5 Tips for a Healthy Holiday

Americans gain on average of 5 lbs between Thanksgiving and the New Years holiday. To fully appreciate the negative impact this can have, read the previous post on how fat cells work. Fortunately, this trend is avoidable with a little mindfulness. Below I have outlined a few ideas to help keep you on track this time of year.

How to have a healthy holiday season

1. Stay active. While our schedules are even busier this time of year, it is no time to slack off on your workouts. If you’re looking for something to do with the family, sign up for a holiday themed 5K or fun run. If that doesn’t work, try an at home workout like this. Whatever your choose,  commit to a workout at least 3 times per week.
2. Don’t forget the vegetables at your holiday meals. Why is it that everyone likes to bring dessert to holiday functions? Don’t get me wrong, I love dessert- but I find it comical that so many people like to make cookies, pies and other treats, only to pass them off on others at the end of the night to avoid bringing them home. My solution? Bring a fall or winter themed vegetable dish such as roasted root vegetables  or a warm winter salad instead of dessert, there are enough sweet temptations this time of year.
3. Keep the indulging to the holiday itself. This is probably the most important point I try to stress to my clients. I understand that most people do not want to self regulate on a holiday itself, and I think there is no harm in indulging for 1 or 2 days on the holidays themselves. The problem is when we indulge for a month straight. 🙂 Enjoy your holiday and have what you want, just don’t over do it. It’s not worth regretting your decisions come January.
4. Be aware of what you are doing. The holidays can be a stressful time of year with the financial obligation of buying gifts, traveling, numerous social events, visiting family, etc… It is easy to begin mindlessly snacking as a way to cope with this stress. My advice is to only eat at meal times and make sure you have a lean protein and vegetable each time.
5. Try new things. There are many great flavors in season this time of year so get creative with your recipes. Here is a great article about winter cooking to help get the ideas flowing.

Let’s create a better, healthier you!

Yeah, I know… the fitness world can be a confusing place, even when it comes to something as simple as understanding what to eat.

Let me help you make sense of it all with my FREE video series Healthy Eating 101. In it you’ll learn the what to eat, how much to eat, and strategies that make all of this simple & easy. As a special bonus you’ll also get my ebook 8 Daily Habits to a Healthier You so you can get started right away. Click here to get started!

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photo credit: dolanh via photopin cc