Now that we are about mid-November, I thought it would be a good time to start thinking about the holiday season as it pertains to our health & fitness. Without a doubt, this time of year starts to get hectic and people start to feel overwhelmed as they continue to juggle their normal day-to-day activities on top of all the extra holiday expectations…shopping, social gatherings, travel, etc.
So how do you avoid letting the holidays de-rail your results? Well, I’ve got a few suggestions for you that have helped me nip my holiday mindset and fitness practice in the bud over the last several years.
First and foremost, have a backup plan or at the least be flexible with your fitness during these months. What I mean by that is instead of letting your workouts take a back seat because you’re so busy this time of year, get ok with only working out for 15-20minutes. If you work with a Coach or Trainer ask them to program your workouts accordingly. This is one of the biggest benefits of working with clients in an online capacity, is that I am constantly re-working their program to fit their needs and schedule so that they never feel “off.”
Secondly, give yourself permission to enjoy and indulge. If your goal is to be perfect, you will end up failing. If your goal is to indulge without overdoing it, that is much more realistic. If you go into a holiday dinner telling yourself you CAN’T have something you will inevitably WANT IT! And then will end up feeling like a failure if you do indulge, and unfortunately, that feeling of failure will end up leading to what? You guessed it, overdoing it.
Lastly, watch your words. Our words are so powerful, and negative phrases around food and fitness can lead to self-sabotaging the entire season and having to hit the re-set button come January. Instead, use words of gratitude and praise around your choices. Try saying how delicious something was, or how you can’t wait to try that dish because it looks amazing, etc. Positive talk around food will not only help you feel better overall but it will help in being able to stay the course. Because realistically, it’s never one dessert, meal, or day that de-rails your results, it’s letting that one day turn into an entire month or months.
As always, I hope that you found this episode to be helpful, and would love to connect with you further in our Making FIT Work community on Facebook or on Instagram at @fitwith_nina. Until next time…be strong, be healthy, be happy!
