s so tempting to dive into the holiday food spreads and replace gym time with a secret Santa gift exchange session with your best buddies.

Well, if you usually fall victim to pesky holiday weight gain, the good news is that it doesn’t have to be that way this year! All of us at Evolve Daily know that the struggle is real. And that’s why we’re here to help. 

Today, Evolve Daily shares 7 Ways To Prevent Holiday Weight Gain:

1) Avoid the soda

The roundhouse kick is a fundamental strike in Muay Thai.

Besides making you feel bloated, soda also adds inches to your waistline due to its high sugar content. So a good way to avoid drinking these extra empty calories is to avoid soda altogether (yes, even as a mixer with alcohol!) Apart from preventing yourself from putting on weight, you would also be protecting your body from potential irreversible damage that soda can cause.

2) Drink sufficient water

BJJ enables a smaller person to overcome bigger, stronger opponents.

If you don’t already know, drinking water keeps you feeling full. Hence, you’ll consume fewer calories than you would if you were dehydrated. To give your metabolism a slight boost, reach out for a glass of cold water. Apart from keeping you cool in the hot weather, iced water makes your body work harder to bring it to your body temperature. As a result, burning more calories in the process. By drinking 8 glasses of water daily, you’re enabling your body to run in top condition. So drink up!

3) Stay hydrated with water-rich foods

Strengthen your core by doing crunches regularly.

Didn’t manage to drink enough water throughout the day? Don’t sweat it, because you can always munch on water-rich foods such as watermelon, broccoli, cucumber, lettuce and spinach. By ensuring that you’re sufficiently hydrated, your body would be able to process everything through your system faster.

4) Don’t starve yourself to “save calories for later”

Training with the heavy bag improves your technique and coordination.

Do you cut back on your meals all day so that you can save those calories for dinner? Well, if that’s what you’ve been doing, you need to stop at once! This is because when you do so, you’re more likely to overindulge and consume heaps of extra calories by the time dinner rolls around. And the worst part is that you would have less self control in the face of high-calorie dishes due to the fact that you’re famished from not eating enough all day. Instead of skipping meals, be sure to eat 5 to 6 small meals throughout the day and include veggies, fruits, lean protein and whole grains.

5) Be disciplined when it comes to gym time

ONE Superstar Amir Khan trains hard at the Evolve Fighters Program.

Yes, we know you’re busy having fun this holiday season – but that’s not an excuse to totally eliminate gym time from your schedule, especially if you don’t want to put on weight! If your schedule is absolutely crammed, why not wake up earlier and kickstart your day with a workout? Besides revving up your metabolism first thing in the morning, you would also be more likely to make healthier choices throughout the day.

6) Use smaller plates

BJJ is a great way to bullyproof your kids.

Portion control can go a long way when it comes to preventing holiday weight gain. So place your food on smaller plates instead of the big ones. Research has shown that our brain associates a big white space on the plate with less food, so we would end up subconsciously thinking that we can afford to get another helping!

7) Don’t rush to get that extra helping

To be a well-rounded grappler, you should train no-gi as well.

The problem with wolfing down a meal is that your body has less time to register fullness. So try to eat mindfully, and chew your food properly before swallowing! After eating your first serving, it helps to wait around 20 minutes so that your brain can figure out that you’ve had enough to eat before you decide whether or not to go for seconds.

Remember, the festive season is all about celebrating and making merry with your loved ones – but you can still have a good time without ditching your healthy habits!  Now go forth and have a blast!