The holiday pound exchange. The Christmas cookie layer. The Santa belly. The holiday bonus. Call it what you like, but gaining a few pounds (or more) over the holiday season is as much a tradition as throwing away fruitcake or crowded mall parking lots. Keep a few things in mind to avoid adding “sled handles” to your winter physique

Only eat the REALLY good stuff

This means politely passing or discretely trashing many home baked treats or party options. Remember calories you don’t enjoy are just as potent as those you do.

Get Fierce

During the holidays you’re not likely to have more time to workout, so the best way to keep the calorie balance in your favor is to ramp up the intensity. Add hills and/or sprint intervals to your cardio routine.  Try jumping rope or mountain climbers between strength sets. Do power yoga moves instead of your usual static stretches.

Weigh yourself

Even if you usually don’t keep track of your poundage, it’s a good idea to weigh yourself at least once a week during the holiday season. The scale is an early warning device and will let you know if you have been enjoying a little too much cheer.  Get a baseline, aim to stay within two to four pounds of that weight and make changes if you get too far off track.

Add nightly walks

Get out and enjoy all the lights, holly and inflatable Santa’s your neighbors went to so much trouble to put up. Even if you’re a scrooge at heart, it’s difficult not to enjoy the magical holiday transformation of your hood (while you burn a few extra calories along the way).

Ask Santa for a fitness treat

Stylish new gear or cutting edge equipment will get you excited to get started on your fittest year ever. Bring on the Champagne flavored Gatorade!

For fitness freaks like us, the primary holiday question isn’t what to get Mom (a trampoline, of course) or do reindeer really know how to fly (only if they have adequate core strength), but should you work out with a cold. This question is asked over and over again, silently and out loud by the sore throated, coughing, sneezing and wheezing. To answer quickly, if it is just a head cold (above the neck) then you are fine to do a slightly mellower version of your usual routine. If the dreaded bug has settled in to your chest or is causing you body aches then its best to take a day or two off (at least).

I suggest you use this bit of downtime to make sure your fitness plan is in balance, because getting sick (unless your other hobby is licking doorknobs) is a sign that something is amiss. So after you are sure your spouse feels adequately sorry for you, sit down and map out the week before the dreaded bug won the battle over your forces of immunity. Did you get at least eight hours of muscle repairing, immunity boosting sleep each night? Did you eat as well as you know you should? Were there any other out of the ordinary stresses that could have delivered the jab, jab, cross, upper-cut to your immune system? Did you party more than usual or suddenly increase your workout intensity or duration? Moderate workouts tend to relieve stress, while very intense ones add more stress to your immune system.  If the holidays already have you sleeping less and eating more crap, it’s probably not the best time to start training for the Olympics.

If you are able to figure out what may have led to your current dilemma, then you will be able to avoid that deadly combination in the future.  For example you may have had a stressful week at work, which led to less sleep and not eating well. All it would take is a killer workout and dinner with your mother-in-law to put you in the danger zone.

A cold is often your body’s way of letting you know that you aren’t focusing enough on the recovery aspects of your training. Keep in mind that you don’t get fitter while you are working out, but after when your body uses the nutrition and rest you give it to rebuild stronger and better.

So this holiday season keep your to-do list short, learn to say no nicely, keep your workouts moderate and consistent and get to bed on time.  And remember, eggnog with rum is not a workout recovery drink!