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I love stuffing! That’s why I am deciding to cut back the calories and drop a few lbs now in order to make up for the few lbs that I will be gaining back this holiday season. All of the holiday parties and travel will make it difficult to adhere to any strict meal plan, so I am planning to calorie count instead.

Over the past few years, I have heard wonderful things about Livestrong.com and their online calorie tracking program. I signed up today and learned that in order to lose 2 lbs per week, I need to focus on only consuming 1,395 calories/day. Their online tracking journal makes it easy to keep in sync with your weight-loss goals. All you have to do is search the item you consumed, input the quantity eaten, and let them do all the math for you!

Sign up for livestrong.com today at http://www.livestrong.com/

• click on your gender to “get started”
• click the “track calorie” tab
• build your profile

Here are some suggestions to make livestrong.com work more efficiently for you:

• plan your meals one day in advanced, pack your own snacks and lunches, and possibly even input your meals for the day first thing in the morning to ensure that you are meeting your daily goals rather than exceeding them without even knowing you are doing so
• Plan to eat every 3 hours to assure your metabolism is running strong
• Include 3-5 servings of protein per day. One serving should equal 20-25 grams of protein per day for women and 40-50 grams of protein per day for men
• Consume more veggies and less processed starch products
• Drink 100 oz of water/day
• Exercise a minimum of 5 hours per week (this should be a combination of cardio and weight-lifting)
• You don’t need a gym to stay fit! Perform your cardio outdoors and follow my holiday video blog for 20-30 minute long exercise circuits that can be performed everywhere you go using minimal equipment
•  https://laurenkern.com/?page_id=327
• Take the total number of calories suggested to consume per day, divide it by 5, and pack your meals accordingly. For example, my daily caloric intake goal is 1,395. That means that each one of my meals for the day should be as close to 279 calories as possible. One meal might look like this:

• 4 oz chicken breast: 120 calories
• 2 servings balsamic vinegar (for chicken): 20 calories
• 6 oz raw broccoli: 50 calories
• 1 oz hummus for dipping: 80 calories

If I don’t have time to eat a meal, then I may opt for a quick and easy to eat snack on the go that looks like this:

• 1 whey protein shake mixed with 1 cup water (140 calories), ice, and 1 banana (100 calories)

Remember, weight loss requires planning! Let’s plan to get fit, not fat, this holiday season! Now go hit your cardio and live strong!