This time of the year could be very hard to stay on track with your fitness goals. There are all sorts of holiday foods, desserts and snacks everywhere you go. You might feel all the hard work that you have been doing could go out the window if you don’t have the right guidance in just one month.

Probably by now, your co-workers are bringing in all sort of sweets to celebrate the holidays. Planning ahead your meals and snacks will help you resist temptation and stop you from grabbing them because you are hungry. If you are attending a party, make sure that you don’t starve yourself all day to consume your calories at the party, instead eat your regular meals and have something small to eat before leaving your house. This will help you from grabbing food your body doesn’t need.

Grab smaller plates at work or at parties, this way you have control of what you put in it and don’t overfill it. Pick your favorite things and don’t just put food in the plate to fill it up.

Don’t feel bad about refusing to eat something. Say no without feeling guilty, it’s your body and you are in control of what you put into it. Don’t let peer pressure or fear of what other people think make you do anything you don’t want to. Everyone has different eating habits.

Chances are you will get offered more than one glass of something during the holidays. When you drink your body essentially puts all the other foods you have consumed on as low priority, and devotes itself to metabolizing the alcohol first. If you drink, try to avoid drinks with a lot of sugar like EGGNOG, and drink one glass of water with every glass of alcohol you consume

Did you know that stress can trigger weight gain? Things during the holiday get very hectic, try to keep calm. Take some time to relax and clear your mind. Listen to music, read, watch a movie, etc.

If you are hosting a party at your house, try to have healthier options that your guest and you can enjoy. Cook your own food, select sugar free desserts, have vegetables with low calorie dips, or even fruits. Your guest might thank you later for keeping them on track!

Usually holiday food isn’t the healthiest. Say no to wrapping up food for the next day that are packed in calories. Make sure to have food at home to resist into taking leftovers so you don’t have to cook the next day. You will end up feeling guilty and might end up getting off track.

Stay committed to your goals. Don’t beat yourself up If you had a couple of sweets here and there, or ate something that wasn’t necessarily healthy. Don’t spend 2 hours at the gym just to burn more calories, the main point is to keep your routine as much as you can and get moving!

Some people eat most of their food late in the evening or during the night even when they aren’t hungry. Eating certain things at night that are high in refined sugars, carbs and unhealthy fats is what affects your body and could lead to unnecessary weight gain. It can make it difficult to fall asleep and feel tired the next day, which can lead to poor food choices as well. Other effects that those items can have on your body is heartburn and acid reflux. Usually after you eat, you feel satisfied and get sleepy and jump right into bed which is what triggers those two things. Sometimes the result of restricted daytime food intake, is what leads to ravenous hunger at night as well. The first thing that you need to do is take a look into your daily food intake to identify why are you having those late night cravings?

• Have a set time to go to bed and make it a routine. You will adapt your body to go to sleep at a certain time and you won’t walk around your kitchen.
• Have healthy snacks to eat at night but not too many. If you have too many snacks you might feel you have the option to grab those snacks more often than you should.
• Drink enough water throughout the day.
• When you get anxiety, keep yourself busy and your mind off those cravings. Read a book, an article, listen to music, anything you like and try to relax instead of thinking about what you have in your kitchen.

• Try to go for something liquid instead of solid. It will be easier on your stomach and usually lower in calories.
• Herbal teas are always a good option.
• Protein shake with water or low fat milk.
• Casein protein shake.
• Oatmeal with water and a bit of honey as a shake (taste amazing and it will make you satisfied).The key to a good diet plan is to always pay attention to the size of your meals and snacks. Make sure that if you grab anything solid as a snack, you grab a SNACK SIZE and not s full meal because this can make you too full and keep you up all night.

• High fiber cereals with low fat milk
• Almonds, pistachios and pumpkin seeds. Or mix a bit of all of them as well
• Berries
• Bananas
• Peanut butter with whole grain bread
• Kale chips
• Greek yogurt
• Turkey, which you can mix with a bit of part-skim mozzarella
• Dark chocolate (70% cacao)
• Hummus with celery (buy the plain hummus or try to make it yourself at home)

Snacks are helpful for keeping your hunger at bay and your energy up during the day. But, snacks can easily derail your healthy goals if you choose junk or eat just for the sake of eating. When snacking, first check in and note why you want a snack. Is it boredom? Get up and find a change of scenery. Is it hunger? Well, okay then!

Think of your snack as a mini-meal and keep it balanced by choosing a one with produce, protein, and carbohydrates.

I have suggestions for each category coming up. Remember that a snack should be small and keep the “mini” in “mini meal”.As a general rule, choose a snack this has: 150-250 calories, about 3 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and no more than 12 grams of fat. This combination will get rid of the hunger, keep you satiated, and all without leading to overconsumption.

First, snacking should should be done mindfully. Put your snack on a plate and focus while eating. Enjoy that snack. Try not to multitask while eating.Second, be aware of the serving size on the label, and be sure that your portion matches it. Never, ever eat straight from the bag!

Snacking isn’t about following habit or what the clock says. It’s for when you are hungry. There is a theory out there that you should eat every 2-3 hours, but that’s not true for everyone. Eat when you’re hungry. It’s really that simple! On a scale of 1-10, 1 being not hungry at all and 10 being ready to take a bite out of a coworker, you should be about a 6 if you’re going to snack.

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• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit
• Fruit leather (without added sugar)
• Carrots
• Snap peas
• Cherry or grape tomatoes
• Celery
• Cucumber
• Peppers
• Frozen Grapes
• Kale Chips
• Tomato Juice

• Hummus
• Pumpkin seeds
• Edamame
• Fish in a pouch, like tuna
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Plain Greek yogurt
• String cheese
• Milk
• Cottage cheese
• Jerky
• Low-sugar protein bar (I like Quest and ThinkThin)
• Nut butter packets
• Pistachios
• Mixed nuts
• Walnuts

• Pretzels
• Air popped popcorn
• Dark chocolate
• Whole wheat crackers

Protein is the most essential macronutrient, specially for those trying to reach their fitness goals. Protein will help you build muscle and prevent muscle loss. It also makes you feel fuller longer and satisfied. You can find protein in foods like: cheese, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, almonds, lobster, tuna, tilapia, chicken breast, turkey breast, sardines, pork chops, beef, eggs, pasta, whole grain bread, tofu, beans.

They help keep your hormone levels in balance and they are essential nutrients that your body need to live. You need to consume fats from healthy sources like avocado, nuts, coconut oil, avocado oil, salmon and others to have a good diet. Stay away from trans-fats, as these foods will not help you reach your fitness goals.

We get our main source of energy from carbohydrates (carbs). They are vital to physical activity and important to our mental health. There are two different kinds of carbs:

These are easily digested so they will provide us with some quick energy. (Soda, baked treats, packaged cookies, fruit juice concentrate, breakfast cereal)

These are more nutritious than simple carbs, they are high in fiber and take longer to digest which keep you fuller for a longer period of time. (Whole grains, fiber-rich fruits, fiber-rich vegetables, beans)

Getting the right amount of protein, fat and carbs will determine whether you are building muscle, losing muscle, putting on fat, or losing fat. Counting your macros could help you see changes in your body and reach your fitness goals faster.