With Christmas less than a week away it may be tempting to just throw all the rules out the window and give in to the holiday’s temptations. Delicious appetizers and extravagant meals followed by decadent desserts. It’s something many people look forward to all year long. But do you really have to put your weight loss plan on hold in order to fully enjoy the holiday? You probably have plenty of excuses to keep yourself from exercising or eating healthy: “I’m too busy with Christmas preparations to fit exercise in to my day”, “I want to relax in my time off from work/school”, “I’ve been really good recently I deserve to eat whatever I want”, and so on. But does it ever really feel satisfying when you give in to temptation? We tend to tell ourselves that we have to go overboard in order to really do a holiday right. But there is also reward in doing something, no matter how small, that makes you proud of yourself when the holiday ends. Think of it not as missing out on something, but more like making a smarter decision that will be even more satisfying.
Something that can really help you get through Christmas as healthy as possible is to stick to your fitness routine as much as possible or make time for exercise in the next week. If you usually wake up for an early morning workout – stick to it. If you aren’t usually a morning person, give it a try. As much as you want to press the snooze and sleep in, working out in the morning not only helps you be productive throughout the day during the rest of the year, but it can also help you fit in more activities during the holidays when you have more free time. It will put you in a good mood, help you sleep better and sticking to a routine will help you stay in shape. When you start the day healthy you are more likely to make good decisions the rest of the day. And going from a healthy lifestyle to completely the opposite and then trying to get back will really overwhelm your body.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, try and find a way to put the focus on something other than food. It’s known that Christmas is about more than food and presents, but how often do we really think about this and take it to heart? Come up with a fun activity or new tradition, such as sharing family photos, playing a game or walking around your neighborhood and looking at the Christmas lights. Embrace the opportunity to enjoy the holiday with friends and family and all of a sudden it seems easier to manage when the meal isn’t the only highlight of the night. It will also make it easier to get back to your weight loss plan when the holiday is over. As much as you don’t want to think about the end of this wonderful time, it will go a lot smoother when you are thinking about the happy memories you have instead of the extra work you have ahead.
~Love to Live Healthy with Josephine Fitzpatrick
Innovation Weight Loss and Fitness8031 Jericho Tpke Woodbury, NY 11797
469 7th Ave Manhattan, NY 10018
