With the holidays right around the corner, it can be difficult to stay healthy and stick to fitness goals. The right mindset and practicing smart habits can make all the difference. It is indeed possible to survive the holiday season without your clothes getting too tight!
Establish Realistic Expectations: First of all, it is important to set attainable goals for yourself and to be honest about your expectations. It is perfectly normal to want to enjoy the sweet and savory treats that proliferate around holiday time. Think about how to achieve an appropriate healthy balance during this time. If weight loss is your goal, perhaps this is not the time to lose a significant amount of weight. Understanding that ahead of time will prevent you from feeling like a failure.
Indulge on Individual Occasions, not a Season: Avoid the “all-or-nothing” mindset that you are either 100% sticking to your healthy plan or “cheating” for the whole season. Allow yourself to indulge on certain days and keep to a routine on the other days. If you host a party, send leftovers home with your guests or bring them to work. Leaving treats in the house may cause these occasional indulgences to become staples.
Prepare Ahead of Time: With so many temptations at holiday parties, grocery stores, and even the breakroom at the office, it’s important to plan ahead. When preparing to run errands or go grocery shopping, eat a filling snack such as an apple or nuts to stave off hunger. This can also come in handy while baking, which can help control the temptation to graze on sweet ingredients. Having a snack or a small meal before holiday parties can help to avoid overeating.
Enjoy Smartly with Portion Control: Avoiding all of your favorite treats at holiday time will make you feel deprived and could lead to overeating. Choose some of your favorites and enjoy them in moderation. Try the “one plate” rule. Allow yourself one small plate of appetizers, one full plate of food for your main meal, and one dessert. Since alcohol is calorie dense and also lowers inhibitions, choose one drink to enjoy. Wine, wine spritzers, and light beer are better choices than mixed drinks with soda or fruit juice or sugary drinks like pina coladas and margaritas.
Work in Movement Creatively: It may be difficult to stick to your normal workout routine, so find other ways to incorporate extra movement. When holiday shopping, running errands, or even at work, park your car in the furthest part of the parking lot to get in some extra steps. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Squeeze in activity any way that you can, such as taking walk breaks or doing exercises such as squats or jumping jacks.
Set Boundaries and Take Time for Yourself: The holidays can be a very stressful and busy time. Do not let your own needs become lost in the holiday haze. Take time to yourself every day, whether it is reading a book, listening to soothing music, taking a bath, etc. Don’t be afraid to say no to extra projects, activities, or requests for your time, energy, and attention. Create and stick to a budget, schedule, and eating plan that allow you to enjoy the holidays, while maintaining your sanity and health.
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The holiday season is in full swing! While the holidays are, for many, the most wonderful time of the year, they can also be fa la la frustrating. Between parties, shopping, gift wrapping, baking, traveling, and unpredictable weather, not to mention our normal day-to-day responsibilities, the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day can take a toll on our mental and physical well-being. To ensure you are able to enjoy the holidays this season, and to help you mitigate the risk of holiday stress, read our three tips to help you enjoy the holiday season.
Stay Organized
A normal week for you may already include work, your kids’ extracurricular activities, volunteering, and other appointments. Add to that holiday parties, concerts, community events, and shopping, and you can easily find yourself double or triple booked. Rely on a calendar or day planner to keep you organized. Whether you prefer a paper planner or a calendar app on your smartphone, there are plenty of tools that will help you plan your daily schedule.
Remember, before you commit to attending the town tree lighting, or you make plans with your church group to deliver holiday gifts, check your calendar to see what else you had planned for that day. Make sure you’re not taking on so many activities that the stress of participating in so many events diminishes the enjoyment you feel at each one. Know that it’s okay to pass on an activity, event, or invitation if you can’t fit it in, or if you just need a break. The holidays are about friends and family, but that doesn’t mean you have to compromise your own wellbeing.
Eat Healthy and Stick to Your Exercise Routine
The holidays bring with them an overwhelming amount of food that is not normally part of our usual routines. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, you may find yourself participating in a work potluck, three parties, and a cookie exchange, not to mention the fact that you may be the recipient of gifts of candies, cakes, and baked goods from friends and family.
It can be hard to pass-up those holiday treats that we only get once a year, like frosted sugar cookies, yule logs, and rum balls, but keep in mind that if over the course of the holiday season your diet slips, you’ll be feeling it come New Year’s.
Commit to indulging in only your absolute favorite holiday treats. Otherwise, make healthy decisions at parties and events. Sample just a small amount of holiday appetizers, or stick to the veggie tray and just sip one glass of wine. Remember that parties and events are about spending time with loved ones. With that focus, food will easily take a back seat.
Also, remember to stick to your regular exercise routine. This can be especially difficult when you start adding extra holiday events to your calendar, but make sure you are prioritizing exercise, even if that means saying no to an invitation. If you maintain a healthy diet and exercise routine, you’ll sleep better and feel better throughout the season, and start 2017 out on the right foot.
Set a Budget
One of the most frustrating aspects of the holidays can be the financial strain it can cause. You may find yourself shopping for dozens of nieces, nephews, cousins, friends, co-workers, and other family members, or making extra-large holiday charitable donations, or chipping-in for the office holiday party, or even indulging in a new dress for that swanky holiday party you’ll be attending.
To ensure you don’t over-spend and end-up with a pile of holiday debt and the stress that comes with it, set a budget for all things holiday: gifts, donations, and extra events. Most importantly, stick to that budget. It can be hard to pull back when you find a special gift you really want to give, but remember, what’s more important than what you give to someone, is the time you spend with them.
By staying organized, eating healthy, and maintaining a budget, you can focus on what really matters this holiday season—the joy you feel spending time with those you love.
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With the holidays right around the corner, it can be difficult to stay healthy and stick to fitness goals. The right mindset and practicing smart habits can make all the difference. It is indeed possible to survive the holiday season without your clothes getting too tight!