Holiday wellness tips

This time of year, it’s easy to hang up your health and fitness goals and say, “I’ll get back to it in the New Year.” However, this actually makes it ten times harder in January. You may say to yourself one of the following: “There’s no time”, “I can’t get to the gym”, “I’m not motivated”, “I’m too tired”, and “I’m stressed”. All of these statements are true! So how do you overcome this?

1 Make a schedule

Write down in your calendar the times you can fit in a little fitness and healthy meal prep. You may have to split up your workout into smaller segments (e.g. 20 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes late afternoon) which is better than nothing at all. You may also need to ditch your current workout routine and opt for something shorter or that more efficiently uses your time. Circuit training and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) are great ways to do this. Circuits and HIIT routines maximizes your metabolic activity, helping to burn fat more efficiently long after your workout. You are in charge of the exercises and can certainly work in some heavy weight lifting as part of the routine.

2 Home workouts

If you are at home and have little to no fitness equipment, find things in your home you can safely workout with. Do squats with cinderblocks and patio stones and shoulder exercises with grocery bags full of heavy items.

3 Healthy holiday eating

Don’t forget about healthy holiday eating, too! Make a plan and stick to it. Fill up on vegetables, fruit and lean meats/plant-based proteins. In social situations, choose only one or two of your must-have indulgent foods and just have a small morsel (half your palm size or less).

4 Rest, relax and rejuvenate

Lastly, make sure your give yourself time to rest, relax and rejuvenate your body, mind and soul. Take time to meditate, go for a walk in the fresh air, get in some daily yoga and stretching and continue to go to bed at the same time and get up at the same time each day for better immune function.