Staying fit during the holidays can be tough with so many temptations coming at you from every angle.
Treats are everywhere, many people want you to share in a cup of cheer, and food-filled parties litter the social calendar.
But, a few simple tips can help you keep up with your health and fitness journey before, during, and after the holiday season!
While the holidays might keep you from sticking with your usual routine, there are several ways you can curb unhealthy cravings, resist temptations, and stay fit.
Holiday fitness isn't as difficult as it may seem, even if you're not doing typical gym or at-home workouts.
As long as you keep your body moving often, choose various strength and cardio workouts each week, get creative, and keep your motivation level high, staying fit during the holidays is a breeze!
Learn how to approach big meals during the holidays and avoid the effects of overeating!
15 Tips For Staying Fit During the Holidays
Create a Holiday Fitness Routine
Create a holiday fitness routine and stick with it as much as possible.
While it might be slightly different from your non-holiday fitness schedule, it's still important to have an exercise plan in place.
You might get in a quick workout in the morning before joining your family for holiday festivities, or exercise later in the day when you have a break from the busyness of the holiday season.
Aim to work out at the same time each day and sneak in extra activities of daily living in addition to scheduled exercise.
Work out at least 30-60 minutes daily to maximize staying fit during the holidays.
Keep a Fitness Journal
Keeping a fitness journal during and after your holiday break is one of the best ways to stay on track with a fitness program and keep yourself motivated.
Write down your goals and the physical activity you complete daily.
If you take a day off now and then to rest and spend time with your family, don't stress over missed workouts.
Simply keep your body moving in other ways and get back on track the following day!
Try New Holiday Workouts
Rather than completing the same workout routine day after day, change up your fitness program this holiday season!
Join a fitness class, work out with your family and friends, sign up for a fun run, or treat yourself to new fitness equipment!
Or, try our December Workout Plan and stay fit all season long!
Take Steps to Avoid Temptations
With holiday parties and events around the corner, resisting temptations can be difficult.
But there are several ways to avoid overindulging while staying fit during the holidays.
Bring healthy side dishes to holiday get-togethers, choose water instead of alcohol or sugary drinks, and avoid hanging out by the food table.
Drink water before meals and avoid going to holiday parties overly hungry.
Have a light snack ahead of time to reduce the urge to splurge on unhealthy options.
Find Enjoyment in Activities that Don't Involve Food
Find things you enjoy doing besides eating and drinking and focus on those activities instead of holiday meals.
Watch Christmas movies with your family, go on walks, play board games, go golfing, go bowling, sit in a sauna or hot tub, get a therapeutic massage, or find other activities you love doing to get your mind off of eating.
Use the Perfect Plate Method
Just because it's the holiday season doesn't mean it's a good idea to break away from your usual healthy eating habits.
You can still use the Perfect Plate method to plan nutritious meals.
Fill about one-fourth of your plate with turkey, chicken, lean steak, or other holiday protein foods; one-fourth with wild rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, corn, peas, beans, or other fiber-rich starches; and half of each plate with salads or other non-starchy vegetables.
Add in oil-based dressings, avocados, nuts, seeds, and other nutritious fats, as well as fresh fruits, to help curb junk food cravings.
Forgo desserts or choose healthy holiday dessert options instead of traditional pies, cookies, cakes, fudge, and ice-cream treats.
Choose Alcoholic Drinks Wisely
While avoiding alcohol entirely offers numerous benefits for your overall health, if you enjoy drinking alcohol socially during the holidays, you don't have to give it up entirely!
Simply limit your intake to one or two drinks during holiday gatherings and avoid high-calorie alcoholic drinks mixed with sugar-sweetened sodas, lemonade, or other empty-calorie mixers.
Choose light beer, wine, or alcohol mixed with calorie-free club soda.
It's important to keep in mind that alcohol isn't low in calories, and having too much of it may be a reason for undesirable holiday weight gain.
So, drink alcohol in moderation if it's something you look forward to.
But if alcohol isn't important to you, avoiding it altogether can greatly benefit your health and well-being.
Find Fun Active Winter Hobbies
Even during the cold winter months, you can still find active hobbies to enjoy outdoors if you have appropriate warm winter clothing.
Fun active winter hobbies to consider include sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, ice skating, or even building a snowman or snow fort with your kids.
Find a hill to go sledding on or build your own ice hockey rink using a do-it-yourself backyard kit.
If you're not up for outdoor holiday adventures, check out an indoor driving range, active arcade games, indoor ice or roller skating, bowling, jumping at a trampoline park, or enjoying an indoor water park with your family and friends!
Get Creative with New Workouts
The gym you attend or the fitness class you may participate in are sometimes closed during certain holiday season days, which is why it's important to get creative when staying fit during the holidays is your goal.
You can do a variety of cardiovascular and resistance-training workouts from the comfort of your home, even if you don't have a lot of home-based gym equipment.
Simple at-home workouts include:
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
- Circuit or strength-training workouts
- Dumbbell workouts
- Kettlebell training
- Stair climbing
- Rope jumping
- Trampoline jumping
- Cycling
- Plank exercises
- Pullups
- Ab roller workouts
- Wall sits
Even if you're traveling for the holidays and don't have any workout equipment, simply jog or walk outside, swim laps in a hotel pool, or use your own body weight as resistance to strengthen your body, improve cardiovascular endurance, and keep your blood pumping.
Exercise in the Morning
Working out in the morning offers several benefits for staying fit during the holidays.
It's the time of day when you likely have the most energy and can squeeze in quick exercises after a light breakfast.
Your kids and spouse may still be sleeping when you complete morning sweat sessions, so you likely won't miss out on much, if any, time spent with family.
Morning workouts keep your metabolism going strong and energize you for the rest of the day.
They also tend to enhance your mood and get your day off to a productive start.
Simply hit the gym early, jog outdoors, or get creative with at-home workouts for men.
Don't Buy Larger Clothes Sizes
While weight gain is common during the holidays for many adults, don't give in and buy bigger clothes sizes to accommodate a larger waistline.
Simply keep wearing your desired size and if your clothes begin to feel tighter, work out more or eat healthier foods to reverse course.
If your goal is weight loss before, during, or after the holiday season, buy clothes in the size you want to fit into and begin moving toward your ideal weight!
Don't Be Too Hard on Yourself
You don't have to follow a perfect diet, or exercise for hours every day, to achieve staying fit during the holidays.
It's OK to indulge in your favorite holiday foods, even not-so-healthy ones, on occasion if it's something you enjoy.
Just be mindful of balancing diet with exercise, sleep, hydration, and stress reduction to optimize your overall wellness and enjoy time with your loved ones.
Don't let exercise take the place of time spent with family but work it into your schedule when you can, or recruit family members to join you!
Weigh Yourself Daily
Weighing yourself daily is an excellent way to maintain an ideal body weight, or even lose weight, during the holiday season.
Track your weight from one day to the next to ensure you stay on track with a healthy diet and exercise plan.
If you notice your weight slowly creeping up, it's time to alter your routine.
Break Up Large Workouts Into Smaller Sweat Sessions
Staying fit during the holidays might mean squeezing in multiple smaller workouts throughout the day, rather than doing one longer sweat session.
If you have a busy holiday schedule planned, it's sometimes difficult to carve out a large block of time each day for exercise.
The good news is that doing two or three 15-20-minute workouts instead of one longer exercise session offers you just as many health benefits!
Maintain a Structured Sleep Schedule
Getting plenty of sleep is important all year long, especially during the holidays.
Sleep keeps your energy levels high and your hormone levels in check, which helps you curb cravings for junk foods.
While you might not have the exact same sleep schedule during your holiday break, it's important to ensure you still allow yourself at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night!
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*Please know that weight loss results and health changes/improvements vary from individual to individual; you may not achieve similar results. Always consult with your doctor before making health decisions. This is not medical advice – simply very well-researched info on staying fit during the holidays.
