For many of us, the holiday season means not only building great memories with our families, but also attending countless parties. It’s easy to use the festivities of the season as an excuse to fall off the wagon with whatever health and fitness regimen you have going. There is no perfect world where we can devour all the tins of Christmas cookies we receive and still look fabulous, is there? It’s a fact that we gain weight between November and December every year, only to make the resolution that on January 1st we’ll put our gym memberships to use.
Here are some tips on how to live healthy, while still enjoying all the guilty pleasures that come with the holiday season.
Take Your Vitamins
The easiest thing we can do any time of year, particularly during the busy holiday months, is take supplements like a multivitamin, fish oil, and probiotic. Keeping your body full of nutrients and flushed of toxins will give you the energy you need to battle the Black Friday sales. It will also help you maintain your health goals (even when we’re digging into that second helping of apple pie!).
Eat in Moderation
Let’s face it, there’s no way I am turning down my mom’s creamy mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving, nor am I sacrificing the deliciously sinful chocolate graham cracker bars my sister makes once a year at Christmas time. For many of us, holidays are wrapped up in food memories, decadent cravings, and family favorites that we rarely get to have. Allow yourself to enjoy all your favorites this season, but do it guilt-free and in moderation. When you restrict yourself completely, it will cause cravings and eventually result in gorging yourself on something else you’d not have normally taken comfort in. Use tricks like loading up your Thanksgiving plate with everything you want, but not allowing yourself a second helping. Allow yourself to eat the Christmas cookies, but once Christmas day is over, everything uneaten goes in the trash, or better yet, gets donated to a homeless shelter in your area.
Sneak in a Workout
If we’re being honest, who really has the time to get to the gym among the shopping, cooking, planning, traveling, and celebrating? Instead, invest in a good pedometer and aim for the recommended 10,000 steps a day to maintain your weight. Setting a higher goal like 12,000-15,000 steps will account for all the extra bites of food and higher calories during the holidays. Frugga.com also has some great pre-holiday sales on pedometers to get you started; you’ll be surprised and delighted when you see your shopping and running around is logging your fitness time.
What are your tips for enjoying the holidays, while being healthy at the same time?
