It’s Thanksgiving week and we all know what that means — food, food, and more food. It’s inevitable that between now and the start of the new year, most of us will be indulging a bit with friends and family. Just because you indulge doesn’t mean you have to gain a bunch of weight. Here are a few suggestions to keeping the weight off and enjoying the holidays a bit more.

1. Send all the leftovers home! If you’re cooking for a bunch of people, be sure to send all of those mashed potatoes and stuffing home with your friends and family. Keep the turkey though, that’ll be great on top of a salad or a sandwich.
2. Set weekly exercise goals. With holiday parties and the hustle and bustle of shopping, it’s easy to ditch the exercise. Keep it a part of your routine, and you’ll be able to indulge here and there without putting the pounds on.
3. If by chance you do skip the exercise and over-indulge (notice I said it’s okay to indulge, just not over-indulge) — don’t beat yourself up.  Keep a positive attitude and do your best to stay on-track.
4. Pick and choose the times that you’re going to drink alcohol.  Alcohol is simply empty calories and you should limit your intake as much as possible. Instead of two glasses of wine, have one. Two or three beers? Not such a good idea nor is multiple martinis or a couple long island’s.
5. Don’t stress! The holidays can be a stressful time, but try not to stress like crazy. Stress can increase the chemicals in the body that cause weight-gain, especially around the mid-section.

Finally…. have fun! It’s a great time of the year and you deserve to enjoy it.

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