Feeling Fit is a challenge during the hectic holiday season. Here are five tips on how to stay healthy and have fun during the holiday season.
5 Tips For A Fit And Healthy Holiday Season
Feeling fit is a challenge during the holiday season. During the holidays, we indulge in good times, family, friends, delicious food, and indulgence. No wonder we often see weight gain between October and January!
The good news is that we can prevent holiday weight gain without feeling deprived. You can enjoy holiday cheer and stay fit! I used the following tips during a previous holiday season that included parties, two weeks of travel, and restaurant dinners. I even managed to lose a couple pounds! My intention was simply to avoid weight gain, so the small loss was an unexpected perk.
How did I do it? I enjoyed everything in moderation, tried not to overeat, and I stayed active. Here are my specific strategies.
1. Keep It All In Balance
Plan ahead and keep a holistic perspective. Realize it isn’t what you eat or drink one night, it is how it balances out over time. With this in mind, we can enjoy holiday cheer without feeling deprived. If you are aware of an upcoming event or dinner, eat a little lighter the days before. In the past, I tried eating lighter after an indulgence. This is where it is helpful to know yourself. I find it easier to maintain self-control when I am anticipating an evening out rather than “trying to make up for it.” For some reason, the later feels like punishment, when really it should just be about maintaining balance.
2. Practice Portion Control
I admit this is an ongoing challenge for me. Eat or drink small portions of those delicious holiday treats. Savor them slowly to allow yourself time to connect with your feelings of satiation. Also, it helps if I save my indulgences for treats I know I will thoroughly enjoy. Yes, sometimes we enjoy that fruit cake to avoid hurting feelings and that is fine. Just take an even smaller piece.
3. Keep Moving & Active
It can be hard to keep up with an exercise plan during the holidays. I struggle with the colder weather, the fact it gets dark earlier and the extra commitments of the holiday season. To some extent, you can control the damage by staying active. Look for ways to include moderate activity in your holiday socializing. Holiday cleaning? Great! Clean vigorously to make best use of the activity! Errands to run? Perhaps combine them with a lunchtime walk. Holiday baking? Why not play some funky music and dance a little while you bake.
4. Make Your Workouts Count
While you may not have as much time for exercise, it is still important to maintain your fitness. During the holiday season, I commit to three circuit style workouts per week. I even do a short version while traveling. My circuits alternate between upper body, lower body and core exercises with minimal rests. When possible, I fit in a little relaxing yoga or fun cardio (usually dancing or a brisk walk). Otherwise, I don’t stress too much if I keep up on the circuits.
5. Focus on What Matters Most
Holiday social events are a wonderful time to connect with family and friends. I like to remind myself why I am attending these events. This helps keep everything in perspective and it helps prevent overeating. I can slowly sip that eggnog while chatting with friends. I get to enjoy a little cheer, but most importantly I spent quality time with friends.
Bonus Tip For A Fit And Healthy Holiday Season:
Try Meal Enders Signaling Lozenges. These are no miracle “cure”, and I admit they are a little gimmicky. However, I find them useful and delicious.
I had the opportunity to try MealEnders as a Sweat Pink Ambassador through Fit Approach and MealEnders. I feel the MealEnders Signaling Lozenges fit well with my other holiday strategies.
The idea is you suck on a MealEnder Signaling Lozenge when tempted to indulge in a dessert. The outer coating is a soft, creamy dessert and the inside a hard candy. As the soft outer layer melts, you enjoy a little sweetness. As the inner layer melts, it offers a slightly effervescent sensation.
MealEnders lozenges are intended to help the brain realize you are satisfied. Similar is accomplished by eating slowly and sipping water, however if you have a sweet tooth like mine these may help.
Where To Purchase Meal Enders:
MealEnders is available at the companies website at: www.mealenders.com
Save 20% off your purchase by using the code:
FitHolidays20
I do not worry about it during the holidays. That is my time to do what I feel like.
I try to fit in 30 min workouts as much as possible and drink a lot of water.
I stay fit during the holidays by making sure I drink plenty of water and I watch my calorie intake the best I can. I try not to go over my calories that I’m going to have too hard of a time burning off later one. Instead of eating a whole pie to myself I eat one piece and stop there.