Don't let the holidays derail your healthy habits

By Melanie J. Sparks, Health Communications Coordinator

The holiday season is supposed to be a time of celebration, joy, and giving. But add holiday shopping, cooking, cleaning, decorating, and family commitments to your already busy schedule, and it can be a disaster for your weight loss or weight maintenance efforts. Your growing to-do list and changes in your daily routine equal a whole lot of STRESS - not to mention the heaping bowls of holiday food beckoning you at every turn. It's easy to push healthy habits aside and return to the comfort of your unhealthy habits. It's just for the holidays, you say, telling yourself you'll get back on track on January 1. Your healthy habits don't have to take a hiatus during the holiday season if you employ a few helpful strategies. 

Here are five strategies for staying healthy this holiday season:

1. Don't eat your stress. You have too much to do in too little time with too little help. Sound familiar? When stress attacks, you may get the urge to turn to that drive-thru double cheeseburger or devour half of the pie you made for the family dinner. Instead of harming yourself with unhealthy food, stop and THINK about what you're feeling, why you're stressed, angry, sad, etc., and what you can do to comfort yourself aside from overeating. Take the dog for a walk. Take a few jabs at a punching bag. Write in your journal. Vent to a friend. Take a warm bath. Do anything you can to get your needs met in a healthy way. Remember, whatever was bothering you before you ate half that pie will still be bothering you once the sugar rush wears off.    

2. Be a stickler. Try to stick to your normal eating habits as often as possible. A holiday dinner is not a free pass to indulge the rest of the day, weekend, or week. Whatever you do, don't "save up" for that big holiday meal by skipping meals earlier in the day. That is a surefire way to set yourself up to overeat. It's easy to get so wrapped up in holiday preparations that we forget to take care of ourselves. Take care of yourself with a "business as usual" attitude when it comes to nutrition.

3. Move it. Your fitness routine shouldn't take a holiday break. In reality, you may need to adjust your routine over the holidays. If you are too busy to fit in a workout on a certain day, it's okay. Just don't allow that one day to become two, three, and then a week. Do something. After all, you can always make time for a brief walk.  

4. Forgive yourself. You are human and you will make mistakes. Understand that upfront and you will feel a lot less rotten when you slip up. Accept that things didn't go as well as you planned that day and move on. What you shouldn't do is beat yourself up and feel guilty. That will just lead to more overeating or skipping your workout again the next day, whatever the case may be. Don't give up. Hit the refresh button and start again.  

5. Make it intentional. Weight gain over the holidays is not, repeat - is NOT inevitable. Go into the season with the intention of meeting your health goals - maintaining your weight or even losing weight. Set your intention each and every day. "I intend to make today a healthy day by eating right, working out, and taking care of myself." Let that intention guide your choices, and you're sure to make healthier ones.