Ah, Thanksgiving, with chilly weather just around the corner and the stress of upcoming midterms on our shoulders, it's a time most students take advantage of to indulge in favourite comfort foods from home. Overindulgence, however, isn't something we think about until we get back to class and find that our favourite pair of jeans don't fit quite the same as they did last time we flirted with the cute guy or girl from Tuesday's psych class. Whether you noticed the evidence on your bathroom scale or just want to do some damage control, here are six tips to try this week to get your body back on track and ready to fight exam week anxiety.

Don't feel guilty
Throwing guilt trips at yourself for eating that extra slice/plate/bite (or two or three) of Mom's home cooking just isn't going to do any good. It won't burn the extra calories and it is actually more likely to keep you from taking action against those calories. Be positive and get motivated!

Don't starve for three days to compensate for the extra calories
Depriving your body of calories and nutrition actually slows down your metabolism, making it harder to burn off the long weekend overload. So eat, but only when you're actually hungry.

Set a goal
It's easy enough to say that you're going to recover from the weekend-long buffet, but what exactly does that mean? Make it clear to yourself what you want to accomplish, or chances are you won't accomplish anything. It doesn't have to be big, just something to work towards.

Don't start a hardcore exercise program
Exercise is awesome; the benefits are so vast that they could fill a textbook. Two of those benefits include stress relief and heightened focus. So you (especially as a student) should have already been exercising before the holidays rolled around. If that isn't the case, now is a great time to start off slow. Because if you do a weeklong boot camp to prevent turkey thighs, I can almost guarantee you won't be exercising regularly by Christmas.

Watch your alcohol!
Sorry, guys; alcohol doesn't just slow down your good judgement and motor skills, it also slows down your metabolism. When your body is busy dealing with the alcohol in your system, it has trouble breaking down the carbs and fat in your food. What does that mean? It means that great dinner you just had with the girls before hitting the bar is getting stored as body fat rather than being used as fuel.

Don't overdo the caffeine
Most of us know that caffeine temporarily boosts our metabolism and helps burn fat, so go ahead and enjoy your morning coffee — just remember there can be too much of a good thing. If you're prepping for exams, you'll definitely be interested to know that some studies have shown caffeine to have a negative effect on long-term memory.

With information from tinyurl.com/caffeine-memory.