Yesterday I complained about the stores pushing the holidays on us too fast. I tried to deny it, but instead I will just embrace it. In preparation for this busy season, I thought it would be good to talk a little about staying on track with being healthy over the holidays. I know for me that it is much easier to eat well and get enough sleep when I am at home and working Monday through Friday. When life gets crazy, or I am traveling, or celebrating something, it gets much more difficult.
I’ll be linking up with Eat, Pray, Run DC, Mar on the Run, and You Signed up for What for the Friday Five! The theme this week is “Five Ways To Stay Healthy During The Holidays”.
1. Plan Ahead
If I had to chose only one tip for this post, it would be to plan ahead. This can include everything from meals to workouts to how you are going to manage the million things you have to do. Staying healthy includes more than just eating well and working out; it also includes mental health. Don’t let yourself get super stressed out during the season. In fact, you could always start your holiday shopping now so that you don’t have to worry about it at the last minute! (Ha! I will definitely be one of those people still shopping the week before Christmas).
As far as eating well, I find that its really helpful to plan ahead if you will be traveling or eating out a lot. You can pack your own snacks for traveling or if you are going out you can look at the menu ahead of time.
2. Stay Hydrated
There is no way I am going to try tell anyone not to drink alcohol over the holidays. If that is something you enjoy, go for it, but don’t overdo it. Drink water all the time. I am never without water by my side. I sleep with it on my nightstand, I carry it with me all day, I have a bottle in my car when I am driving… Even if you are having some adult beverages just make sure you drink enough water before, during and after.
3. Make Your Workouts Fun
Usually by the time the holiday season rolls around most people are finished with their fall races and haven’t started training for anything in the spring yet. It’s really good to take a break from hard training a few times a year and the holiday season can be a really good time to do that. However, I feel my best when I am active, so even when I’m not training I like to exercise. Switch things up with new workouts, take a group fitness class you’ve never tried, run in a new place while traveling…just do something that will seem fun rather than a chore!
4. Everything In Moderation
The holidays should be a time to indulge a little bit, but its good to do things in moderation. If you haven’t eaten a cookie all year it can be easy to go overboard and eat a few too many! I like to have a little bit of everything, but plan according to what works for you. If you really like dessert but don’t care for appetizers as much, then try to wait for what you really want. Also, don’t forget to keep eating your veggies!!
5. Get Enough Sleep
Try to stick with a regular sleep schedule as much as possible. If you get a good night’s sleep you will feel better during the day and be able to make better choices like getting in a workout and eating well!
What tips do you have for staying healthy during the holidays?
How does the holiday season affect your lifestyle?
Does being antisocial count? That would be mine. I’m sort of kidding but sort of not 😉 But I think all of these tips make sense! I was actually on a whole 30 for all of december last year which was interesting and I wouldn’t recommend that month for something so restrictive! I think people sometimes have an all or nothing approach, and are already thinking about their “diets” come Jan 1st, so wind up going overboard with food/drink/no workouts during the holidays.
Oh part of me would LOVE to just be antisocial…it really makes thing easier:) But I guess there is something to be said for trying to enjoy the holidays and celebrate, as long as there is a balance with staying healthy!
I agree with all of those….I also try to resist all the goodies that show up at work during the holiday season. I feel like once you start it’s hard to stop so it’s better to avoid them altogether.
I totally agree! Sugar can be so addicting and I find it easier to just stay away from it altogether in the day-to-day, and save my splurges for special occasions!
The holidays don’t affect my mindset much. It’s what we do all year that matters. I, like you though, will skip things I don’t like and go for what I do like. And enjoy it. I hate when people restrict themselves from a good time and worry what Thanksgiving or any other holiday meal will do to them because again, it’s what you do the majority of the time that’s going to make the difference.
That is so true!! Its more important what we do the rest of the time. Its fine to enjoy some things during the holiday season but the all-or-nothing approach is usually a bad idea!
I think finding the balance in the midst of everything is the key to the holiday crazy. Know which stores to avoid (fi you can’t stand the muzak), know what tables to avoid (if you have no willpower), know which relatives to avoid…. torture yourself only as much as you need to in order to survive, haha.
You summarized it perfectly! Balance is key…and knowing how to deal with the stresses of the season in the best way possible!
Great tips! I think planning is the big one for me. I have to make sure I set aside time to stay active and then everything else usually falls into place. I find if I skip too many workouts then bad habits start creeping in.
Me too…even when I wasn’t running regularly I found that if I set aside time to workout that I was making better choices in other areas of my life as well.
They key for me during any time of the year is to plan ahead, especially with food. If I don’t plan out my meals and have some sort of back-up snack on me then I almost always eat junk and candy. I’ve also gotten so much better about drinking water. I almost always have a water bottle with me. Great tips!
Sounds great! I am with you on the water…I can’t go anywhere without it! And since I am always hungry I have found that its so helpful to bring healthy snacks with me everywhere!
I think you are so right about planning things out. Even during “normal” months many times unhealthy choices are made because we were not prepared. I’m going to try to stay prepared this year:)
Exactly! I sometimes go a little overboard with planning but it has really helped me to avoid situations where I can’t fit in a workout or eat something that I know I’ll regret later!
I’m dragging my feet concerning all the Christmas decorations. I’ll see it all full force this weekend when I run my errands. At least today’s post can be about Thanksgiving as well. I’m making the desserts this year, but there’s at least 6 of us for the meal so fingers crossed I don’t have any leftovers to bring back home.
I am nowhere near ready to start thinking about Christmas decoration! I am starting to get in the Thanksgiving mindset, slowly but surely:)
Replacing all the baking I used to do, with the running I do now, was a total holiday game changer for me. I still bake (a tiny bit) but activity is such an ingrained habit now I don’t worry about holiday weight gain.
That’s so great! Its all about balance, and making healthy habits that just become second nature!
I don’t drink alcohol but I have an awful time staying hydrated! Perhaps I should start carrying my own water bottle to parties..?
That might help! I usually bring a purse thats big enough to fit a water bottle inside.
Great tips! Especially the sleep one. With the busy holiday season I think we often forget how important sleep is. So crucial to good health!
Very true! Its so easy get to busy with shopping, wrapping gifts, celebrating, etc that sometimes its tough to remember how important it is to get a good nights sleep!
I always pack snacks and water when I leave my house but it’s such a great idea to plan ahead especially if you’ll be out in traffic and trying to shop in crowded places. A good snack can keep you from venturing to a non-healthy place for a quick bite. I’m trying my best to plan ahead this year and not be a last minute shopper! It’ll happen one of these years 😉
I feel the same way about the shopping! I always have good intentions but it can be really hard to get it done early!
These are great! The one thing I would add is to enroll a ‘partner in crime’ to stay healthy with. For me during the holidays, it’s my sister. She’s a personal trainer, so she needs to stay in awesome shape, but the family get togethers are so full of tasty food and too many drinks. If she and I both make a point to set aside time for workouts, its a lot easier, and a few times we’ve even been able to get everyone else to join in. It makes it so much easier than if just one of us is being the antisocial and going for a run or something.
Thats a great idea! It can be really hard to be the only one who is trying to eat well and workout!
Lisa, I DEFINITELY agree with the planning ahead idea; thanks for sharing that. These are all great tips for holiday survival; I hope you enjoy your weekend!
Glad you liked the tips! I feel like if you plan ahead well, everything else will fall into place!
I so needed to hear these today! It really hit this week that Thanksgiving is basically here, with a downhill roll into the holidays. Thanks for the motivation!
Its crazy how fast the holidays are approaching!
Yes! I can’t believe the difference in planning ahead and just winging it! That’s my fave! Great tips, thx!
Mine too! I think that planning ahead can make all the difference when it comes to staying on track over the holidays!
sleep is SO important!! also, i’m a new larabar convert and they are YUMMY! thanks for linking up 🙂
Thanks for hosting! Larabars are my favorite on-the-go snack:)
Ooh yes getting enough sleep is a good one! I always forget how much that contributes to fitness!
It can be so easy to skimp on sleep when we get busy during the holiday season!
ugh… sleep is what does me in! I can never get enough of it! Have to work on that this holiday season as I have a lot of travel coming up.
I really struggle with keeping a regular sleep schedule when I’m traveling! Especially when I am with my in-laws who like to stay up later than me! I can’t sleep in no matter how late I stay up, so I end up getting much less sleep than usual!
I definitely agree with planning. Now that I will have a little more down time, I look forward to planing meals and workouts for the next few months.
That sounds like a great plan!
Excellent tips! I think my only tip is to try and keep your routine as normal as possible. Aside from the main days (Thanksgiving, Christmas) and the couple days surrounding them, I don’t really change my schedule at all. However, on Thanksgiving and Christmas I definitely eat too many mashed potatoes! 😉
Very true! I like to keep things as normal as possible. Especially since I have a routine going that works well for me.
Really trying hard to make sure I hydrate well these holidays! Oh and sleep is a must!!
Great goals!
Great tips!! I feel like I can indigos a LOT during the month of December because I have so many parties, dinners, and family things that it can get out of control! These are great reminders!:)
Happy anniversary weekend! I hope you guys do something fun!
Its fun (and good) to indulge a little and enjoy yourself during the holidays, but too much and I end up feeling like crap! Its important to find balance and do things in moderation, I think.
Thanks!!
Good tips. So important to just enjoy. Time is way too short. I say moderation not deprivation.!!
Very true! I agree thats all about moderation and finding a good balance!
I have a hard time with moderation of sweets and wine 🙂
Wine is my weakness too!!
These are great! I love number three. With such a scheduled workout regiment the rest of the year it is nice to take some time during the off season and just have fun with our workouts!
Definitely! I never like to completely stop working out for a long period of time because then I feel like its hard to get back into the routine.
Awesome tips! I am trying to stay better hydrated, I tend to forget during the work day in the cooler months.
Me too! Even just after runs I’m less likely to drink as much water when its not super hot out.