Guest Post #4-How to fight back! {The Brandon & Amanda Story}

How to fight back
The dreaded Holiday lbs.

Hi friends! My name is Amanda and I'm Ashleigh's blog friend! :)

My blog is: The Brandon and Amanda Story




Here's a bit about me:
-Read full details here!
-I've been blogging since February.
-I'm a newlywed-May 14, 2011♥
-Read about Our Story
-I love cooking/baking. Here's my fave recipes.
-I am a health/fitness guru, which brings me to today's post.



Who doesn't LOVE the Holiday's!? When I think of the holiday's I think of: family, friends, the gifts, decorations, and of course FOOD! I mean, that's the best part right?
Well along with eating all the different food and recipes comes the dreaded holiday lbs. We are all scared of them and we all hate them.


Well, this post is to help prevent added & extra pounds and how to pick the smarter but still yummy choices!



-When you are picking out ingredients for your recipe, pick the smarter choices! Example: 'LIGHT' sour cream. 'FAT FREE' cream cheese. 'LOW SODIUM' taco seasoning. Pay attention to the packaging. You may be thinking, really? If you're adding all of this other bad stuff, who cares?! Well, your body does! You can't even taste a difference...so why not?
-Instead of eating tortilla chips or scoops with the ever so famous Frank's Red Hot Buffalo Chicken Dip, use veggies instead! Or get pita bread and break it into little pieces!
-Here's an easy one-Portion Control! Do you really need two scoops of mac & cheese when there are 15 other things to taste? Didn't think so. Just do one small scoop of everything!
-Treat yourself-it's the holiday's, but don't go completely crazy. Fill up on meat-chicken, turkey, etc.
-Add: fruit, veggies, cinnamon, honey, low sodium {Mrs. Dash} spices, heat. Rule: Eat the heat-jalapenos, crushed red pepper, hot sauce, etc.
-Skip the condiments! Don't butter your roll or overload on ranch dressing and ketchup on everything on your plate.
-After you eat suggest taking a walk with your family, playing football, or hide and seek inside with the kids.


At the gym the other morning I read my newest Fitness Magazine. My favorite go to. It gave me a few perspectives on certain things.

1 piece of pecan pie: over 500 calories.
1 cup of mashed potatoes: 200 calories.
1 cup of eggnog: 300 calories.

On average:
In 10 minutes you can burn 100 calories on the elliptical.
1 mile running you can burn 100 calories.

Makes you second guess what you're scooping on your plate, huh?

I hope these few tips help you fight back this Holiday Season. Don't let the food win! You can still treat yourself and let your taste buds enjoy things too.
Check out Fitness Magazine.


If you have any questions, hop over to my blog and contact me!

Hope ya'll have a great weekend!


Thanks Ashleigh for letting me guest post!