How to Maintain Your Wellness: 5 Guilt-Free Strategies for the Holiday Season

Originally, I had a different topic in mind for this week. However, after conversing with clients throughout the week, it's evident that addressing the prevalent attitude of neglecting health during the holidays is crucial. Many expressed a resigned mindset, thinking, "It's the holidays—I'll try to be healthy again on January 1st." Hold on a moment... While I fully endorse the live-and-let-live approach to life and enjoying your holidays as you please, if you're interested in navigating this season while maintaining wellness, I'm here to help! Keep reading.....

Context:

Amidst the joyous holiday season, there's an opportunity to reconnect with loved ones, but for those of us with fitness goals, it can evoke anxiety about food choices and compromising results. The good news: it doesn't have to be this way! It's possible to enjoy holiday foods without guilt, as occasional indulgences won't drastically impact your health journey. The challenge arises if these indulgences turn into a prolonged lapse in healthy choices, especially compounded if workouts are neglected. Remember, your choices in the upcoming month depend on you—no one forces your food or exercise decisions. It can be challenging, I've faced this struggle in past holidays, and I want to share five tips I have used to help you navigate the season while maintaining your hard-earned progress.

Here We Go:

Protein Is Crucial: Ensuring ample daily protein intake is crucial, particularly during holiday festivities. Protein is essential for satiety, controlling cravings, and aiding in fat loss, which becomes more challenging with travel disruptions. In everyday life, meeting protein needs is often a struggle, and it can be exacerbated by the fact that many classic holiday favorites lack sufficient protein. Opt for protein-rich choices like roasted turkey, lean meat appetizers, seafood, and Greek yogurt-based dips. Incorporating options such as deviled eggs, cheese, nuts, and bean-infused sides also ensures a balanced approach of protein and fats. To align with your goals, consider offering to bring a dish to share. While it's usually easy to meet carb and fat requirements at holiday parties, do not overlook the importance of sufficient protein. It is universally beneficial whether aiming to lose or gain weight. Including protein in meals helps maintain fullness, reducing mindless snacking and the temptation for excessive Christmas cookie indulgence.

Moderation for Overindulgence: At dinners and gatherings, prioritize the people over the food, enjoying the company without obsessing over your meals. Resist the urge to overfill your plate as it often leads to discomfort later on. Instead, adopt a sensible approach by indulging in your favorite foods or drinks in reasonable portions, avoiding the temptation of multiple overstuffed plates. When assembling your plate, ensure a generous serving of protein takes precedence, maintaining a balance. While a food scale isn't a holiday essential, estimate a protein portion that matches the size and thickness of your palm. Accompany your plate with sensible portions of favorite sides, ranging from half to a full clenched fist in size. Complete the meal with vegetables like green beans or salad, utilizing the remaining space on your plate. This approach allows for enjoyment without leaving you unsatisfied or burdened with guilt during the festive season.

Stay Consistent Between Meals: The choices you make between holiday meals play a significant role in your mental and physical well-being. A common challenge for all of us is the lack of conscious decision-making outside festive gatherings, therefore allowing occasional indulgences to snowball into entire days off course. If you're accustomed to spaced-out, smaller meals, maintain that routine, prioritizing protein intake. Adjusting calories or macros for larger, untracked indulgences is an option, but consistency in protein intake is key. Convenient solutions include incorporating protein shakes or packing healthy bars in your travel bag. Every decision throughout the day holds weight, so strive for the best choices possible.

Hydration Is Key: Dehydration not only hinders bodily functions and digestion but also sparks cravings and hunger. Misinterpreting thirst signals can lead to the misconception that eating is necessary when, in fact, hydration is needed. While the suggestion of consuming 2 glasses of water before meals can help prevent overeating and maintain hydration, the primary focus should be on achieving a adequate daily water intake. The recommended daily water intake can vary based on factors such as age, sex, climate, physical activity level, and overall health. However, aiming for around half your body weight in ounces is a common place to start, and from there you can adjust accordingly. This practice supports proper digestion, regularity, sustained energy levels, reduced cravings, a sense of fullness, and acts as a deterrent to mindless snacking.

Keep Moving: Acknowledging the holiday hustle, where disrupted schedules may interfere with regular workouts, presents two choices. You can either let it frustrate you, negatively impacting your holidays and those around you, or you accept it as part of the season. Opting for the latter means recognizing that you can always do something to move your body and work towards your fitness goals. YouTube offers diverse "non-gym" workouts suitable for home, hotels, or wherever your holidays take you. Whether through quick HIIT sessions, cardio, outdoor activities, or bodyweight movements, you can fit in a workout in 10 minutes or less. Consider involving the family by going for a pre or post-dinner walk, participating in a local 5k, trying a new fitness class together, or, my personal favorite, hitting the slopes. Keep in mind that, while it may not resemble your regular training program, engaging in some form of physical activity is always better than doing nothing at all.

Bringing it Home:

These simple yet effective tips can help you enjoy guilt-free holidays. The challenge lies in maintaining discipline, avoiding self-criticism, and realizing that your results aren't defined by a single meal or day. Instead, concentrate on what you can control and relish moments with loved ones. This approach ensures a strong finish to 2023, setting the stage for a successful start to January and 2024. Get ready to kick off the new year recharged and motivated!

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