Here are some survival tips to help you stay focused over the holiday season - that still let you enjoy holiday gatherings with friends and family.

Holiday Survival Tips:

• Create a plan ahead of time or maintain your already existing schedule. Before the holidays sneak up on you, create a plan for incorporating fitness and good nutrition into your daily routine. Look ahead and evaluate your holiday to determine how much time you will realistically have available for your workouts. If you don’t have time for your full workouts, accept your limited availability and simply reduce the frequency and/or duration of your exercise. It’s much better to cut your fitness time in half than to completely eliminate it. If you only have 10-20 minutes to complete your cardio, try increasing the intensity at which you perform your cardio, and make good use of your time.
• Schedule your workouts. Mark them on the calendar and set-aside time to complete them. Consider them as important as any other appointment or event you have marked on your calendar.
• In preparation for a party. try to eat a light snack (i.e. an apple) before hand so that you are not starving when you get to the party and eat everything in sight. If you starve all day long attempting to save up all your calories for the party, you will be so famished by the time it begins that it will be difficult not to overeat. Also, when at a party, start by eating some of the healthy food options. For example, vegetable sticks (without dip), fruit pieces, plain chicken pieces, etc. Then move on to some of the less healthy options. You will be less likely to overindulge on these foods if you have already filled-up on some of the healthier items. Yet, you will not feel deprived or unsatisfied.
• Watch your alcohol consumption over the holidays and you can save yourself a lot of calories. The average alcoholic drink contains 150-200 calories per glass. By letting yourself indulge in 2-3 drinks you’ve drunk the equivalent calories of an entire meal, so if you do decide to drink, choose wisely. For example, instead of having a full glass of wine, try mixing half a glass of wine with sparkling water. This will help cut your calories in half and still let you enjoy a drink with your friends and family.
• If you cannot find as much time for the gym over the holidays, try increasing the physical activity that you do throughout the day. For example, when shopping, don't search for the closest parking space. Park far away and take advantage of the walk you get. Take the stairs whenever you can. Cleaning, such as vacuuming, can be a great cardiovascular workout if you keep yourself moving. Take your family and head out for walks around your neighborhood.
• On days that you really lack motivation or simply do not have time for your complete exercise routine, commit to do just 20 minutes of exercise. You’ll probably end up doing more than that once you get started. Even if you only end up completing 20 minutes, that is still a lot better than doing nothing at all.
• Exercise at home. You’ll be more inclined to follow-through on your exercise commitment if you don’t have to drive somewhere to do your workout. Plus, you won’t waste any time on driving, parking, the locker room or waiting to use equipment. Working out at home requires very little equipment (even can be equipment-free) and is quite inexpensive.