Secrets to Staying Fit During the Holidays

Holidays can undo healthy habits.

The holidays can be a difficult time to stay on track with your fitness goals. From now until New Year’s Day, your schedule will likely be filled with family obligations, traveling and festive outings with all sorts of tempting treats.

1. Keep moving.

Lance Dalleck, a professor of exercise and sport science at Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Colorado, says that small efforts to get moving can help your overall health during the holidays.

2. Be the person with a plan. And hydrate.

“The holidays can be a real land mine in terms of disrupting your best exercise and weight-control intentions. Start each day with a game plan, just like a great coach going into a big game,” says Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine based in Havertown, Pennsylvania.

3. Make lists, exercise early and sleep.

Chris Freytag, an American Council on Exercise-certified personal trainer, health coach, speaker and author, says “the holiday season is one of my favorite times of the year, but I recognize that it has the potential to be hard on my health.”

4. Expect the unexpected.

“We are glass half-full people, so we hope for the best, but we prepare for the worst,” say Lee and Beth Jordan, American Council on Exercise–certified personal trainers and health coaches based in Jacksonville, Florida.

5. Be creative and get rid of “all or nothing” mindsets.

While it’s easy to get discouraged when you’re not fully on top of your holiday fitness, Jessica Matthews, an associate professor and program director in the College of Health Sciences at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, says to allow yourself some grace.

6. Plan ahead.

Pete McCall, American Council on Exercise–certified personal trainer in San Diego, California, and host of the All About Fitness podcast, says that planning is the best way to make sure you don’t lose track of your goals.

7. Indulge for a night, not a season.

“It’s easy to overindulge when the season of parties and leftovers — so many leftovers — is upon us,” says Sherry Pagoto, a licensed clinical psychologist and professor in the department of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, Connecticut.

8. Remember it’s a single day.

Jonathan Ross, an American Council on Exercise–certified personal trainer based in Annapolis, Maryland, says that it’s important to remember that the entire holiday season isn’t an excuse for overindulging or stopping your exercise routine.

9. Rev up your walking.

You don’t have to suddenly become an exercise fanatic during the holidays, and you can even incorporate exercise into fun holiday activities.

10. Take a moment for yourself.

Finally, check in with yourself and take care of your stress levels.

10 expert-approved secrets to staying fit during the holidays:

Keep moving. Be the person with a plan. And hydrate. Make lists, exercise early and sleep. Expect the unexpected. Be creative and get rid of “all or nothing” mindsets. Plan — and remember there’s always time and opportunity for a workout. Indulge for a night, not a season. Remember it’s a single day. Rev up your walking. Take a moment for yourself.

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Secrets to Staying Fit During the Holidays originally appeared on usnews.com

Update 12/08/23: This story was previously published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.

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