The holiday season is among us yet again and who isn’t excited about it? It is one of the best times of the year, getting to catch up and spend quality time with family and friends and enjoy delicious holiday meals and treats. The only downfall to holiday season? Realizing you did a little too much indulging into those holiday treats or ate just an extra plate or two of that oh so delicious holiday dinner, and you’re body is certainly feeling it. We’ve all been there, but this time around we’ve brought you some tips for staying healthy during the holidays, to keep both your mind and body balanced throughout this holiday season.
1. Stay Active
Listen, we fully understand that as much as it is one of the best times of year, it’s also one of the busiest. For those avid gym goers, it might be hard to get there as frequently, and for new people to the gym, it’s going to be extremely easy to make excuses. Here’s the good news: you don’t need a gym to be active. You’d be surprised at how many calories you can burn by going for a steady state walk for about 45 minutes. Or find a quick 20-minute bodyweight circuit you can do before your day starts, or even do some yoga. Moral of the story, just try and stay moving. It will keep your stress levels down during this busy time and keep you burning those calories while you treat yourself (just a little bit!)
2. Treat yourself – just not too much
There is absolutely nothing wrong with treating yourself a little bit, but with all the food that will be around during the holidays, it can be really easy to overdo this. Try and keep the 80/20 rule in mind, as long as 80 percent of the time your adhering to nutritious decisions, the other 20 percent can be yours to enjoy. Another important aspect to this is when you do treat yourself, don’t let yourself feel guilty for hours on end. It’s not good for your mind and will completely take away from enjoying your family time. Try your best to follow the 80/20 rule and remind yourself that you will be getting back on track once the holidays are over!
3. Keep an eye on alcohol consumption
Holiday parties = holiday alcohol. Just be mindful of how much you are actually drinking, as overdoing it with alcohol the whole holiday break can really put a damper on all the hard work you’ve put in throughout the year. Enjoy your beverages, and try and make smart choices when possible. If you can substitute your sugary mixed drink for a healthier cocktail, you’re already 10 steps ahead. Same for beer, especially since they are so high in carbs. If entirely possible, choose drinks that are lower on the calorie and carbohydrate scale. All in all, just try and be mindful of what you’re putting in your body!
4. Schedule some “you time”
The holiday season can be one of the busiest times of the year, especially with big family get-togethers. It also has to be a time for you to unwind, de-stress from the year’s hectic moments and let your mind and body recover. Whether you get out to watch some of your favorite sports, schedule a massage appointment, a spa day, take your dog on longer walks, whatever it is that you do that helps you de-stress, make it a point to do it this holiday. You know as well as we do a new year is fast approaching and it’s likely going to hit like a ton of bricks, so make sure you take some time for yourself beforehand!
5. Sleep Right
This is another great time of the year to catch up on lost sleep, especially if you’re one of those people who works long hours, those shift workers out there or people with young kids. Sleep is one of those aspects of a healthy lifestyle most people tend to overlook but it is oh so important both mentally and physically. If you have time off for the holiday’s, pay extra attention to your sleep. Make sure you’re getting 8-10 hours of sleep a night when you can because we can guarantee your body is going to love you for it.
6. Drink lots of water
This may seem like a given…. but much like sleep, people tend to overlook staying hydrated, or think because they’re drinking tea or coffee that they’re hydrated, which isn’t necessarily the case. Take the time to include lots of water into your diet over the holidays so you can keep yourself healthy while enjoying things such as treats and especially alcohol because alcohol tends to dehydrate you. You should aim for about 8, eight-ounce glasses per day, or approximately 2 liters. If you are an active person, you will need to account for fluid loss during exercise and drink more water. Aim to have an adequate amount of water intake everyday of this holiday break!
Need some help fitting in workouts during the holidays? Check out these 10 Workouts that Only Take 20 Minutes.
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