Aha, the holidays are almost here. But, with the holiday season creeping up on us, we need to be careful that our waistlines don't creep up on us as well. On average, Americans gain around seven pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Now as you know, getting rid of that extra seven pounds will be a lot harder than it was to gain it, so you would be better off to avoid having to deal with it at all.

We all regard the holidays as a time for fun and feasting and this is the one time of year that eating right and fitness often seem to make their way to the back burner. Lets face it, you want to enjoy the holidays just like everyone else and you can, but that doesn't mean you have to succumb to bad habits that lead to weight gain to do it. Well, this holiday season you can have the best of both worlds. You can enjoy your holidays while still keeping your weight and fitness program in check. Here are a few tips to keep in mind that will help you have a fun and fit holiday season.

To start with, plan ahead. Before the holidays actually get here, plan out days to do your exercise routines, and days to run your holiday errands each week. This way you eliminate having to run errands as an excuse not to exercise. Also, everyday is not the holiday during the holiday season, so there is no reason to stop planning the same healthy meals as you should be doing throughout the year.

If things get too hectic at times, do not stop exercising all together. If you find you can't exercise as much as you usually do, at least exercise as much as you can. Exercising half as much as you usually do is much better than not doing it at all. Try exercising at home. This can be a very convenient time saver during this hectic time of year. By doing this, you eliminate the drive to the gym, the wait for equipment and the drive home.

When you are out doing your holiday shopping, you will probably be out for quite a while. One good strategy here is to take some good healthy snacks along with you. Later on, when you start to get that hungry feeling, you will be less likely to eat a high fat meal at the mall's food court or at a fast food place on the ride home.

On a day when you will be going to a holiday party, eat like you normally would all day. Do not skip any of your regular meals before you go. Once you are at the party, it's alright to go ahead and have a little fun and enjoy some of the different foods. You probably will find that you won't overdo it because you've eaten your regular meals earlier that day. You can also start by eating some of the healthier foods that may be available before you partake in the less healthy ones. You will be less likely to eat as much of the fattening ones, but you still won't have to feel deprived of them. If there are a lot of different food items to choose from, take only small, one or two bite size portions of each. When you do this, you can try everything you like without eating too much.

Try to keep alcohol consumption to a minimum or better yet, don't drink any at all. The average beer has 140 calories per bottle with the average light beer in at 95 calories. Most mix drinks average around 175 calories give or take. Considering that even being careful with your food intake at holiday time, you still probably will end up eating a little more than you normally would, so you really don't need the extra calories that alcoholic drinks supply.

If you follow some of these little tidbits of advice, there is no reason why you can't stay fit and trim during the holiday season while still being able to enjoy all that this wonderful time of the year has to offer.