The cold wind howls through the bare trees as the grey skies blanket the earth. The outdoors is completely uninviting which is breaching your normal workout routine. It is also causing you to hole up in your home with nothing to do but eat. The holiday season is the time for a plethora of food. Many people find themselves struggling with what to eat in order to stay in shape during the holidays.

“The cold weather affects my workout routine because I can’t perform like I would normally due to all of the clothing you have to wear to stay warm,” says senior Rollan Shamdin.

Despite the cold weather, the number one key to staying in shape is exercise. Try to come up with routines that you can do in your home, such as crunches, stationary lunges, push-ups, and planks. This will help you stay lean despite your holiday diet. However, in order to truly burn fat and calories you will need to partake in cardio activity such as running or biking. If the cold scares you off, go to the gym and use their machines. You can go to Audrey Moore Rec Center’s gym for only five dollars a day.

Second to exercise, what you eat and the portions in which you eat them are incredibly important to staying fit. Many people let their usual diets slip over the holidays because of the amount of parties and dinners that they attend. A good tip to stay in shape while going to all the holiday parties is to not attend parties on an empty stomach. By eating before, you will be less tempted to to eat all the delicious holiday treats.

“My diet is much more lax over the holidays. I have such a sweet tooth and I usually indulge it,” senior Lillian Singer said.

Many people think that starving themselves all day before a big dinner will make up for the amount that they anticipate eating later.

According to Better Health USA, this in fact will cause you to feel “ravenous and consume everything there. Overindulging is never good, so try eating some lowfat, healthy snacks throughout the day in order to prevent this. Make sure that you prepare for a big meal by eating healthy on the days leading up to the event. That way, you are compensating for your unhealthy meal.

“Before a big event I make sure I always save my stomach for the day and then stuff my face because I know I’m going to have tons of good food to eat later that day,” said junior Diana Nguyen.

Also, balance your meals out. Do not fill up your plate with food that is calorie and sodium filled. Instead, have a little of everything including fruit and vegetables so that you can indulge, as well as receive valuable nutrients and vitamins.

Lastly, stop eating when you are full. Do not feel forced to eat everything on your plate. This will cause you to over eat which is never good. “I always tend to each too much,” senior Megan Loman said. “When I feel myself getting full I know to slow down so I don’t feel sick after my meal.” Eating too much can also cause stomach aches and causes your digestive system to slow down.

“I keep eating even after I get full when it gets too much I stop. I tend to pick at my food on those occasions,” Nguyen said.

Everyone’s diet becomes more lenient over the holidays so do not feel guilty for indulging. If you maintain a regular exercise routine and eat healthy and proportionately for the most part, you will keep your pre-holiday body.