Plan For “Failure” This Holiday Season

“Giving up on a goal because of a setback is like slashing your other 3 tires because you have a flat.” 

The holidays are here and although they are stressful, fun, crazy, exciting, whatever you want to say, they can also wreak havoc on your nutrition and fitness goals. So here’s some friendly reminders that I hope help you stay mostly on track. 

Nutrition:

• First off, let the guilt go and let yourself enjoy some of the holiday shenanigans. If you don’t go too deep down the rabbit hole you’ll be just fine and can pull yourself back out once they’re over. It’s a time to be festive and merry with family and friends so if you really want a glass of wine, or a sugar cookie, then go for it. And if you do it, try to let the guilt go! 
• That being said, think about how you want to feel after the holidays. In years past I’ve definitely come back from Christmas vacation a little heavier and feeling like crap. I’m trying to go into this season with a realistic and achievable goal of enjoying myself but not too much. Truth be told, it’s usually easier for me to just abstain completely than moderate but I’m working on moderation goals. I want to be able to eat the sugar cookie with my kids while we’re baking them, but I don’t have to have 2,3 or even 4 in one day!
  • By the way, anyone else still working on moderation goals with all this dang leftover Halloween candy?!
• Plan ahead! You can carry food on the airplanes, in your car, and yes it’s weird to pack your own food when visiting family but who cares, you do other weird stuff with them and they stlil love you. So plan ahead for what you’ll need. Healthy bars over a snickers at the airport can go a long way. Carrots instead of chips, etc. 
• Also, eating out can be expensive and at times unhealthy so if you are going on a trip, take pictures of your favorite recipes before you leave so you can make some home cooked meals. And I recommend finding 1-2 recipes that you can make with minimal food and quickly. I’m happy to share some of my go-to meals if you’d like. 

Fitness:

• Just like nutrition there is a healthy balance of resting. Sometimes your mind and body needs the time off so don’t be scared of it. Just enjoy it. Or focus on slightly different activities if you need/want too?
  • If you’re a CrossFitter like me, maybe it’s a great time to do yoga for the week (and if you’re a Crossfitter you know this is definitely needed in your life).
  • If you are visiting somewhere warm, pack those hiking shoes and get out for a walk with family.
  • If you are visiting somewhere cold, rent cross country skis and be active that way. It’s a great bonding experience with family/friends, it will be more memorable then sitting on the coach stuffing your face (although that is nice and needed too at times), and it is great for your body to mix it up! 
• Again, plan ahead:
  • If you are a Crossfitter – it’s so fun to drop into other gyms but check their hours. I went to Sun Valley last year and was so excited to drop in to their gym and didn’t realize they closed down for the whole week of Christmas break. Oops. 
  • Plan out what times you’ll go to the gym if you still plan to go- FYI, mornings are the best when you’re on trips, even my night owl husband agrees! 
  • Plan out workouts you can do in a pinch. I would LOVE to share some at home workouts you can do if you need some. 
  • Pack your own stuff. I typically bring a pair of dumbbells with me on trips so I can still get some weights in. 
  • And if you don’t have the room for any equipment, there are still no excuses. I once did pullups on a tree branch outside the Excalibur hotel on the Las Vegas strip. Click HERE for proof. Feel free to laugh. 🙂
• Be a person that runs in the rain.
  • No one (or very few) people actually want to go for a run in the rain, so this is where discipline comes in. Create enough discipline in your life that no matter how you FEEL you’ll follow through on your actions. 
• Build in contingency plans for when things get derailed. For example, you plan that you’ll workout once you arrive at your destination on a trip, but then your airplane is delayed 5 hours and arrival is after midnight. Well, have a backup plan to do a workout in the airport. If that feels too funny, then just tell yourself you’ll walk up and down the flight of stairs five times. Which, by the way, let’s normalize working out in random places and not let it be weird!
  • Basically make a plan for when you’ll workout, what your workout will be, AND when you’ll make up that workout if something comes up and you have to change the day/time/location. 
• Lastly, just remember it doesn’t have to be pretty. You don’t have to have the same intensity or style of workout on your trip but moving just a little bit over not moving at all will make you feel better and happier!  

So what are your favorite at home workouts? What are your favorite snacks on the go? We’d love to improve our arsenal of how to deal with staying somewhat on track this holiday season. And again, enjoy the holidays too!