Healthy Through the Holidays

Lord have mercy!  The cookie and latte season is already starting to catch up with me!  Maybe if I hadn’t been the Cookie Monster for Halloween and started my holiday season off with eating a dozen cookies things would have been different!  Needless to say, I have not been able to outrun my bad diet (shocker, I know) and have gained 3 lbs already!  In a week and a half!  And there’s still 7 weeks left of the holiday season!  No way am I letting anymore pounds catch up with me.  As the doctor told me yesterday, “Wow, only 4’11″ huh?  You don’t have room to gain ANY weight!”  Thanks for the reminder!

So, 7 game plans for the next 7 weeks.

Write it down
Are you as tired as I am of hearing this?  BUT, I can vouch that it really works.  I’ve fallen off the wagon a time or two… or three.. and even so much that I’ve just been left in the wagon’s dust!  I can tell you that getting back on track — or back on the wagon — is to write it down.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, water, beer, wine.  Hold yourself accountable!  Only you can ultimately be in charge of yourself.

You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.
My mom is 1 of 11.  I have countless aunts (well, I CAN count them) and cousins that love to bake.  There is an entire dining table dedicated to desserts.  For example, I don’t care for cherry pie.  Therefore, just because it’s there and it’s Thanksgiving doesn’t mean I have to eat it.  I’m sure I ate something else this person brought, so there’s not feelings to be hurt!  Now fudge pie, strawberry pie, COOKIES, SWEET POTATO PIE! I can’t have it all, but I can have a bite of it all.  Share a plate.  It IS the season of giving, you know!

Creature of Habit
Studies have shown that people who not only eat breakfast, but who habitually eat the same breakfast (or lunch) have trimmer waistlines than those who are constantly switching things up.  So, take no shame in eating your “boring” old bowl of oatmeal in place of that coffee cake while the family is in.

Make a Schedule or Plan a Race
Obviously it’s easier to write it down, but making — or keeping in mind — a tentative (and somewhat flexible) workout schedule can help hold you accountable.  I’ve got at least 2 races plugged into my holiday schedule.  I also have a time goal in mind to keep me pushing hard and not moseying along my runs.

Project Pinterest
The holidays are all about homemade baked goods.  Resist the temptation for yourself and respect your pal’s waistlines and make something festive!  Deco Mesh wreaths are big right now or you could make a Christmas themed little décor.  And if it’s not Pier One perfect or Kirkland’s cute, they’re only obligated to put it out at the holidays ;) Mine’s going up front and center, though!

Spritz your Spirits
Enjoy the bubbly without all the calories!  Fan of Vodka Cranberry?  Add real cranberries and touch up the cocktail with club soda and less juice.  You get a whole fruit and less processed sugar!  Get more out of your Sangria by doing the same thing and adding club soda for the adult punch ;)

Give the Gift of Health
Forget the gym!  They gym can be intimidating, not to mention too cliché for New Year’s Resolutions.  Other things that are hotter than the gym: Barre (My favorite and they have a Groupon right now), Yoga, Kick Boxing, Rock Climbing, a Holiday Race Entry ,Fleet Feet Training Programs (5k-Half marathon, Total Body Workout, Weight Loss Challenge).