Can anyone actually do this? For some, it would officially qualify as a Christmas Miracle. How does one handle the challenges of being confronted by tons of delicious food, parties, travel, relatives and just generally crazy schedules?
Oftentimes, it simply leads to complete resignation, which causes people to give up all regular routines, self-discipline and otherwise manageable self-restraint related to health and fitness. I’ve certainly been there!
If this sounds familiar to you too, your first step is to change your mindset. Practicing sound nutrition, health and fitness habits is vital to life-long wellness. Healthy eating, effective physical activity and regular rest are practices that should become part of who you are and essential to your daily life, just like brushing your teeth or taking a shower. This shift in mindset sets the stage for greater self-empowerment and self-confidence, as well as a transition of control from external to internal.
The key is to recognize that you have the power to transform your life by applying key foundational behavioral principles. When you do that, you won’t get bogged down with seemingly endless challenging choices in every situation.
Here are a few tips to help avoid being derailed during the holidays:
Eating:
Anyone can tell you to eat healthy foods and instead of cookies, just eat celery. Those people are certainly correct but they are also jerks. Who is going to eat celery instead of a cookie? So what can you do? Well, for one, drink lots of water. Besides hydration just being key to survival, it might help you feel a little bit fuller, especially during a party where snacks are plentiful and if you happen to be drinking other things at one of these parties, it helps balance you out. For every alcoholic beverage, make sure you follow it with one full glass of water.
When it comes to food, definitely try to have fewer snacks and sweet treats in the house over the holidays, as you probably run into plenty of this stuff at parties and under the tree at Christmas. Or if you do have them, try to make a healthier alternative easier to grab (ie put a bag of almonds in front of the cookies). And hey, if you can resist some of the temptation and eat that celery, by all means, do it! And I will tip my cap to you.
Exercise:
Understand that your schedule may be thrown off and you may not be able to stay in your normal routine but you can maximize the opportunities that you do have for exercise. Try doing 2 boxing classes in a row! Or more!! You might think you can’t do it, you’re tired after 1 class, but I would bet you some Christmas Celery that you absolutely can do it and will feel very proud of yourself afterwards. Or push yourself a little harder in a class. For our club, try to get a higher Impact Wrap Score, really speed up during a burnout, do planks on your toes instead of your knees, keep your hands up during class, try to cut down on rests, do the active rest exercises, ANYTHING!
Also, something positive is better than nothing. Get away from an all-or-nothing mindset. If you don’t have time for a full workout, do 10 minutes of exercise and you’ll reap some positive benefits. Get down and do 5 push-ups at some point during your day. You can come late to a class here, leave early, or even stop in when a class isn’t going on to get some workout in if schedule really doesn’t allow.
Sleep:
The most underrated component of fitness. Getting regular, consistent sleep is essential to your physical and mental health. But just like everything else, this becomes harder to maintain when our schedules get thrown off by the holidays. At least though, it is a little easier to be stay disciplined with than eating. And you’ve just got to be disciplined! Get 7+ hours of sleep every night. Or at least go to bed at a time where that could actually happen. Be consistent about this bedtime. This isn’t just to keep you from feeling crabby in the morning. A better sleep will actually help you with weight loss, muscle gain, stamina, energy, you name it!
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