The holiday season is supposed to be a time of celebration, joy and giving. But add holiday shopping, cards, cooking, cleaning, decorating, gift wrapping and family commitments to your already busy schedule, and it can take a toll on your efforts to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Your growing holiday to-do list and changes in your daily routine can equal a whole lot of stress – not to mention the heaping plates of holiday goodies which beckon at every turn this time of year. It’s easy to push your healthy habits aside and return to the comfort of old, unhealthy ways. It’s just for the holidays, you say, telling yourself you’ll get back on track on January 1.
Those healthy habits don’t have to take a hiatus during the holiday season if you employ a few helpful strategies. Here are five tips for staying healthy this holiday season:
1. Don’t eat your stress. You have too much to do in too little time with too little help. Sound familiar? When stress attacks, you may hit a drive-thru for a double cheeseburger or devour a plateful of cookies or half of the pie you made for the holiday buffet. Instead of harming yourself with too much calorie-laden food, stop and THINK about what you’re feeling, why you’re stressed, angry, sad, etc., and what you can do to comfort yourself aside from overeating.
Take the dog for a walk. Write in your journal. Vent to a friend. Take a warm bath. Do anything you can to deal with the stress in a healthy way. Remember, whatever was bothering you before you ate half that pie will still be bothering you once the sugar rush wears off.
2. Be a stickler. Try to stick to your normal eating habits as often as possible. A holiday dinner is not a free pass to indulge the rest of the day, weekend, or week. Whatever you do, don’t “save up” for that big holiday meal by skipping meals earlier in the day. That is a surefire way to set yourself up to overeat. It’s easy to get so wrapped up in holiday preparations that we forget to take care of ourselves. Take care of yourself with a “business as usual” attitude when it comes to nutrition.
3. Move it. Your fitness routine shouldn’t take a holiday break. In reality, you may need to adjust your routine over the holidays. If you are too busy to fit in your physical activity on a certain day, it’s okay. Just don’t allow that one day to become two, three, and then a week. Do something. After all, you can always make time to put on some music and dance while you clean or take a brief walk.
4. Forgive yourself. You are human and you will make mistakes. Understand that up front and you will feel a lot less rotten when you slip up. Accept that things didn’t go as well as you planned that day and move on. What you shouldn’t do is beat yourself up and feel guilty. That may just lead to more overeating or skipping your exercise again the next day. Don’t give up. Hit the refresh button and start again.
5. Make it intentional. Weight gain over the holidays is NOT inevitable. Go into the season with the intention of meeting your health goals – eating nutritiously, maintaining your weight, exercising regularly, getting good rest. Set your intention each and every day. “I intend to make today a healthy day by eating right, being active, and taking care of myself.”
Let that intention guide your choices, and you’re sure to make healthier ones.
Linda K. Beech is Ellis County Extension Agent for Family and Consumer Sciences.