Top Six Ways to Stay Fit and Healthy Over the Holidays

It’s another Christmas time and you’re nervous about the smorgasbords and hot toddies waiting around the corner. Perhaps you’ve worked hard on a health makeover, and this is your first holiday that you have to face as the “new you.”

Maybe you just don’t want to face the New Year with yet another weight gain. No need to panic, though, because you can get through this season intact. Here’s the top six ways to stay fit and thin over the holidays.

1. Give in to temptation. Yes, that’s what I said. No reason to reread. You will not survive the holiday season without partaking of some of the celebrations. Even the food-centered ones. Allow yourself to sample the treats present, whether chocolate, sugared or nutty. These things only come around once a year, and you must consider your mental health too. No sense it producing food-centered anxiety at the next office party- sample away, but…


2. Don’t gorge! The word “sample” denotes some aspect of moderation. Thin people don’t face buffet tables like food troughs. Instead, focus on tasting, savoring and enjoying in small, limited quantities. Be sure to think about the kinds of memories you want to have of this season- laughing with your colleagues and catching up with your children…not feeding yourself in the corner. Focus on people, focus on décor and food and eating will quickly become an afterthought. Starving? Then go for the nutritious or vitamin dense offerings. Enjoy the chestnuts- they have a lot of great nutrients to offer.

3. Move it! There’s absolutely no good reason to quit your exercise routine during the holidays. In fact, the stress relief and focused activity will actually help you through the season. Continue your workout routine. Make a solid date with yourself and use your willpower!

4. But Don’t Move It All Night! Studies show that decreased sleep can exacerbate obesity. Sleep. And then sleep some more. Even St. Nick takes 364 days of rest!

5. Moderate alcohol. Not only are you looking down at a very dense calorie content, but that drink in your hand, if paired with another and another, will eventually mess with your sleep (see above), not to mention your mood, liver and head tomorrow. Moderate alcohol. Drink clear liquors as opposed to dark ones, (nicer to your liver) or consider wines, which have less alcohol content and calories. Having a drink in hand is ok, it may even aid you in avoiding the food table, but limit yourself accordingly.

6. Don’t lose, but don’t gain. The holidays are a bad time to go on a crash diet. You probably won’t succeed, due to all the other commitments you are trying to keep. Instead, focus on not gaining weight. You’ll then have a jump up on your New Years resolution!

Again, holidays are not about what goes into your mouth, or what is expended in energy and stress. Focus on family, friends and gatherings, and leave everything else as an afterthought or a bonus. You’ll come through on the other side just as healthy as you went in, but with some fonder memories and cuter pictures.

This article forms part of the Survival Guide for the Holiday Season read more
from the series here

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