Happy Friday! Today I’m linking up for Friday Five 2.0 with Rachel from Running on Happy and Lacey and Meranda from Fairytales and Fitness.
It’s already November (how did that happen?!) so that means the holiday season is upon us! Between holiday parties, shopping, delicious food and treats, it’s super easy to fall off the fitness wagon. I know that I have certainly been guilty of this in the past, but not this year! Check out my tips below on how to stay fit through the holidays.
Meal Prepping is Your Friend
This is great way to stay on track with your fitness goals in general, but especially during the holiday season! Because we all tend to be super busy during the holidays it’s easy to get take out or order food for delivery. While this is convenient, it’s a sure way to pack on a few pounds when you mix this with attending holiday parties and indulging in yummy desserts. By prepping your meals for the week, you’ll help to ensure that you stay on track when it comes to eating. It’s one way to control your meals, especially when you sugar cookies somehow make it to your desk at work 🙂
Partying? Bring a Healthy Food Option
There comes a certain point in the holiday season where it feels like EVERYONE you know is having a holiday party. I have a friends that attended a holiday party every day for a week. Can you imagine seven days of parties in a row?! All those parties are a great opportunity to have fun and connect with friends/family…but all the food and alcohol can be bad for your waistline. To avoid this, offer to bring a healthy option to a holiday party. This could be a fruit or veggie platter, chips and hummus or a low-calorie drink option. You can “fill up” on your dish and keep the ‘naughty’ foods to a minimum!
Schedule Your Workouts
I’m at my best when I have a schedule, especially when it comes to workouts. My tip is to look one week ahead, especially during the holidays. On Sundays, take some time to pencil in your workouts. For example, if you know you have to attend your child’s holiday play after work, maybe you get in a quick 30 minute workout in the morning. It’s all about being flexible and getting in your workouts when you have the time!
Stay Hydrated
Sometimes we can confuse hunger with thirst. Eliminate mindless snacking by staying hydrated everyday. One way I accomplish this is by having water bottle everywhere. i keep one at my desk at work and refill it throughout the day. Sometimes I keep one in my car if I know I’ll be running a lot of errands that day. I also keep one on my gym bag as well. It’s always easy to stay hydrated when you keep water within arms reach!
Work in Fitness Where You Can
This is an easy one! Try to fit in fitness where you can. When you’re shopping, park far away from the store entrance to get in those extra steps. Need to go grocery shopping? Only take two bags out of the car at one time when you get home. Get in some extra steps, and maybe some extra weight training as well. Stuck late at the office? Speed walk a few laps around your floor, stand up and do some squats, or do arm dips on your office chair. Stuck at the airport waiting for a flight? Do a few jumping jacks to get your body moving. Sometimes quick workouts such as these can do your body a world of good, and help lower your stress level.
I hope that these tips have been helpful. Remember, the holidays are all about fun, family and friends, so make sure you enjoy them!
Mer @ scootadoot says
I definitely need to get better about meal prepping. That’s something that’s hard for me and I forget that sometimes I don’t have time to make a fresh dinner every evening. Great tips, Kim!
kookyrunner says
I totally understand. Even though it doesn’t take that much time, it’s not something that I particularly look forward to doing, but it does make life a lot easier!
The Accidental Marathoner says
What great tips! I’m not so bad at avoiding the unhealthy foods, it’s the high-calorie libations that get me at all the holiday festivities!
kookyrunner says
Ha me too! 🙂
Nicole @ Fitful Focus says
Hydration. YES! I need to remember that while I’m traveling for all the holiday festivities.
kookyrunner says
Definitely! I always travel with a water bottle to try to avoid the munchies haha
Lacey@fairytalesandfitness says
I have been so proud of myself with food prepping lately. The last two weeks I have bought a bunch of veggies and I will go home right away to wash and cut them up. That way when I am ready to eat them I can put on a salad or saute in pan. It sounds minimal but it really does save a lot of time.
kookyrunner says
Great job on the food prepping!! I do the same thing when it comes to veggies. If not, they die a slow death in my refrigerator lol
Deborah Brooks says
meal prep, scheduling work outs and avoiding the desserts is key for me. I am good at the first 2 🙂
kookyrunner says
ahh yes, avoiding desserts is a big one for me too
Judy @ Chocolaterunsjudy says
So many people have such all or nothing mentality — if they can’t devote 30 minutes or longer, they think it doesn’t count!
I’m all about short workouts sprinkled throughout my day!
Great tips, Kim.
kookyrunner says
Thanks Judy! I agree – the all or nothing mentality can be such a negative way to approach working out.
Kimberly Hatting says
All great tips 😉 Meal prepping is definitely something I do not do…I’ve never done much of it, even when all three kids were still at home. I do a lot of mini-workouts (5-15 minutes), so those are easy to fit in over lunch, or in between tasks, or even while watching television.
kookyrunner says
I agree – sometimes a great 15 minute mini workout is better than an hour long workout.
Marcia says
I think I’ll be golden if I can stick with the meal prep. This is something I’ve never done before but with one week down, it’s been SO helpful!
kookyrunner says
Me too! I just know that I need to not be lazy and always make time to do it.
Karen Bayne says
All great tips! I struggle with meal prepping but it sure helps when I do it.
kookyrunner says
Me too! I just have to make sure that I always make time to do it.
Patrick@looneyforfood.com says
All great tips!! I try and make non food traditions as well
kookyrunner says
That’s a great tip!
Lesley says
Hydration is crucial in CO this time of year. It’s always dry, but once all the heat comes on, it’s even more dry. I’m already seeing static electricity when my cat moves in the dark.
kookyrunner says
Wow, can’t believe you are already seeing static electricity and I know some parts of CO already received snow!
Rachel says
Meal prep is a great idea. I didn’t even think of that! And bringing healthy snacks to a party is another great idea.
kookyrunner says
If I go to a party I usually try to bring a huge veggie and fruit platter so I don’t go off the rails too much lol
Marty says
Bring a healthy meal to the party is a great idea. I can’t stress how many times I’ve been to a party with lots of greasy pepperoni pizza to eat.
Have a great weekend!
The Fitness Bro
kookyrunner says
Yup – been there, done that.
Hope you have a great weekend as well.
Megan @ Meg Go Run says
These are great tips! But I have moved beyond packing something healthy for parties. Food is one of the fun parts about parties, right!? 🙂
Michelle Rogers says
Good tips! I second “scheduling your workouts!” That is one of the keys to my success at sticking with exercise, for sure. The holidays don’t really affect me much in that way; I just keep on with my regular early morning workouts. What I have to watch is that I don’t eat too many extra cookies! 🙂
kookyrunner says
Definitely! If we can make time for all the fun stuff, we can make time for our workouts!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home says
For me, it’s important to keep up my workout routine. Then everything else around me can just happen!
kookyrunner says
Very true! Everything seems to work better when there is a routine 🙂
Zenaida Arroyo says
Almost every post I’ve read mentions meal prepping. It is definitely a sign for me that I need to do it, right? 🙂
kookyrunner says
I think a lot of runners have more free time now that marathon season is ending down, so that means more time to meal prep lol
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running says
I am often “that person” who signs up to bring the veggie platter to a party. I often feel like if I don’t bring it then there won’t be much healthy to munch on. And you know what, I’m okay being “that person” to always bring the veggies.
kookyrunner says
Me too! And i totally don’t mind being “that person” lol
Jenn says
I do tend to treat holidays as regular days. I don’t go crazy splurging or overindulging and I keep up my regular workouts. If a run falls on Christmas or another celebration day, I just work around it and keep going. Of course, we don’t generally travel too much at the holidays, and i usually race on or around the big ones, so I have to keep up my training regardless 🙂
kookyrunner says
Same here – we don’t do a lot of traveling over the holidays which makes it easier to stick to my routine. For the past few years I’ve enjoyed going for a run early on Christmas morning – it’s so serene!
Toni says
Food prep is a life saver!!! I would eat all the crap in my office ya I didn’t have lunch and snacks ready to go!
Chaitali says
Great tips! Meal planning and prepping things in advance definitely help. And I love the idea of bringing healthy stuff to parties. We host a lot and I always try to make sure I have healthy stuff that’s fun too.
kookyrunner says
Thanks! I think bringing healthy options to a party is great because it ends up helping both you and the host!
Agness of Fit Travelling says
The holidays can be a very challenging period to stay fit and resist sweet temptations! Staying hydrated and doing workouts whenever possible is definitely crucial. What kind of healthy options do you usually bring to parties?
kookyrunner says
I will usually bring a veggie or fruit platter 🙂