6 Tips For Staying Fit & Healthy During The Holidays

By Michele Silence, MA

You can stay fit and trim during the holidays…as long as you have a plan. These tips will help you design an individualized plan to stay healthy during this yuletide season.

1. Add exercise to your weekly calendar
If you don’t already exercise this can be a great time to start. Even if you just take a brisk walk, exercise helps you burn calories and relieves stress. If you already exercise, write out an alternate plan in case you miss your regular workouts. A good strategy is to put your plan on a calendar in easy view. Each day you workout, check-off the date. At the end of the month, you’ll be proud of all those checkmarks. Moreover, if you begin skipping workouts you’ll notice and get back on track.

2. Eat healthily and eat fresh to stay fit
Don’t bring home any packaged or processed foods for the month. Stay away from anything processed and packaged. Eat fresh fruits and veggies, whole grains, salads and other nutritious foods when you are home. Packaged and processed foods have too much sodium, preservatives and other chemicals.

For more tips on avoiding gaining weight during the holidays see the following articles from TheDietChannel: Holiday Eating: How To Avoid Gaining Weight During The Holidays and 10 Tips for Preventing Holiday Weight Gain.

3. Treat yourself each week
Each week, schedule a little treat for yourself. If you like read, get in a few chapters each day. If you work too much, make an appointment for a massage. Don’t take care of your hair? Go to the salon. Do something nice just for you to provide relief from the seasonal rushing around.

4. Drink alcohol in moderation during the holidays
Alcohol shows up just about everywhere during the holiday season. Limit your intake to no more than a drink or two at the most. Too much alcohol can disrupt your sleep, make you feel sick or sluggish the next day, add extra calories to your diet and lead to other unhealthy habits. If you find yourself partying too often, sip one drink all night long.

5. Get adequate sleep
Without a good night’s sleep you’re going to feel the stress of the holidays even more. Get to bed at the same time each night, even a little earlier if you can arrange it. When you’re rested you can handle stress better. You’ll also work more productively, think more clearly and do your errands efficiently.

6. Take a day off for yourself
Allow yourself one day to eat what you want. With all the festivities and fun you need to allow yourself to eat whatever you want one day a week without guilt. If you follow the rest of the tips listed here, the other days will balance out the extra calories.

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Being healthy is being happy so we all have to stay fit and healthy for health is wealth!