The holiday season can be both fun and stressful simultaneously, especially when it comes to food. With the abundance of parties to attend, cookies to bake, and cocktails to toast with, it can be challenging to maintain your health, weight loss, or fitness goals over the holidays. However, it’s not impossible — here are five ways to lose weight while still enjoying yourself this holiday season. 

1. Focus on Non-Food Feel-Goods

While baking sweets and cooking comfort food dishes are a large part of the holiday season, try adding other things that make you feel good and don’t revolve around food. Instead, you could create new traditions, like a post-dinner family walk or a friendly game of catch or touch football. 

2. Make Some Smart Swaps

For every sweet recipe, try cutting the amount of sugar used by ¼ to ⅓. Likely, you won’t even be able to tell that the sweetness is cut down — but it can definitely help your weight loss goals. Instead of sugar, add more warming spices, like cinnamon, cloves, or nutmeg.

3. Share Your Goals

Sharing your health goals with your family and friends can help hold you accountable and help your food-pushing Grandma remember that you don’t want that extra serving of pie. 

4. Don’t Shame Yourself

If you do end up indulging more than you’d preferred, don’t guilt or shame yourself — just remember how you feel and move on. 

5. Keep the Bigger Picture in Mind

Eating a little bit less healthy for a day, or even a week, won’t set you back in the long term — especially if you genuinely enjoyed what you ate, like your mom’s famous cookies or your aunt’s pecan pie. Keep the bigger picture in mind, and get right back on track the next day.