Maintaining Through the Holidays

It’s that time of the year again! The holiday season is upon us and while it’s certainly a wonderful time to celebrate with family and friends, there can also be some downsides. Even though this season comes around every year many struggle to adhere to their normal sleep schedule, dietary habits, and workout program. Whether it be the stress of a busier schedule, the temptation treats everywhere, lack in motivation due to colder temperatures and shorter days, or anything in between. Use these tips to make the holiday month(s) a little less stressful on your diet.

Failing to plan is planning to fail!

If you know you have a Holiday party every weekend in the month of December be prepared for the temptation of too many desserts, drinks, and food. Drinking that extra beer or glass of wine multiple times a week alone can increase the likelihood of weight gain. Have a game plan going into the evening in order to set yourself up for success.

Every Sunday, write down your workouts and any important events for the week in a journal or on your calendar. Look at your schedule a week ahead so you can schedule workouts accordingly. Sometimes life happens so adjust as needed, but a lot of people find that writing down and adding the weekly workouts into a checklist really helps their accountability. It’s always encouraged to get plenty of sleep, drink a lot of water, and get a sweat on most days of the week!

Meal prep during the week! The holidays get busy and it can be hard to plan healthy meals on the fly or choose healthy meals at parties and restaurants. Keep your weekday meals on point. This way, when you attend a party or event over the weekend, you can know you had a successful week if you decide to have a dessert or drink. Practice moderation, ESPECIALLY with sweets and treats.

Print out a social calendar for November thru early January. With the holidays, there are more social events and these usually come with increased eating and drinking. By knowing when your events (family gatherings, company holiday parties, traveling, etc) are scheduled, you will get an idea of times you might be splurging and celebrating. With these dates in mind, you can plan to be more mindful or schedule an extra workout on the days leading up to, or following said events.

Focus on maintenance & consistency

Over the holidays I usually tell people it might be harder to lose as much weight as they would normally, so focus on maintaining. If there’s a holiday party or event to go to, try to get even a short workout in that day if possible. Otherwise, it all comes down to choices. Always start the day out with a good quality protein. Don't save up all your calories for later in the day, people tend to go overboard because they think they have more calories in the bank than they do. Try to focus on the quality of your meals during the day leading up to the event. Drink water. Keep pre-dinner snacking to a minimum or focus on the veggie tray. This will help satisfy some of your hunger while sneaking in an extra serving or two of veggies! If you’re dead set on dessert be mindful of portion size. The first bite is really all you will remember. Have a taste and ask yourself if you truly need the whole thing. No need to overdo it. In the end, all of the little things add up! If one meal isn't that great, it's ok, don't dwell on it. Just try to make your next meal better and get back on track.

Practice moderation & mindfulness!

Be Selective! We know we are going to have holiday parties and family gatherings that will be flooded with not the healthiest food options. The key isn't necessarily to not have any of it, but to just do so in moderation and make up for the extra calories with a workout or extra activity. Whether you are on a strict eating plan or not, there will be moments we fall off the wagon. If you plan for these slip ups and make sure you hop back on the wagon then you can avoid the 2lb gain that turns into a downward spiral. The stress of the holidays and time management can get tough, but it's not impossible.

Don't just eat because it's there. Be picky and eat things that you don't normally allow yourself to indulge in. For example, pumpkin pie, stuffing, grandma’s famous holiday cookies. And if there's several things you like, share with someone or minimize the portions. Don't keep eating until you're uncomfortably stuffed (no pun intended). Eat to contentment. Talk a lot with your family and eat slowly, you'll realize you're full sooner. Remind yourself that one unhealthy choice won't make or break your goals. With that said, don't let one bad choice turn into a whole day(s) of binge eating.

Practice healthy habits

Planning some active-social time. Before a family party is always a good idea to get ahead of the extra holiday calories. For example, Thanksgiving morning you can go for a run or complete a short HIIT workout with a group of friends or your family. You’ll be jump starting your day and making it start off on a good note, and spending a little extra quality time with certain people before the craziness of the day. Another benefit to this is the stress relief you can get from it. Spending several hours with family can be stressful, and stress is a great excuse to overindulge. Starting the day with an endorphin infusion and some easy conversation with friends or loved ones has a better chance to put you in a better state of mind. Employ this same strategy for Christmas and New Year's Day. When the culture says gluttony, instead of surrendering completely, these workouts are touchstones to your long term goals of living healthy.

If adding in a workout the morning of isn’t an option, try to get some play time in with the younger kids in the family or start up a physical game. On holidays when you would normally be sedentary (ie: watching football, holiday parades or specials, or just lounging with the other family members); find a way to be active. It doesn’t have to be all out intensity, just get moving!

Pick a partner to help you get through your holiday diet. Having someone there to support your [healthy] decisions will make getting through events a lot easier. You can push each other through workouts and motivate each other when one of you aren’t feeling it. It’s a lot easier to succeed when you have someone there with you!

HYDRATE!

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! Focus on being consistent with your water intake. Challenge yourself to drink 8-12 ounces every 60-90 minutes of the day till you get to your water goal of half your weight in ounces. You can also try filling up a larger jug or carafe of your water you want to accomplish for the day helps you see your progress and gives you something to shoot for. You can also tally up the number of bottles you've had for the day - the bigger the bottle - the easier it will be to keep track. Ie: Three 24oz bottles is easier to keep track off over six 12oz bottles.