Holidays, they’re great! You get to see family and friends and get some time off work (well at least I hope you do). There’s an abundance of food and cocktails that are just too good to pass up. What’s not great about the holidays is that sudden realization you’ve been packing on the pounds all month long and are going to have to spend a great deal of time and effort to get back to that pre-holiday fabulous figure you had worked so hard on!

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Don’t let that happen to you this holiday season! There are 3 quick and easy steps you can take to break the holiday binge cycle and get you’re diet back on track! First step, break the always dangerous sugar cycle. I do not care what anyone has told you, consuming sugar is addicting and the more you consume the more your body craves it! All those holiday treats are just making you want more, and the best way to stop this craving is quitting cold turkey. Take at least 3 days off the sugar high and you’re body will readjust!

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Next step, shrink that stomach back. Your stomach has stretch receptors that signal to the brain you are indeed full, but all that overeating at the holidays slows these receptors down. This means its taking your brain a lot longer to get the message you’re full and allows you to eat that much more. If you just cut back on the portion sizes but still eat the same fatty foods your body will not readjust, instead it will make you even hungrier. The best way to get those receptors back to being fast reactors is to eat the same size portions of healthier food!

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Finally, it’s time to cut back on the booze. Work parties, friend parties, family parties, the alcohol is most likely going to be there. Now I’m not saying cut out the drinks completely. Trust me I understand sometimes that glass of wine is needed to deal with a difficult family member! So just cut back. Your body doesn’t count alcohol calories the way it does food, meaning it doesn’t feel more full if you’ve consumed a ton of extra calories in the form of spiked eggnog! So have a few but then switch to a healthier alternative, like tea that has been shown to boost your metabolism!

If following these steps seems slightly out of reach or you see yourself falling back into bad holiday habits hitting the gym is always an option. If you’re engrossed in an intensive pilates class at salons downtown Pittsburgh, Verve 360, the last thing on your mind will be indulging in holiday cookies. No one wants to ruin all the hardwork they put in after a sweat-filled workout class!