Tips To Stay In Shape for the Party Season!

We all know the party season is coming up and we all want to look and feel great don't we.... here's a few tips to help you keep in shape

* When you have a party to go to make sure that you eat a good healthy meal beforehand – that way you’ll be less tempted to eat the fattening party foods.

* If you’ve Christmas meals to go to, drink a pint of water half an hour before your meal to fill you up a bit, then eat a little of everything on your plate so that you don’t feel like your depriving yourself of the foods you love, take time over your meal (it takes 20 minutes for our brain to register when we’re full), enjoy every mouth full then when you are satisfied stop eating, don’t eat it all ‘because its too good to leave’ you’ll only kick yourself when your having to work twice as hard to work it off.

* Eat, drink and be merry can sometimes be taken too literally! If you are going to drink do it in moderation, you can still have fun without getting so drunk you can’t remember anything! Remember alcohol is a toxin and should be avoided by people who are trying to lose weight, especially around your stomach, how many teenage girls do we see now with the overhang? Oh and for the gents – be careful alcohol messes with your hormones and can give you man boobs (moobs!), why not give up alcohol for a few weeks, after all the party season is coming up - its not here yet!

* Enjoy the wonderful crisp winter weather and get out walking, go holly picking in the fields, walking the dogs, whatever it is get out and keep active, getting some sunlight everyday can improve our mood and overall well being.

* Don't try and start a new diet during the holidays: That just screams binge! You will only be setting yourself up for disappointment, resentment, and depression, stay healthy, but don't be too restrictive, if you live by the 80/20 rule then you can’t go wrong, 80% of your week if you eat clean healthy nutritious foods you can allow for 20% of the time a ‘treat’ (clean foods mean its preferably not packaged, its organic, fresh and has no more than 8 ingredients – green leafy vegetables, lean organic animal protein and fruits that are dark in colour such as berries)

* If you go shopping, leave a good distance from the shops and walk home with the bags, this is great for improving your core muscles, though be careful not to have your bags too heavy, balance them out and look after your posture.

* Why not set a goal to reach for Christmas, whether its to drop a dress size for the 24th December or fit into that special outfit, set it, write it down and work hard to achieve that goal.

* Don’t get caught up with the majority of people who ‘wait until the new year’ to start an exercise routine (who usually drop off by the middle of January!!), start now, get some support – join a fitness group, get a training partner, personal trainer or join a boot camp.

which one would you rather be -
the one in the baggy clothes bitching about the 'skinny cow' looking fantastic in their outfit
or
the woman/man everyones jealous of because you've worked hard to get into shape and look great for the parties???

hhmmmmm I know which one I'd rather be!!

If you have some tips for staying in shape for the party season please add them below (healthy tips only please!!!)