by Michelle Fav | Featured Contributor
There are so many reasons to celebrate and congregate this time of year — which can be bittersweet if you’re trying to build a business and lead a healthy lifestyle, all within a mere 24 hours in a day. Our lives get so busy over the holidays, running around buying gifts, attending parties and finishing up an end-of-year work report or business plan, in addition to everything else. It’s hard to fit in time to keep healthy habits or complete a full body workout.
Instead, a great option is to limit the indulgences amidst the revelry. Enjoy the time with your friends and family without those guilty feelings of stepping back on your fitness goals.
Here are a few tips and tricks to sneaking in healthy habits during holiday parties.
- Go for walks
Just because you didn’t have time for your typical exercise routine, doesn’t mean you need to skip exercise entirely. If you’re at a holiday party, you can grab a friend or two and take a walk after dinner or later in the night. Use the excuse that you want to check out the neighbors’ holiday decorations.
- Eat a healthy snack before the holiday parties
This seems so obvious, but most people never do this one. If you want to stick to your healthy goals, eat a small, healthy snack before you leave for a holiday party. That way, you won’t feel tempted to eat the appetizers, but will still be hungry for dinner.
- Bring a healthy dish
Make sure there will be at least one healthy option at the party by bringing it yourself. When you load up your plate, enjoy the rest of the offerings, but you’ll have peace of mind knowing at least something you’re eating is healthy.
- Offer to be the designated driver
Alcohol tends to be one of the biggest culprits of ruining healthy goals. If you’re going to attend a work or family holiday party, offer to be designated driver. This will give you the perfect excuse not to consume extra calories, while you get to enjoy the rest of your friends and family letting loose.
- Live a little
These are the holidays – a time for good cheer and good vibes. If you want to eat outside of your meal guidelines for a few bites, go for it. One meal is not going to ruin your goals. Cut yourself some slack and do whatever it is that’s going to make you enjoy the holidays. We don’t want anyone acting like Ebenezer Scrooge simply because they’re, “hangry,” (angry + hungry).
And all tips aside, we worked hard this year! If you want to let your goals take the night off while you enjoy yourself, I’ll be right there with you. I promise our goals will be waiting patiently for us the following day.
With these tips, you can join in on the holiday fun while still working towards healthy habits.
Hope everyone enjoys the season!
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Michelle Fav, PR expert, group fitness instructor and blogger behind GroupXFitnessTips.com.
I have a wide range of interests, but what’s been keeping me up at night lately? My search to find the perfect song to pair with a group exercise routine. I feel on fire when the beat drops in my fitness class and the entire room is moving deafeningly in sync with the music.
My blog GroupXFitnessTips.com brings together fitness instructors from all walks of life to inspire, encourage and learn from each other. When I’m not at the gym, you can find me crafting corporate stories at my day job in public relations (PR).
Coupling my passion for fitness with my professional obsession with communications, I have an array of expertise to share with you, such as branding strategies, blogging 101 tips and healthy living advice for busy entrepreneurs.
Follow me on Twitter (@GroupXMich) and Facebook (GroupXMich).
