Staying on top of your diet and fitness over the busy holidays can be challenging for many. Extra holiday stressors, family, career, and holiday celebratory commitments can zap time and energy, leaving minimal pockets of time left over for workouts. Staying on course with your health and fitness commitments and goals can be maintained over the busy holidays by incorporating some of these tips below:
- Fill up on veggies. Anyone who has completed wellness and nutrition courses knows that vegetables have a high water content and low calorie content. This means that you can feel full by eating veggies and the fiber content of vegetables forces your stomach to process them slower. If you have to bring a snack to share at a party, make a veggie tray so you know that there will be something healthy for you to eat. Eating a snack of vegetables before having your meal can help you reduce the amount of calories taken in. Try adding veggies to your smoothies for variety and an extra boost of nutrients. Collard greens in smoothies are just one example of how you can be creative with greens to make sure you get your veggies.
- Keep a core workout ball at your home. It doesn’t take a long time to get a good workout session in. There are a variety exercises that individuals can participate in using with simple equipment at home. Core exercise benefits include better posture, better digestion, increased stability, and reduced chronic aches and pains in the lower back.
- Combine family time with exercise time. Go for a walk around the neighborhood together as a family. Find a quiet nature trail to explore. Make an obstacle course in your backyard! Go for a bike ride. These are all things that families can do together that help tone up and burn calories in addition to strengthening family bonds and making memories together.
- Commit to a weight loss and fitness program before the busy holidays so that you will have a plan in place and a support team in place to help keep you accountable and motivated through the stressful holiday season. Personal trainers and online trainers can help you create an individualized plan and introduce you to online fitness and health groups to keep each other on track along your journey to greater health and fitness.
