With the holidays fast approaching, it can be challenging to maintain a balance of fun and fitness. The temptation of delicious food and particularly full holiday party schedule can easily derail our fitness goals. The buffets of junk food can push us over our daily caloric limit. Likewise, the rigorous schedule of attending or throwing parties can lead us to skip workouts. The festivities of the holidays can also have us consuming significantly more alcohol than normal, and we risk dehydration. While a fun time of year for many people, the holiday season can have us falling off the fitness wagon before we even realize it. That’s why have these health and fitness tips for the 2022 holiday season that’ll set you up for success with your 2023 fitness plan.
Keep a Holiday Calorie Log
Even if you don’t normally keep a calorie log, keeping one during the final quarter of the year is one of the best ways to stay healthy during the holidays and stay on track toward your fitness goals. Tracking your calories lets you keep a more careful eye on your intake, which will help you make better choices. If you aren’t sure how many calories are in a particular food, that’s ok. You can look up the caloric information of a similar food and estimate based on that. It’s always best to round up when counting calories, so you’re always erring on the safe side.
Don’t get discouraged if you go over your allotted daily calories by a little bit. Eating healthy during the holidays is hard. People generally anticipate at least a small amount of weight gain during the holidays, so if you gain a pound or two, you’ll still be far better off than gaining ten or more pounds due to unmonitored calorie consumption. Maintaining realistic expectations for yourself is important to avoid feeling discouraged when you can’t meet impossible standards.
Reinforce Your Fitness Routine
Exercise is just as important to staying healthy as your diet is. Staying active prevents you from losing your mental and physical momentum after taking a break. Working out becomes more difficult the longer you break from it. It can be understandably discouraging to see a dip in your progress. Whether you’re strength training or trying to lose weight, sticking to your workout programs will help burn extra calories. It’ll also help keep you in the zone mentally, which will help you with your long-term fitness goals.
You can also talk to your personal trainer about safely intensifying your workout plan. They may suggest more high intensity workouts. Or they might increase the number of days per week you train with them. They might also want to keep your fitness goals exactly where they are. It’s important to remember that making changes to your fitness routine without consulting your personal trainer is not recommended. Doing so can negatively impact your health or the effectiveness of your plan. You can also schedule your workouts in advance to maintain accountability to yourself and your personal trainer.
Enjoy Yourself Responsibly
We’re certainly not suggesting you never have a late night or an alcoholic drink, but if you’re actively working towards a fitness goal, it’s important to keep in mind that your time outside your workout sessions is just as important as your time during them. Many alcoholic beverages are calories, which can push you over your daily caloric goal. You should also drink at least one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume. This will prevent you from getting dehydrated and suffering from hangovers. If you feel hungover and sick the day after drinking, you might be more likely to cancel a workout or indulge in comfort foods. Eat, drink, and be merry during the holidays, but don’t forget to hydrate and cut yourself off if you feel you’re reaching your limit.
Just like too much alcohol can leave you feeling sick and tired, not enough sleep can also make you sick and tired. We need adequate sleep to recharge our batteries and maintain a healthy immune system. A few late nights won’t run you ragged but many late nights can mess up your sleep schedule and cause you to feel chronically exhausted. The more exhausted you are, the more your workouts will suffer. You may even end up abandoning your fitness plan altogether amid the holiday hustle. You could even find yourself getting sick more frequently if you aren’t getting proper sleep. If you aren’t getting enough sleep, your body won’t be able to repair and restore itself, which can make you vulnerable to seasonal bugs like the cold or flu. Getting sick is miserable enough, but it’ll also cause you to skip workouts and throw off your diet. Being sick can also cause you to undereat, which is also unhealthy.
Rep-Fit Can Help
These practices are easier said than done during the holidays, but if you commit to them before the holidays begin, you’ll be more likely to get through this upcoming season of indulgence without feeling shameful about letting your fitness progress slip. You deserve to enjoy this time of year without beating yourself up about it. Like all good things, moderation and diligence are key to making ongoing progress. It’s important to continue to work closely with your personal trainer and practice self-discipline to avoid undoing the hard work you’ve put into yourself over the course of the year. The certified personal trainers at Rep-Fit are here to encourage you and work with you every step of your fitness journey.
