Fitness Together Holiday Survival Guide
Dec 22, 2022
If you’re trying to stay on track with your health and fitness goals, the end of year disruptors can feel like a major hurdle – making skipped workouts, overeating, and weight gain feel inevitable.
Good news: They don’t have to be!
We put together a Holiday Survival Guide just for you! It’s packed with tips and tricks that we use to help our clients prioritize health, fitness, and nutrition no matter what life – including the holidays – throws at us!
We like to think that your nutrition and fitness strategies should be designed to help you be successful on your most hectic days – not just the perfect ones. Use these tools to eat and move more intentionally during the holiday season and, we promise, you’ll feel strong, confident, and in control no matter how frantic your days get.
Here are our 7 Holiday Survival Tools:
1. Eat slowly. Stop at “satisfied” instead of “stuffed.”
This strategy helps you avoid overeating for two main reasons:
- Physiologically, it takes 15-20 minutes for your digestive system to let your brain know that you are satisfied. Slowing down a meal allows that to happen before you overeat.
- Psychologically, when you slow down and savor your food, you feel content with much less. This means you’ll eat less but enjoy what you eat a lot more!
So, by eating slowly, and stopping at “satisfied,” you can try all the delicious foods at grandma’s buffet without guilt or needing to work it off later.
2. Stick to simple, short workouts that you can do anywhere without any equipment.
One of the most common patterns we see is clients who want to get or stay fit will workout diligently for months, only to get derailed by the holidays and “fall off the wagon.” This is why we suggest a simple circuit of 4-5 compound exercises (big muscles, big movements) that can be done with minimal to no equipment and performed anywhere you go. Squats, push-ups, and lunges are all great starting points!
3. Eat well while on the go!
When you’re traveling, it can feel like navigating a nutritional minefield! Hunger signals become overpowering, junk food is everywhere, and there’s little time to sit down and enjoy your meals. It’s challenging for sure (but not impossible) to eat well no matter what life throws at you!
With smart strategies like eating before you go out or packing healthy snacks, you can protect your belly from sugar comas and bloating.
Aim for better – not perfect.
4. Make yourself a super shake!
What’s a super shake? It’s a nutrient dense, delicious, liquid meal that you can whip up and drink while wrapping presents.
Letting yourself get too hungry is one of the most common ways to end up over-drinking and overeating. And during the holidays, we don’t always have the time to prepare a balanced plate of protein, veggies, and fats. Try it for yourself! All you need is a blender, your choice of liquids, veggies, fruits, fats, and protein. Easy, right? Let’s make it easier, here’s our go-to recipe, when we need something quick and easy:
- 4 oz water
- 2 scoops chocolate protein powder
- 1 handful of spinach
- ½ frozen banana
- A pitted date
- 1 tablespoon of peanut butter
Blend and enjoy!
5. Utilize the hand-portion control guide!
Want to get through the endless parties and dinners without losing strength or gaining weight? It’s possible!
And no, it’s not calorie counting; which is often annoying, impractical, and inaccurate, especially at Christmas dinner. We want you to try the “hand measure” method instead. Your hand is your portioning tool:
6. Load up on veggies!
Another effective strategy to avoid gaining weight over the holidays? Eat your veggies! They’re water dense, calorie-sparse, and full of nutrients to keep your energy level up for party #12.
We know, we know… veggies don’t taste as good as the Christmas cookies or mashed potatoes on the table. BUT we challenge you to try eating your veggies in a different manner than you’re used to: broiled, sauteed, steamed, or raw!
You’ll gain energy and lower your chances of overeating – it’s a win-win!
7. Lastly, it’s also okay to set your goals aside for a day or two and savor everything you enjoy about the season.
Leave the guilt behind, enjoy your favorite goodies, and get back on track the next day! A day or two of enjoying yourself will not ruin your progress.
