Many a woman dreads the period between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, despite all the holiday cheer. It’s hard to eat healthy and exercise, especially when you’re traveling, life is even busier than usual, and you are surrounded by treats. Here are a few ideas about how you can enjoy the holidays when you also want to lose weight:
1. Relax and enjoy yourself on the actual days of the holidays you celebrate. Plan ahead for some of your favorite treats, and PLAN to eat them. Two days out of 365 are not going to reverse all your hard work!
2. Don’t kid yourself about how often you are eating holiday treats. If you have a work holiday party one week, a neighborhood potluck the next week, a family Christmas movie night with lots of candy and popcorn the following week….now we’re talking about a lot more days of indulgence than just the actual holiday days. Don’t go wild on every single occasion in the name of festivity— you may need to watch your portion sizes or make some healthier swaps at some of these “bonus” holiday events.
3. Don’t allow yourself to get into a binge-restrict cycle. If you DO overdo it one meal (or two), just get right back on track with healthy eating the next day. Try not to dwell in the past, or beat yourself up mentally for your choices…everyone overdoes it at the holidays from time to time! And please do not try to “make up” for extra calories, by resolving to eat only lettuce and celery sticks the next day!
You’ll just find yourself hungry and cranky, putting you at risk for going right back to junk food and treats at the end of a very long day.
4. If you are able, continue staying active through the holidays. Physical activity is a GREAT stress reliever, it can help digestion and insulin sensitivity, and can help you build or maintain muscle mass, so your metabolism stays happy.
You can suggest family hikes, go sledding with kids, go ice skating, schedule in some gym time, do home exercises in the morning before work, or just take a 10 minute walk after each meal.
Just don’t use exercise as an excuse to eat a bunch of junk food— think of it as a tool to help you stay healthy and fit, rather than thinking about how calories you just burned.
Bottom line: fuel your body, move your body, enjoy some treats GUILT-FREE, and go right back to your normal healthy living plan on the non-holidays.
You’ll find yourself in a healthy, happy place come January 2025.