With the holiday season upon us once again, it can be tricky to navigate this time of year when you want to spend memorable time with family and friends but still not totally obliterate all the progress you’ve made towards your transformation goals. Because let’s be honest: Holidays = food. Lots of food. Yummy food that we often only get to eat a few times a year. So with that in mind, here are my top 7 SIMPLE tips for getting to January 2nd with some amazing new memories and your progress still intact!
1. Get in some movement every day. No time for a full workout? Moving your body for even a few minutes at a time can make a huge difference in your mental and physical health, especially during the holidays, and you can get in an awesome workout at home using only your body weight. Set a timer for a few minutes and do some squats, lunges, push ups, jog in place, burpees…any movement can work! Including family and friends can make this movement time memory making time too: Go for a walk as a family, play some outdoor games, go to the park, play some indoor games, have a dance party. Just move! And yes, this GMa nailed the spider thing at a park in Utah. And I must say, our grandsons were pretty impressed!
Need some ideas for quick + simple workouts? Go here.
2. Drink your water. Every day. This, alone, can make a huge difference during these weeks of holiday parties and get togethers. Aim for 1/2 your body weight in ounces every day (150 lbs = 75 ounces, for example), and be sure and drink H2O before and during those holiday meals and parties to help keep you from all of that mindless indulging.
3. Try and stay on plan for non-holiday meals and during the days leading up to those celebration meals and parties. Don’t make the next few weeks an open season on overindulgence! There are 41 days between Thanksgiving Day and January 2nd, which is a total of 123 meals if you eat 3 times a day. Even if you have a few holiday parties in addition to those delicious holiday meals, you’ll still have a LOT of non-holiday meals where you can choose to stay on plan. And let’s be honest: You’ll feel much better when you’re fueling your body with healthy foods instead of the never-ending holiday sweets and treats that are available pretty much everywhere.
4. Maintenance is the key. This is NOT the time of year to try and make more progress on a health + fitness goal, although if you do, that’s awesome! But if you don’t, that’s A-okay too. You can get right back to working on your goal on January 2nd. Give yourself permission to keep the status quo on your goals during this time of year, otherwise, it could be a stressful and not-so-fun holiday season.
5. Get enough sleep. It’s tempting to stay up too late during the holidays, but try to get at least 7 hours a night when you can. When you don’t get enough sleep, it can affect your brain power, make you more accident-prone, contribute to health problems, make you grumpy (not a great thing during the holidays), contribute to depression (another not great thing during the holidays), and if weight loss is something you’re working on, it can halt your weight loss and even cause weight gain. So schedule some Zzzzs into your holiday plans.
6. Take some regular ME time as often as you can. Even if it’s for only 5 minutes at a time. The holidays can be busy, overwhelming, stressful, exhausting, happy, joyful, and full of so many other emotions—ALL at the same time. Recharging your empty battery can help keep you from stress eating and give your emotional status a boost too, which will really help make the holidays the best time of the year!
7. Don’t make the mistake of trying to do all of these tips at the same time. Just choose one—two tops—and go for it! Keeping things simple is the name of the game here, not making things even more stressful!
And remember, spending a few minutes here and there working out, taking some ME time, planning some easy meals, and drinking your water can pay HUGE dividends this time of year and help you get a head start on your goals for the new year.
What are your favorite tips for holiday success? Please share them in a comment below!
Happy Holidays!
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