Ah, the holidays. The prefect excuse to binge out without feeling any guilt…until it’s all over and it’s back to reality and you put your office clothes back on and realize you have gained more weight than you have expected when you couldn’t close your pants, your blouse buttons are about to burst, and your face is rounder than a balloon! That’s when all the guilt floods in and you wish you hadn’t eaten that extra cookie or gorged in that juicy ham or gulped down all that soda.

Yes, the holidays are a time to eat, drink and be merry. But that doesn’t mean it’s the holiday from working out. In fact, the more we need to exercise during this time because of the expected additional food consumption during Christmas parties and other yuletide gatherings. So, instead of feeling guilty after the holidays are over, wouldn’t you enjoy your Christmas vacation more, guilt-free by working out during the whole time?

Here are a few workout tips during the holiday season that will make you enjoy the spirit of Christmas with your family and friends minus the guilt:

“Holiday Penance” This doesn’t mean that you won’t eat at all.  But since Christmas is the time of the year when food just seems to be overflowing and there’s no end to it, make a more conscious effort to watch your food intake and eat just enough to satisfy your cravings without feeling any guilt after. Take a piece of every dish on the table if you want, but just enough to sate your drooling and not anything more.

“Celebrity Goal” Whenever you want to take another piece of that ham roll or munch on another Christmas cookie, think of that celebrity or famous personality you’re dying to have the body of and you might lose your appetite altogether. You deserve to eat and enjoy the holiday banquet, but stay focused on your health and fitness goals to keep you on the track.

“Challenge Workout” If you don’t have any exercise goal of any kind, now is a great time to start. Challenge yourself to keep fit during the Christmas season and maintain it even after the holiday bingeing is over and you will realize how great it feel, both physically and emotionally, to be physically fit.

“Video Game Workout” Call this the “lazy man’s exercise,” but when it’s too cold or snowy outside or you’re just too lazy to workout during the holidays (or not), make use of your couch potato lifestyle and move to your Wii or Kinect game and burn those extra calories off. Moreover, you can get your family or friends into the game and make it a fun, healthy family affair altogether.

“Sneaky Family Time Workout” Like in the workout mentioned above, this one’s similar but even more physically motivating and satisfying. Get your whole family or friends to a game of football, soccer or basketball, and even without them knowing it, you have all melted those excess holiday fats off while enjoying a deserving, happy family time together on Christmas all at the same time. Now who could ask for anything more?

So if you think Christmas and workout are an unthinkable pair, think again and start burning those holiday calories off and enjoy the yuletide season with your family and friends full but healthy!