Gingerbread cookies, sugar cookies, honey ham, candy canes, pumpkin pie, cupcakes, and all things chocolate. If your family is anything like mine, vegetables are not exactly a priority during the holidays. On top of that, lounging around the house watching movies and not taking off your pajamas all day usually wins out over cardio. 

On the flip side, you’ve worked hard all semester to get and stay in shape, and you do not want to be the person that comes back to school with a double chin. So while it’s important not to completely deprive yourself of those special holiday sweets, here are a few tips to make sure that indulgence doesn’t become gluttony.     

1. Worried about gorging on grandma’s cookies? Have one and then drink a glass of water or two. Drinking lots of water is a great way to feel a little fuller and cleanse the system. Add a little bit of lemon to it for some digestion aid!  

2. Reality TV and movies can become a black hole of lethargy. Use your downtime to your advantage by doing some floor exercises while you are watching. 40 jumping jacks, 30 crunches, 20 squats and 10 push-ups burns a quick 100 calories. You can also use hand weights to do curls, rows, shoulder presses, kickbacks, arm circles, and a hundred other kinds of lifts.  

3. Go for walks with family members. While you should definitely go see the new Annie movie, it may not be the best time to catch up with your little brother or sister that you only see on breaks from school. If you live somewhere cold, bundle up, and head outside for a long walk around your neighborhood. It’s a great way to be active and get some much needed catching up with your family.  

4. Ask your mom if there are any tasks that she needs done. You’ll be moving and being a good son or daughter.  

5. If you do finally get up the motivation to work out but don’t have a gym membership at home, there are thousands of YouTube workout channels. Try XHit Daily, BeFiT, Blogilates, BEXLIFE.com, and Tone It Up. Bonus points if you invite a family member to do it with you.  

6. Self control, boys and girls, is the name of the game. Even if your grandmother is insisting that you finish her entire chicken casserole, you are still entitled to politely but firmly decline and save yourself from the guilt (and the guaranteed food baby) later. Remind her (and yourself) that food can be saved and eaten tomorrow.  

7. Lastly, treat every day like a fresh start. Even if you gorged on 23 peppermint Oreos yesterday, that doesn’t mean that you’ve fallen off the wagon until 2015. It’s better to make an honest effort each day than to insist that "your diet starts on Monday." With that being said, don’t stress because you had dessert with dinner. It’s better to give yourself little treats and stay on track than to completely relapse into a food coma.

Good luck, guys!