Here are 20 of Our Best Tips for Staying Healthy During the Holidays

Staying healthy during the holidays can be a challenge but it's not impossible. You can enjoy the season without doing damage to your year-long goals.

1. Make time for stress management.  Meditation, exercise, breath work and journaling are all great ways to keep anxiety, overwhelm and depression at bay.
2. Do your best to get seven to nine hours of quality sleep every night. Having a relaxing bedtime ritual and avoiding blue light at night are great ways to achieve this.
3. Offset heavy meals with epic workouts.  HIIT workouts are great for burning lots of calories and fat in a short amount of time.  Any workout is better than none --so even if you just have 15 minutes here and there you can jump rope, stair climb, plank or kb swing and it will all add up.
4. Know yourself:  If you can handle it, stick to your mightiest goals. But if you tend to get tripped up during this time, focus on maintaining your weight rather than losing until the holidays are over.  You might not make much headway but at least you won’t fall back.
5. If you know you have a heavy-calorie meal coming up, try to make up for it by eating healthy before and after it.  This will allow you to really enjoy the indulgence without all the guilt.
6. Practice mindful eating.  Indulging in moderation is often more enjoyable than overindulging.  It turns out that after the first bite or two, many of us aren’t tasting our food so much as we are just automatically inhaling it.
7. Prioritize appropriately.  Focus on family and friends more than on all the food and drink being presented.  Meaningful connections and activities trump edible treats any day of the week.
8. Think about how you want to feel on the first of the new year.  Is constant overindulgence worth giving up on your long-term goals?
9. Focus on a nutritious diet in between holidays.  Consume mostly whole foods, including lots of vegetables and fruit.  Make sure you are eating enough protein, drinking lots of water and getting all your vitamins and minerals.
10. Set boundaries.  Don’t let pushy friends or relatives insist that you eat or drink something you’d rather not.  You should decide what you want to take in without pressure or guilt.
11. Enlist help.  Working out with a friend makes it more enjoyable and more likely to happen.  If you let your network know you are watching your waistline, they can support you in your efforts.  Hiring a Golden Home Fitness Personal Trainer (click her for your free in-person or virtual workout!) is another great way to have an ally in your corner.
12. Keep healthy snacks on hand, and unhealthy foods at bay.
13. Meal prep on the weekends so you will have nutritious meals handy for busy weeks, rather than having to eat out or get take-out.
14. Start each meal with a homemade soup or salad and one or two glasses of water.
15. Bring a healthy dish to each holiday party so you have at least one healthy option to choose from.
16. Reward yourself with non-edible treats --a bubble bath, massage, new workout gear or whatever floats your boat.
17. Limit or avoid added sugars, refined flour, salt and alcohol.
18. Do your best to keep the promises you make to yourself.  This is how you gain super valuable confidence.  
19. If you get tripped up, accept that you’re not perfect and get right back on track.  A small infraction is much better than an entire holiday season of regrettable overindulgence.
20. Move more throughout your day.  Take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Park further away.

What feels as good as waking up on Christmas morning?  Feeling good in your own skin, being confident you can do hard things and feeling proud about keeping the promises you make to yourself. 

We hope you have found lots of nourishing, calorie-free food for thought.  From all of us at Golden Home Fitness, may you have a healthy and happy holiday season!