The holiday season is here!!! So many parties, days of shopping
busily, and big meals! Often times your normal day to day gets all out of
whack, which could affect your healthy regimen! We work so hard during the rest
of the year to take care of ourselves and feel our best. Don’t let these few
weeks set you back! Healthy eating and exercise are not for New Year’s
resolutions, they’re for now, and every day. Just think, if you keep on track,
that frees up a ton of space on your resolution list for more of your amazing
goals and dreams! Also, you will take on this crazy season feeling fantastic,
light, and energized!
Here are a few tips to avoid a setback this holiday season!
1. Schedule your
workouts – This really is an everyday must, but is extremely important when
things get super busy over the holidays! Take inventory of all that needs to be
done one day, and find where you will be able to get a great work out in. Don’t
make this an option. It should be as much of a priority as baking those cookies
is. It will give you a mood boost and much needed energy throughout your day.
How much better will you feel going into a holiday party knowing you were
active and earned those treats earlier? A key factor in any wellness
plan is making the time to work out, not trying to fit it in, but making a
commitment to yourself! My current plan is to hit Bikram today, lift and run tomorrow,
get up early for the only Bikram class on Christmas eve, maybe take Christmas
off(or do a quick lift), and then get back in the swing of things right after!
Go forth with a plan that works into your schedule!
2. If your hosting, offer healthy options!-
A huge perk of hosting? You are in total control of what you eat! I cannot tell
you how easy it is to find healthy versions of any holiday favorite online. For
example, this past Thanksgiving, we had our first half-vegan feast (for me and
my mom). It was absolutely fantastic. We made everything from scratch,
eliminating any extra sources of sugar and fat, using all whole grains and
wonderful fresh veggies. The best part was the amazing pumpkin pie, made with
silken tofu instead of condensed milk and eggs! Talk about a guilt free feast.
We are excited to plan our menu for Christmas! Some awesome low-fat and oil
free recipes can be found from Happy Herbivore and Forks Over Knives (google
them)!
Also, for little cocktail gatherings, it is super easy to
maintain your good eating efforts. Last night, I had some girlfriends over. We
had a huge veggie platter, hummus, chocolate covered strawberries and pretzels,
and some of my favorite amazingly healthy and delicious Happy Herbivore oatmeal
chocolate chip cookies. We munched for hours, but it was mainly veggies!
Also, the night before, we had another Christmas exchange
get together where this was presented to us!
Amazing.
We also had stuffed mushrooms, made with whole wheat bread,
spinach, red peppers, and carrots! No cheese, egg, milk, oil or anything! It’s
all up to you. With a little research, you can enjoy a flavorful and satisfying
feast that won’t make you want to cry the next day.
3. If you’re a guest,
offer to bring a dish! This way you know you have an option that will keep
you on track. Heck, bring a few small things if you’d like! Something I’ve
learned in being vegan is that sometimes you have to plan ahead and go with the
flow in these situations. Sometimes there may not be much of what you’d like to
eat. That’s ok! Bring something, snack before, and enjoy the company of friends
and family. If need be, have a little something afterwards. To me, it’s worth
working around the situation so that I always feel my best. Also, if you are a
guest at a big meal and are vegetarian/vegan/etc, let your host know. I would
approach it as just letting them know so they don’t purchase a ton of extra
meat etc and have it go to waste, not to demand that anything special be made
for you. Again, offer to bring something! This will definitely work better than
surprising them at the dinner table when you don’t touch your expensive filet.
4. Keep Calm- The holidays are meant for joyful celebrations with family and friends. Keep calm
and enjoy it! Say you have a slip-up in your health routine. It’s ok. Just
start right back up with your normal regimen the next day. The day before doesn’t
matter anymore. Every day is a chance for a new start. There are plenty of
times where I wake up not entirely happy with how I splurged the night before.
I simply get up, make my protein shake, schedule my work out and get back on
track like nothing happened. This is a wellness journey. We all have ups and
downs. Let’s just make our best effort to stick to our normal plans, and make
it easier on ourselves.
Wishing you and your loved ones a happy, healthy holiday
season!
Be Well.
Love, Julie
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