1 cup stuffing — 600 calories, 1 cup mashed potatoes with butter — 300 calories, 6 ounces of Turkey — 340 calories, 1 piece pumpkin pie with whipped cream — 150 calories… Just when I thought there wasn’t any use in trying to fight the holiday bulge, in flies Dana Perri with her rockin’ abs and rock hard A$%!

So how does this Wonder Woman of fitness keep her figure svelte year round never giving in to the evils of the holiday bulge?

For starters, don’t let the holidays be excuses for not working out. “Get your blood pumping!,” she says.

She also says to be aware of the amount of food you’re taking in. During holiday dinners, take about half of what you would normally take and do the calorie count of each food. Figure out how much you can take. The goal is to eat, but you don’t need to eat SO much.

Keep holiday stress in check. We all know the holidays can be very stressful with family, shopping, and everything else. “Stress is that emotional fat we don’t want,” says Perri, “finding quiet time during the holidays will keep your body happy.”

When you go to eat, don’t starve yourself that day. Keep a normal eating pattern and drink A LOT of water. Drinking a lot of water keeps the metabolism flushed. If you MUST have pie, cake, cookies, etc. etc. just have a little. If you want all of it, fine just take A bite from each one and be done. You only need a tablespoon of ice cream not a whole scoop. It’s all about portion control and switching up your workout. Don’t guilt yourself for eating, but at the same time don’t over indulge.

Perri says one way to help yourself stay on track during the holidays is to have healthy snacks around such as: cottage cheese and berries, almonds and bananas. This will help you from eating leftover pies, cakes, etc.

Perri’s tips are sort of like many of our favorite Thanksgiving dishes, individually so simple, but put them all together and they add up quick.

Yours Truly,
Lady Lex