‘Tis the season to eat, and many people will do just that over the holidays, but it might be easier than it seems to keep the weight off while still having all the gingerbread and fruit cake.

Besides the usual winter workouts, like skiing and snowboarding, other excellent workouts are ice skating, hiking, and even sledding, all of which burn more calories, according to http://fitsugar.com.

“I like [skiing] because there are so few things that get you out and exercising during the winter,” said Emily Coklan, sponsor of the LZ Ski and Snowboard club. “[Other good winter workouts are] cross country skiing, ice skating, especially if you have the stamina to play ice hockey.”

For those people who believe that going to the gym is the only way to really exercise their body to the fullest potential, it may be surprising to learn that for a 120 pound person, you can burn more calories per hour shoveling snow (331 calories) for an hour then lifting weights at a normal rate for the same amount of time (173 calories), according to http://healthstatus.com.

Skiing and snowboarding both burn the same amount of calories an hour, according to http://healthstatus.com. The calorie count varies for both, as it depends on the length of the line for the ski lift, and how long it takes the lift to get to the top, which both take time off the length of the workout since the participant is mostly standing there, waiting to speed back down.

“As far as muscle groups go, you use ones you don’t use when running, and it works your core muscles, [but] the hill does most of the work, you just control your movement,” Coklan said.

Sledding is also an excellent calorie burning activity, especially since the majority of sledding hills do not have lifts to the top of the hill.

“Even though people [my] age think they are too old for [sledding], I go once or twice a year, and running up and down the hill is good exercise,” Emily Melavic, senior and president of the Ski and Snowboard club, said.

Everyday winter activities can help keep off the “winter weight” and be fun. Scraping ice off the car or walking through snow both burn calories, although not as much as shoveling snow. Depending on how hard you are working, even a snowball fight can burn anywhere from 100 calories (that person who camps out and throws with minimal effort) to about 319 calories (die hard snowballer), according to Southern Living Magazine online.

Working out during the winter does not have to be dreary and monotonous, as long as there is snow on the ground, there are plenty of ways to work out and have fun.