The holiday season brings festive gatherings, annual parties, and larger and unhealthier food options. The holiday season is also a time that we tend to indulge more often than others.

Thanksgiving has come and gone and many of us have had more than our share of stuffing, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Thanksgiving is a time to rejoice and share thanks with our families and friends. Often time this also includes sharing these joys over multiple course meals and delicious leftovers.

• Indulging is a common behavior on Thanksgiving and can become a habit with future holiday meals and parties. If you can learn to pace your eating habits and not overdue it you will be better off come the busy holiday season and New Year.
• As the weather gets colder it is more of a challenge for many of us to get out and take a walk, bring the family animal to the park or take a run around the closest lake. Thanksgiving is often a time where your fitness and nutritional habits can spiral downward. Finding your winter exercise routine to go along with your eating habits is paramount to beating the winter bulge.
• It is important to understand how we gain weight and excess pounds. Medical conditions,  genetics, and metabolism aside, the formula for weight gain is simple. Excess caloric intake and a lack of caloric expenditure will result in weight gain.
• To understand how to monitor your caloric intake it is first essential to learn how to read a food label. The Food and Drug Administration breaks down your typical food label and gives you all the factors to examine. Serving sizes and proper portion control can be an important factor when it comes to weight gain.
• Another important factor is understanding your body type, body weight and how that relates to caloric intake and expenditure.  Everybody does not burn the same amount of calories and every exercise does not produce the same amount of calories burned. Caloriesperhour.com has a great tool to help you understand the relationships between certain exercise, time and calories burned.
• Another methodthat can help you control your eating habits is to write down and journal your nutritional and exercise routines. Weight Watchers is a great fee based plan that helps you control your habits. There are also many free and nominally priced resources available such as My Food Diary, My Calorie Counter and Fitness For Life.

As with any change to your nutritional and exercise regimen it is important to consult with your medical physician beforehand.