Don’t Just Survive the Holidays — Thrive
The holiday season can be quite hectic. Shopping, socializing, entertaining, and traveling take up considerable amounts of time and energy, and can often leaving you feeling like you need a break from your holiday break. Ultimately, everyone is just trying to survive the holidays — but don’t just try and survive, thrive!
The end of the year is a time to reflect and reconnect with what’s really important to you, and your health should be a huge part of that. Sticking to eating healthy and an exercise routine can be a tough battle any day of the year, and that battle becomes even more difficult when the holidays come around.
Keep Moving
Working out during a busy holiday season, even in small doses, is a great way to stay on track with the health goals you’ve set for yourself. Being healthy and staying on track doesn’t necessarily even mean hour-long workouts at the gym every day. If you can work out a few times a week, work out the hardest you can for those few days — it’s all about maximizing the time you do spend working out.
Whether you’re at work, at school, or getting holiday shopping done, try to focus on moving more throughout the day. Park further away and walk, take the stairs, or take a break and go for a light walk around the block — staying active and committed to your goals is essential, even when holiday craziness takes over your life.
Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff
When it comes to your health during the holidays, balance is the key.
Working out every day and sticking to your usual eating habits won’t always be realistic. Enjoy the time with family and friends, the delicious foods, and everything that comes along with the holiday season, but don’t abandon what you’ve built up throughout the year — what you’re doing between Christmas and New Year’s isn’t as important as what you’re doing between New Year’s and Christmas.
Set realistic goals for yourself while still striking a balance. If you love a particular holiday treat, don’t deprive yourself of it just because you think you shouldn’t eat it. Enjoy it — it’s all about balance and moderation.
None of this means that you should make excuses or to let one slip-up justify neglecting your health until the New Year’s. It means you should enjoy the holidays, understand that sometimes life happens, but be mindful and intentional while you do it.
