It’s that time of the year, every dieter’s worst nightmare — the holidays. The temptation of all of the treats and delicacies is literally irresistible and you’ll catch yourself cheating at least once. It’s the holidays, so you’re supposed to enjoy yourself, which means it’s okay that you cheat. Although, there are a few things you should do to lessen the blow of the cheat meals.

Plan ahead

Eating during the holidays is like walking on thin ice because you mindlessly eat and the calories stack up quickly. It’s important that you plan your meals ahead and you know what you’re doing. If you’re going to a party in an hour, eat a few handfuls of peanuts beforehand, that way there’s less room for the cookies and pie. If you go hard on the big Thanksgiving meal, skip breakfast and eat a small snack before to hold yourself over. Strategize and plan out your day around the calorically dense meals.

Stay active

When you consume sweets and sugar, it wants to go straight to fat and it naturally wants to shut your body down. It’s important now more than ever that you get the daily cardio in. We can typically rely on diet for fat loss but now it’s out of the question so cardio is the backup. Try to burn off more than you put in by doing cardio whether it be going for a walk or jogging through the neighborhood (although this only applies to sugar).

Find substitutes

What if I told you you could have the best of both worlds by cheating and not suffering the consequences? A really good way to stay healthy during the holidays is just finding substitutes. The ketogenic diet is a low carb/low sugar diet and there are many keto dessert recipes I use for the holidays and these are my favorites.te it? Be sure to take your daily vitamins and hydrate to keep that immune system boosted.

Stay hydrated

Let’s face it, everything that’s a cheat meal is loaded with carbs and sugar which means you need to keep your system clean. Drink at least a gallon of water a day to flush out all of the processed garbage you just put in. Dehydration can also be perceived as hunger so drink a glass of water before you eat, so you don’t eat too much.

Stay clean

Since it is that time of year where everyone’s getting sick, be sure to sanitize and be clean. If you get sick, you’re out of the gym for at least a week and that could really set you back. Another setback to getting sick during the holidays is not being able to taste the pies and cookies. Who would want to eat junk food and not be able to taste it? Be sure to take your daily vitamins and hydrate to keep that immune system boosted.

If you combine these five holiday health hacks, you’ll be pretty happy with the end results. I used these five hacks last year and I actually lost a couple of pounds because I was focused. It was a long road, but it was worth the trouble. Don’t forget to enjoy yourself because it is the holidays and anything in moderation is fine.