The holidays are coming! Now that Halloween has come and gone, it’s time for the holidays. There’s something about the last two months of the year that make us all say goodbye to any semblance of dieting and exercising. We just want to live our best lives! For many of us, that means eating and drinking anything and everything we want.
While this feels great during all the days leading up to December 31st, once January 1 rolls around, most of us are going to be left with regrets. To be honest, there’s no reason we can’t live our best lives and enjoy everything the holiday season has to offer. Staying healthy and fit during these next few weeks is possible. And here’s how.
Stay Hydrated
When the holidays come around, the drinks come out. There are a ton of drinks that we want to indulge in. If you’re sipping on virgin drinks, eggnog is one drink you might be ready to drink by the pound. If you prefer spiked drinks, wine and buttered rums might be your poison. While there’s nothing wrong with a drink every once in a while, make sure you stay hydrated with water. This can be either flat or sparkling water or even tea. By staying hydrated and filling up with water, you’re giving yourself one extra barrier to stop your body when it’s full from consuming too many sugary drinks.
Meal Planning Is Your Friend
One of the best ways to stay ahead of the game during the holidays is by meal planning. It’s easy to see something delicious (and not so healthy) and instantly want it. Preparing your food in advance is just another way to prevent you from eating out or ordering something packed with sugar and bad fats. Prep your meals for 6 days and feel free to use that seventh day for one cheat meal.
Indulge For an Occasion
Thinking about the holidays as a who
le, some of us lose our minds a bit. Instead of thinking of it as “the most wonderful time of the year,” think of them as singular days when it comes to indulging in your favorite treats. Many people look at the holidays as a time to sit back with their favorite snacks and drinks and watch their favorite holiday classics. If you’re doing this daily and weekly, you can bet you’ll start to see those snacks show up in other places. Instead of indulging throughout the entire season, indulge for an occasion. One day isn’t going to knock you off your game, but when one day becomes every day, it surely will.
Change Your Workout
Our last great way to stay healthy during the holidays is by changing up your workout. The colder months clearly make us lazier, so it’s harder to get ourselves to the gym. While you might’ve been going 4-5 days before, you might’ve taken it down to 2-3. If this is you, you can still work around this. First, make your sessions more intense. If you’re cutting 2-3 days a week out of your routine, you better make sure you’re working your butt off when you do go! Lastly, try to move your workouts to the morning for two reasons. One, as the day wears on, you might be less likely to talk yourself to going in for a workout. Two, if you’ve already worked out in the morning, you’re more inclined to eat better. The way some look at it, if they ate poorly in the morning, they believe they can “cancel” it out with their workout, and that’s never true.
We love the holidays because not only does it come with amazing food and drinks, but it brings in a wonderful feeling. Make sure you’re carrying that feeling into 2020 by staying healthy and fit as the decade winds down.
