6 daily habits to keep through the holidays

Are you someone who finds it hard to stick with your goals through the holiday season? From Thanksgiving through New Years I see so many people ditch their habits because it’s too busy or they don’t think it’s worth it.

I remember one year I had been pretty good with sticking to my workouts and eating habits but once the holidays came around, I worked out like once a week if that and ditched any sort of ‘healthy eating’. Over that holiday season I gained quite a few pounds (I don’t remember specifically how much) but I just kept telling myself ‘I’ll start again on New Years’.

There is nothing wrong with being a little more flexible over the holiday season. I do find it’s helpful amidst all the parties and gatherings to know you are not going to have perfectly tracked macros or get in all your lifts (especially with COVID shutting us all down).

However, you are losing out on so much progress or even going backwards in the last month of the year if you’re not sticking to some daily habits! These 6 habits are ones I do my very best to follow every single day whether we’re in holiday season or not.

1. Drink a gallon of water a day: This is one that everyone knows about but refuses to follow. It’s something you need to plan for especially over the holidays because it’s going to help your body decrease the inflammation and indigestion that can happen with increased sodium intake.
2. Get 7-9 hours of sleep each night: I know this can be hard if you are traveling or at parties, but do your best with this one! Our body recovers and improves through sleep!
3. Get in some sort of movement each day: You don’t need 2 a day workouts, HIIT classes every day, or butt loads of cardio to make up for the foods you’re eating. But it is helpful to get in some sort of movement each day. I love walking outside (if the weather permits) because I’ve seen such huge progress in my mental state as well as digestion and recoverability! Also something you can do no matter where you live/are for the holidays.
4. Eat a variety of whole foods: I know with all the gatherings over the holidays I don’t do as well as I want to with eating whole foods at them, which is why it’s important to be conscience of it other times. Our bodies need these vitamins/minerals/dietary fibers to help with all the processes in our cells as well as increasing our body composition, digestion, and mood! I aim to eat 1-2 servings of fruit each day and 3-5 servings of veggies.
5. Take your daily supplements: Like I mentioned above, I’m not as good at eating those good fibrous foods at parties and tend to lean towards the snacks, it’s really important I’m filling in those gaps each day. Normally I will drink an extra scoop of protein, as well as getting in my daily stack (greens, reds, microfactor, & full mega), and collagen!
6. Find ways to de-stress: You should not be constantly going 100% and the whole ‘sleep when you’re dead’ mentality needs to stop. It’s not healthy and it adds extra stress to your body you have to compensate for. My favorite parasympathetic activities: restorative yoga, reading, breathing techniques, outdoor walks, and if I’m able to get massages those are the best!