3 Easy ways to get back to your healthy habits after holiday celebrations
The holiday season is in full swing and as wonderful and magical as the holidays are, they can throw off our healthy habits and routines. In the past, you may have used the holidays as your excuse to eat all the food, drink all the drinks, and skip a few workouts. But this year is different. This year you want to keep progressing with your health. That doesn’t mean that you can’t still enjoy the holidays. You just need to learn how to bounce back from them. Which is why I want to give you three easy ways to get back into your healthy habits after celebrating a holiday!
The truth is that one “off” meal or eating outside of your normal boundaries for one holiday won’t mess up your progress. In fact, sometimes eating a little more than you’re used to can even boost your weight loss progress! But if you continue to overeat for the next few days (or weeks in the case of the holiday season) then you will gain weight, lose progress and possibly even give up on yourself!
The best piece of advice I can give you to help you keep progressing on your weight loss journey while still enjoying the holidays is to get back on track as soon as you can. Whether that’s at the next meal or the next day, the sooner you get back to your healthy habits, the better you’ll do.
I’ve found that these three tips help propel me right back into my healthy habits after a holiday so that I don’t fall into the “just one more day off” trap!
Set your alarm, and get up when it goes off
Mornings are precious to me. It’s the one time a day that I get entirely to myself. I get to pour into my cup before anyone else needs me. I don’t have to be a mom, a wife, or a coach; I just get to be Krista. So when that alarm goes off the day after a holiday, I get up.
If you’re someone who struggles to wake up in the morning, then you absolutely need to develop a morning routine that excites you! Having something that you’re looking forward to every morning is a great way to get yourself out of bed. Here are a few of my favorite things to include in my morning routine that you can steal!
Meditating
Having a cup of coffee (while it’s hot!)
Reading, either for fun or for growth
Listening to a devotional and connecting with God.
Exercising
Making a delicious breakfast
Another great tool for getting up on time is using Mel Robbin’s 5-Second Rule. If you haven’t heard of it or read her book, you should! But the basic gist of it is that when you don’t want to do something that you should, like getting up in the morning, you count down from 5 and when you reach one you get up and do the dang thing! It’s kind of like a rocket blasting off; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, GO!
The holidays can be very busy and you might have more events in the evenings, so getting up on time, or even a little early, can help you get that time back. If you’re having trouble fitting in time to meal plan or prep, to workout, or whatever consider using your mornings to do those things!
Plan your food the day before and stick to your plan
For big holidays I usually give my clients the option to track or not track their food. The only caveat is that they to go back to their normal eating habits the next day! This is how they can enjoy the holidays without falling off track!
It’s especially important with holidays like Thanksgiving where it’s not just the one meal that gets us, but all the leftovers! When you look at it, you end up having a feast for days on end!
To get back to your healthy eating routines, you need to create a meal plan! You can include holiday leftovers in your plan, but you need to go back to normal portions.
I encourage my clients to plan all their meals the day before so that they don’t have to be constantly thinking of what to eat, not to mention prepping and cooking whatever they decide to eat. If you start your day with a meal plan, then you take a lot of the stress off of yourself and eating becomes just another thing you do.
The other key to having a meal plan is sticking to it! It’s easy to change a meal when you don’t feel like eating or cooking. But that’s how most mamas end up gaining weight! You don’t feel like cooking one night, so you grab takeout. It’s harmless until it’s happening a few times a week! And during the holidays, that’s way more likely to happen because you’re busier.
I like having my clients stick to the meal plans they set up the day before and then plan to eat whatever they’re wanting/craving the following day. This delays gratification so you still get to enjoy whatever food you want but it teaches your mind that you just don’t have to eat something you crave right when you want it.
Realign your mind with your true goals
Finally, I want to address my favorite subject, mindset! During the holiday season, there are a lot of temptations that lead us away from our health goals -Grandma’s cooking just has a way of doing that, but you have to decide what you want out of your holidays.
Mama, it’s ok to enjoy your holidays! Just last week I had a realization that my daughter would only be home for a few more years. She’ll be a Freshman next year, and I don’t want to miss a minute of making memories with her before she’s all grown up.
So I’m making a point to enjoy my holiday season with my family. I’m going to pay attention to what I eat, but I’m not going to obsess over it. I want to be present to make memories rather than occupied with what my scale says.
And that’s perfectly fine for my season of life! I’ve put in the time to understand myself, my nutrition, and my goals. I know how to eat on a holiday without seeing a huge fluctuation in my weight.
You need to take the time to decide if you are in that position too.
Can you eat without overeating?
Can you make good decisions for yourself when there are indulgent food or drinks around?
If you can’t, then maybe this is the time to learn how to do those things. If you can, then maybe this is the year you put some trust in yourself and relax a little bit about the food.
Everyone is in different stages of their health and weight loss. Don’t compare where you’re at with where I’m at!
And if you can’t enjoy your holidays without becoming obsessed with what your scale says, then maybe that’s something you need to address - not ignore.
Mindset, how you think and feel about the holidays and holiday foods, might be the most important part of having a healthy holiday season. If you don’t feel confident that you can face the holidays with a positive outlook about food, your body, and your weight, then let’s talk!
I don’t want you to miss out on memories because you’re too preoccupied with your weight. There is a way to balance healthy eating with a fun holiday and I want to show you how!
Schedule a free discovery call today to find out how to have the healthiest, happiest holiday season ever!
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