How do you not eat everything in sight on Thanksgiving?

Rachel @ To Hab and To Hold

How do I not eat everything in sight at Thanksgiving?! That is a good question! I think going into the holidays knowing you are going to eat more then usual is a good attitude to go in with .. then you are not constantly beating yourself up with each bite of decadent & delicious food. With that being said it’s all about portion control. It’s ok to try everything and not beat yourself up about it. The best advice I can say to you & especially to myself is portion control & enjoy the time with your family!!

Rachel better known as Rach is a wife & mother of three beautiful kidlets. She started her journey of getting her sexy back about a year ago. She is currently on a journey of finding her abs & herself along the way.

Thanksgiving is not a holiday my husband enjoys, so I’m kind of off the hook. I generally cook a turkey & prepare side dishes that are for four since I’m the only one eating the sides. I love Thanksgiving leftovers. Portions are still important to remember on holidays. Its not a time to deny or over indulge. After all I can make turkey anytime of the year…that is what the freezer if for.

Megan aka MNMSpecial, is a Western mom of 30 moved Midwest. A mother to four and wife to her love at first site. She shares her tales of Domestic Mommy-Hood at Mnmspecial (Mom’s New Moment). She is on a mission to get fit, be healthy and do it all happily. You’ll also find Megan on twitter @mnmspecial

Angie Newton @ Weight Loss Blog

It’s hard, don’t get me wrong. BUT what I have done in the past and plan to do this year is not sit near the food or graze. I will start my plate with a nice size salad (watch that dressing ha ha) and lots of veggies. You can also bring healthy options as your dish to make sure you have something to choose from. Then I just make the best possible choices I can. When it comes to dessert, I’ll be honest, I have a real hard time. We spend Thanksgiving with my family and workouts are a real struggle to get in while there but I’m going to make it a point to do something Thanksgiving morning (I see some jumping jacks, high knee jumps and pushups in my future). In a perfect world I would get in our home gym and hop on the treadmill or spin bike before the meal but that is not possible so I have to make it work. Will power baby! We all have it, we just have to use it.

Angie Newton writes about her weight loss and fitness journey and shares tips on living a healthy lifestyle at her weight loss blog. Feel free to drop by for a visit!

With the holidays right around the corner do you start to stress about planning the big dinners?  How do you cope with that stress?

Holidays have always involved huge family gatherings and when we haven’t been able to get to family we cook for friends. My mother always made holidays stressful so I never enjoyed myself until the food was served. I do a lot of prep work the week of rather than the night before or day of. Now I enjoy the people, although I generally stress about how clean the house is the night before, haha. I clean & “delegate” to deal with my stress.

Megan aka MNMSpecial, is a Western mom of 30 moved Midwest. A mother to four and wife to her love at first site. She shares her tales of Domestic Mommy-Hood at Mnmspecial (Mom’s New Moment). She is on a mission to get fit, be healthy and do it all happily. Check out her corn free Holiday recipe for Gingerbread Pancakes.

Angie Newton @ Weight Loss Blog

I personally do not plan the big family dinners so there is no stress when it comes to that. The stress I do have around the holidays is the feeling of giving in at times and overeating like I used to. I don’t deny myself foods but I need to always make sure that I keep my portions under control. Even as a vegetarian, things can get out of control if you let it. I want to make sure that I keep up with my exercise routine through the holidays. That is most important to me. And exercise is the perfect way to cope with any type of holiday stress!

Angie Newton writes about her weight loss and fitness journey and shares tips on living a healthy lifestyle at her weight loss blog. Feel free to drop by for a visit!

What do you do when you feel yourself falling of the wagon?

Rachel @ To Hab and To Hold

I can definitely feel myself falling off when I no longer care about portion size, how many calories are in something, my workouts are slacking, my h2o intake is very low but my soda consumption is higher. I can also really feel a difference in my mood, energy level & where workouts lie in my priorities.

To be honest right now I have fallen off of the wagon and am trying to get back on. My workouts have seriously slacked. I have not been watching (at all) my calorie count. I thankfully have not gained any weight in the past few months and as nice as that has been, I have also not been loosing any. I need to get back on track!

Some Ways To Get Back On Track

• You have to start somewhere. Any increased exercise & movement is a start & a great place to start. Start with lunges, jumping jacks, sit up’s, squats & also increasing your steps. You can do that by taking the stairs rather then an elevator, going for a walk around your neighborhood or inside a local mall if the weather is icky.

• Don’t obsess about calories, it will only drive you nuts … but do your best to make healthier choices. Choose veggies over chips .. crunch without the calories.

• Do not weigh yourself daily! That will really drive you crazy. Pick a time of day and a day of the week. The most you should weigh yourself is once a week. Another great way to track progress is with measurements. When I had weight loss of a couple of pounds here or there I felt like all of my hard work wasn’t doing much, but when I saw how many inches I was dropping it really made up for that!

• Accountability. Find someone you can check in with. You don’t need someone to breathe down your neck, but find someone either online or in your daily life to help keep you on track. Maybe you can work toward your fitness goals together.

Rachel better known as Rach is a wife & mother of three beautiful kidlets. She started her journey of getting her sexy back about a year ago. She is currently on a journey of finding her abs & herself along the way.

Megan @ MNMSpecial

I haven’t really had a chance to fall off since I decided now is my time. I have caught myself dangling a leg of the edge, but then I reach out to friends for motivation.

Megan aka MNMSpecial, is a Western mom of 30 moved Midwest. A mother to four and wife to her love at first site. She shares her tales of Domestic Mommy-Hood at Mnmspecial (Mom’s New Moment). She is on a mission to get fit, be healthy and do it all happily.

Angie Newton @ Weight Loss Blog

When I feel myself falling off the wagon, I just keep going.  Like Dory says in Finding Nemo, “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming”.  If you feel like you are falling, change things up.  If you are bored from your workouts, try something new.  If you are bored of the same foods, try a new recipe.  Even after gaining back a lot of the weight I lost, I can say that I know it’s possible to meet my goals and I won’t let it get the best of me.  I thought that taking a mini break from exercise would help but that is furthest from the truth so don’t ever do that.  Even if you only walk for 10 minutes a day and do nothing else, always be moving.
Another thing that has helped me when I feel down about this journey is to get motivated by others.  I head over to my Facebook page where everyone shares their workout accountability and I’m right back feeling inspired to get moving.

Angie Newton writes about her weight loss and fitness journey and shares tips on living a healthy lifestyle at her weight loss blog. Feel free to drop by for a visit!