How to Stay Healthy Through the Holidays
The holidays are officially here!!
A time of year for sweets, treats, social events, traveling and hopefully a good amount of relaxing. But all that can sometimes make it challenging to make your health a priority or stay consistent with your goals. I know for me in the past it was a time when my all-or-nothing mindset kicked in BIG TIME. And while I thought that saying “let me enjoy this time, I’ll just start over in January” was allowing me to enjoy all the holiday things it just led to me feeling tired and blah physically and honestly, full of guilt and shame mentally. None of which is fun and just prevented from being present and FULLY enjoying the holidays.
So I want to give you a few tips, things that have helped me and many of my clients get to a point of not only staying healthy through the holidays but also being fully present.
Here are 6 tips to staying healthy through the holidays:
1. Check your mindset
If you know me, you know I’m a big believer in mindset being a huge part of our health. There is research to show that our body responds to our internal dialogue and our actions are dictated by our beliefs, so mindset matters.
What I often see happening over the holidays is people having an “Ah whatever it’s the holidays" mindset, which is the same as the “ah whatever it’s the weekend” mindset but on steroids (read more about that one here).
Many times we get to this point because a) we’ve tried to be too restrictive with our diet or b) we think we need to eat perfectly to stay healthy and reach our goals. So there are a few things I want you to remember.
First, while some foods are usually more available during this time of year you can have them whenever. Second, there is totally room for those holiday treats. In fact, there is a way for you to enjoy them and still feel your best which we will get to.
2. Balance your meals (and don’t skip)
Sometimes I feel like a broken record when I talk about this, but it really makes a big difference. Balanced meals → balanced blood sugar → stable energy, less cravings, happy hormones. All things we want and need to feel our best and keep up with all the fun holiday activities.
This looks like getting protein, healthy fat and fiber at your meals. The carbs are easier to come by this time of year with all the treats, so prioritizing your fiber through veggies and color is key!
Also, I never recommend skipping a meal to “save calories” because this can lead to blood sugar fluctuations throughout the day (hello cravings and mood swings) and actually cause you to eat MORE calories than you would've if you just ate the darn breakfast.
3. Make treats a part of your meal
You might be thinking, “how do I do that? Sugar is bad for me, why are you telling me to eat it?”
Remember that all-or-nothing mindset we want to avoid? Well, giving yourself permission and understanding how to enjoy your favorite holiday treats is an important strategy to avoid falling into that cycle. Think about what your favorite treats are, cookies? Pie? Hot chocolate? Now, how can you make that a part of your meal?
Using the balanced meal method mentioned above you can easily make room for the treats by having them be your carb and depending on what it is, fat too. See some examples here:
4. Stick to the nonnegotiables
Oftentimes we’re out of our normal routine around the holidays from traveling, being off work or the kids being out of school. This means that things we’ve built in as habits can sometimes fall by the wayside.
So, I encourage you to think about some of the things that are needed for you to help you feel your best. For me, I need to get protein at breakfast, move my body and stay hydrated. Now how that may look different during the holidays but I still aim to hit those goals because I know that is what helps me feel my best. What 1-3 things do you want to stick with to feel your best during the holidays?
Other examples could be: prioritizing sleep, journaling, breakfast before coffee, working out, sunlight, etc.
5. Move your body when you can
As I mentioned above this is one of my nonnegotiables, but “moving my body” has looked very different for me recently.
Usually I aim for 3-4 workouts (including strength training) + walks during the week. I have not made it to the gym in a few weeks, I have barely lifted weights and it has been cold so I haven’t been able to get my butt out to consistently walk. BUT I’ve still been moving. I’ve been doing a lot of house renovating, which has been my exercise, but normally during the holidays I am doing more at home body weight workouts, fun active activities with family like walks, dance parties or going out to see the Christmas lights.
This is a great time to focus on your NEAT activity.
6. Stay hydrated
The drier air + maybe drinking a bit more can contribute to dehydration. While staying hydrated is always important, make sure you stick with it during the holidays to support your immune system, skin, energy, metabolism and so much more.
This includes getting in those minerals for true hydration. If you’re eating out or eating bit more indulgent than normal this may be a good time to focus on getting the potassium and magnesium in your mineral drinks as you’re most likely getting some good sodium from your meals.
Check out this post for tips on how to get those minerals.
Not only will keeping up with healthy hormone habits and eating for stable blood sugars help you stay on track for your weight loss goals, but it will help you feel your best so you can enjoy your holidays to the fullest! Without feeling sluggish, puffy or guilty!
I’d love to hear which one of these you found most helpful and what your nonnegotiables are over on IG.