Holiday Cheer Doesn’t Need to Derail Your Fitness Program!

Most people put on one or two pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s. Many people, especially those who are already overweight, tend to put on quite a bit more – often between 5 to 10 pounds. And getting that weight back off after the holiday is never easy.

Sticking to a healthy diet doesn’t have to mean denying yourself all the pleasures of decadent holiday foods. It’s just a matter of fitting a few treats into your regular eating habits rather than abandoning healthy choices altogether.

Why Holidays are Dangerous for Your Fitness

Before you can make a plan for healthy holiday habits, you need to know why you are over-indulging in the first place. A single indulgent holiday meal isn’t a big deal. A month of constant binge-eating is.

When it comes to holiday over-eating, there is usually an underlying issue that’s causing you to lose self-control. If you identify that and work to address it head-on, you won’t be as likely to lose control at the dessert bar.

Do any of these sound familiar?

• You are stressed about finances, family drama or other problems and turn to food for comfort.
• You feel pressured to eat something just because it was given to you or because everyone around you is eating.
• You feel guilty about leftovers going to waste and continue eating rich holiday foods long after the celebration is over because of it.
• You travel for the holidays and end up making unhealthy choices along the way due to lack of access to anything better.

You’ll notice that all of these have something in common: They’re not really about the food at all. They’re related to an underlying emotional or psychological issue. Understanding your real motive for over-eating can help you tackle it head-on, avoiding the urge to sabotage your healthy habits.

Tips for Healthy Habits

Aside from identifying and addressing the underlying cause of over-eating, there are a few things you can do to ensure healthy habits this holiday season:

• Eat only your favorite treats, and skip those you don’t care about. If that buttery dinner roll is just on your plate out of habit, not because you really love it, cut it out. If you’re only eating a second slice of pie to be polite, find some other way to tell Aunt Marge how much you care.
• Stick with a regular fitness routine. Holidays can throw your schedule into chaos. Keep your fitness routine consistent; you’ll treasure having something familiar to hold onto.
• Try to add some extra exercise into your day. Park further away from the mall when you do your Christmas shopping, or go get into a snowball fight with the kids to burn a few extra calories and have fun while you’re at it.
• Build family traditions that don’t revolve around food. Drive around to look at Christmas lights. Sing carols. Deliver care packages to a homeless shelter. Find some way to spend time with loved ones that isn’t around a dinner table.

Most importantly of all, don’t beat yourself up, and don’t give up if you falter. Everyone slips up now and then. That’s what being human is all about. If you eat more than you meant to or skipped a workout, let it go; get back on track next time! That way when your New Year’s resolution comes around, you’ll have a head start.