Winter fluff.  I’m not talking about the white stuff, but rather the extra pounds one tends to gain during the winter season.  Of course, this was normal living in Minnesota.  Activity waned for me as the weather got colder outdoor.   Fortunately, over-sized sweaters were the perfect way to cover up any extra weight.

Unfortunately, living in South Florida our winter consists of dips into the 40s.  Most of the winter is comfortably warm and bikini season in unending.  There’s rarely sweater weather here, so there’s no covering up any extra winter fluff.  On the flip side, the weather here is perfect.  Consequently, we can enjoy the great outdoors year round.   Not surprisingly, running is a lot more pleasant when the temperatures are in the 70s not the high 90s.  Running in triple digit heat indices, as you can imagine, is not nearly as much fun as it sounds.

The only the combination of lack of sweater weather and winter fluff are troublesome is around the holidays. Who wants to behave and eat well with all the holiday parties and dinners?  Thanks, but no thanks!  So how does on survive the holidays without putting on the fluff?  I’m glad you asked.  The key is moderation and exercise.  Sadly, diet is 80% of the equation with exercises only making up 20%.   This means you cannot completely correct all your food indiscretions with exercise.

Where does this leave you?  Comprising.  If you’re at a party, enjoy the food, but skip seconds.  If you’re drinking, opt for a drink (like a vodka soda) that is low in calories.  My drink of choice is a peach pear LaCroix with a shot of Peach Ciroc on the ice.  Its refreshing, its light and its low calorie.  Plus, Circoc is very smooth.  In addition, add in some extra workouts as this will help mitigate some of the extra calories.

In honor of the start of the holiday season, let’s kick it back to 2001 with Pink’s Get the Party Started