Heads up, darling, Thanksgiving is this week, and first of all I wanted to take this opportunity to say *thank you.* Thanks for being part of the pleasure tribe, and thanks for simply being you.

Back to the season at hand, a core part of Thanksgiving that is likely on your radar is those long, epic holiday meals. (And surely I need not explain what frequently comes along with that!)

You may be fearing that the holidays are destined to bring you some extra pounds, no matter what you do to prevent them.

Sadly most of the dishes that are served at holiday parties and family gatherings are not exactly the nutrient-rich and naturally slimming foods that will help you achieve your weight balancing desires.

This’s why I’m bringing you the top 4 ways you can avoid extra pounds during the holidays, so you can get slim and stay slim, no matter what the holidays tempt you to eat.

I promise that these tactics are very doable, will help you achieve your weight balancing desires, and can be squeezed into your holiday schedule.

Warning: These 4 tips are angst-free, restriction-free and punishment-free. Read at your own pleasurable risk!

Top 4 Ways to Avoid Extra Pounds During the Holidays

1. Get physical. There will be many opportunities for sitting and eating during the holidays – dinners, movies, get-togethers, card games, vacations, chatty visits and more.

Consciously balance out all that sitting time by getting physical – with pleasure! As of today, start planning ways to move your body, pleasurably and as often as possible. Some ideas are: getting outside and strolling through nature, making love (with yourself or another participant), stretching in the a.m. and p.m., ice skating, walking your dog or participating in dance/yoga classes.

If you’re traveling, research ways to get physical, with pleasure, wherever you’re heading. Remember, you have options wherever you go, you just have to seek them out. The sooner you do this, the better! It’ll be tougher to figure out your pleasure on the fly, if you don’t plan it a.s.a.p. from a serene, centered place.

2. Connect with community. Your great, great auntie Carmelita will probably not encourage you to eat the ultra-nourishing food that your body truly desires to eat – so make sure you have someone who will!

Connect with a community of women who are also seeking to slim down during the holidays. You can text each other, chat online and even check in with each other via phone during particularly challenging events. Having a person or group that has your slim behind in mind is a very powerful tool for avoiding extra pounds during the holidays.

3. Feel Your Feelings. ’Tis the season when crazy traffic jams and even crazier families can spark feelings of overwhelm, frustration and overall crankiness.

Since feelings happen inside your body (nervousness in your stomach, sadness through your limbs, love in your chest), denying or ignoring them is downright stressful – and can literally cause you to produce hormones that’ll signal your body to gain weight.

You can feel your feelings in healthy ways like: speaking openly with a trusted friend or wellness coach, sweating out your emotions in a physical way (see #1) or passionately yelling and pounding your feelings into a pillow. Grrrrrr! Free up your energy for focusing on your pleasure, and help your body perform her slimming functions at her highest possible capacity.

4. Nurture Your Feminine Side. You might feel tempted to throw on any old tracksuit, with your least sexy panties underneath, just before you run out your door during the holidays. This lack of attention to nurturing your femininity, and tending to your unique brand of beauty, will leave you feeling less than stellar in the company of others, and throughout the course of your holiday activities.

Caution: Being preoccupied with negative feelings about your appearance consumes your attention, drains your energy and signals your body to produce hormones that will cause you to gain weight, just as denying your feelings does. 

Fight this temptation with guerilla acts of self care. Whether it’s putting on a beautiful outfit, blushing your cheeks, or deeply washing and styling your hair, make sure your feminine side gets nurtured, often and with major gusto, during this demanding and sometimes draining season.

Ta-da, sistah! Feeling your feelings, nurturing your feminine side, connecting with community and getting physical are 4 sure-fire ways to help you avoid gaining weight during this holiday season. If you’re extra passionate about implementing them, they’ll help you slim down to your ideal weight, as well.

Remember, when you have positive, long-term pleasures and conscientiousness as your guiding light, you’re more likely to make decisions that will support your weight loss, your relationship with food and your body image, and dramatically improve your life.

Do you have a friend who tends to look like a deer in headlights over the holidays? See if you can make her a pot of tea today, and forward her this post!

Tell me in the Q’s below:

1. Which of the top 4 strategies appeals most to you?
2. Are there any other pleasurable tactics you would add to this list? What do you do to thwart extra pounds, in health-affirming ways?

Always with love,
xo Jena

P.S. What are you doing the weekend after Thanksgiving, from November 30 – December 2? If you’ve been curious about learning how to slim down in a feminine way, then you’ve got to join me at Pleasure Camp NYC.

If you’ve been feeling a little shy about attending on your own, or would simply like to have a loved one involved and by your side (think daughter, mother, sister, best-friend, or co-worker,) then I have some great news for you: you can bring a friend to Pleasure Camp for just $50!  Once you buy your ticket, email us their name and we’ll get them set up with this great deal.

Remember, Pleasure Camp is a lively, experiential event is 100% designed by women, for women, to get your body, mind and spirit back into balance. It’s also an investment that you’ll be giving thanks for, from the moment you register! Say “yes” to slimming down for good by clicking over here.