How to stay fit and healthy over Christmas: Tips to strike the right balance
Nicole, how do I stay fit and healthy over Christmas? I don’t want to miss out on all the fun or undo my progress.
Christmas. Like it or loathe it, there’s no denying that when December hits, life moves up a gear. The tasks on your to-do list suddenly multiply, social invitations come in thick and fast, and the kids are in a never-ending loop of being either hyper and overstimulated, or exhausted and unregulated – let’s face it, us too! (We have Santa excitement and sugary Christmas treats to thank for that!)
Understandably, Christmas is often a time when fitness takes a back seat. It’s hard to commit to working out when your daily schedule is already packed to the limit, and with temptation at every turn (mince pies! Celebrations! Prosecco!) you may have developed a Fuck It! Attitude.
Know this: There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a little extra indulgence this December and it’s okay if you want to take your fitness efforts down a notch too. But chances are, rather than saying “Screw it!” and putting it all off until January 1st, you’d probably rather strike a bit of a balance.
One that allows you to enjoy the excitement and indulgence of the holiday season while ALSO making some progress on your health and fitness goals. (There’s very little to be said for putting your goals off until a new week or a new year and lots to be said for building momentum now, as I recently discussed in this Instagram post.)
December can be a very all-or-nothing month, but it doesn’t have to be. It can be about fitness, fun, and family – and I firmly believe that if you can learn to establish a sustainable fitness routine throughout this crazy time, you’ll set yourself up for success in the long term.
Add to that, you’ll break the cycle of starting fresh on January 1st.
Don’t let the month of December intimidate you. I’ve included some advice below that will help you make headway on your health and fitness goals while managing festive stress and enjoying the festivities.
How to stay fit and healthy this christmas (It’s all about balance!)
Look out for self-sabotage
It’s not just Santa Claus who’s coming to town, but a familiar friend: Mr Self-Sabotage. And let me tell you this: there’s a particular breed of self-sabotage that mums fall victim to time and time again: Putting everyone else’s needs before your own.
There’s a very real pressure on mums to create the perfect Christmas for their little ones and that can create a whole lot of stress – and very little time to take care of you. In turn, that can have a knock-on effect on your fitness routine – and without a proper outlet for festive stresses, you inevitably become even more stressed and burned out.
(I wrote about this in a little more detail recently in this blog about feeling overwhelmed and overstimulated, FYI.)
I know it’s how we’re programmed to behave as mothers, but neglecting your own self-care is serving no one. Keep this in mind throughout December and take note of any patterns.
When are you skimping on your own health and wellbeing to accommodate others? And what does this look like – missed workouts, poor eating habits, or something else?
Consider how you actually need to put yourself first to function at your best and remember that only when you make time for yourself, can you properly care for others.
My top tip? Actively schedule that me time and consider putting on a Christmas movie for the kids while you workout. The kids are happy and so are you! It’s a win-win.
Develop a realistic approach to Christmas food and fitness
Is it realistic to say you won’t eat a single chocolate from the Celebrations tub? Or that you’re going to only have one glass of Prosecco on a night out when you’d happily enjoy two, or even three?
No, of course not – and depriving yourself won’t help your relationship with food and fitness in the long term either. (Most of us know that when you tell yourself you can’t have something, you only want it more.)
It’s the same with working out. If you’re overly rigid with your routine, exercise can become a chore rather than something to look forward to and enjoy. The more choresome it becomes the less you want to do it.
So what can you do?
Here are my top tips for keeping fit and healthy over Christmas in a way that is realistic and achievable and doesn’t mean you miss out on all the fun…
- Stay as consistent as you can on the days you don’t have a social event marked on the calendar, and allow yourself to moderately indulge on the days you do. Trust me, you’ll feel a lot better when the decorations come down.
- Plan ahead. If you have a social event coming up, look up the menu so you can decide what you’d like to eat or drink in advance. (It doesn’t always have to be the healthiest option, FYI, but it’s good to come prepared.)
- If you’re delving into a tub of chocolates, give yourself permission to have a set number (maybe three or four) and keep the wrappers in front of you when you’re finished so you can keep track.
- Where possible, create a meal plan and aim to fill your plate up with nutrient-dense whole foods and a lean protein source.
- Create a fitness schedule too. Find windows of time when you can work out and pop them on the calendar. Laying out your exercise gear ahead of time can help as well.
- If you’re worried about hangover cravings, consider meal-prepping a few healthy ‘fakeaway’ meals for the morning after. Your body will thank you.
- If you’re too tired or sluggish for a strength workout, try to get in some gentle exercise instead like walking or swimming. Or plan something fun with your little ones, like a dance party.
- If you miss a workout, schedule your next one immediately so it doesn’t turn into a week or a month off.
Finally? Repeat after me: health and fitness should never be all-or-nothing. Remember that throughout the holiday season as best you can.
Take steps for 2024 NOW
You’ve undoubtedly heard the phrase ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail’. That advice rings true for your new year fitness goals too. And I know from experience if the year before didn’t exactly go to plan, it can be intimidating facing down another calendar year.
Here’s a three-step approach for setting yourself up for success in the new year.
Ask yourself: What didn’t work in 2023?
Maybe you set the bar too high and then felt constantly disappointed and unmotivated when you couldn’t meet those OTT expectations.
Maybe you overly restricted yourself with food, or constantly put family first, neglecting your own needs in the process.
It might help you to write out a bullet-pointed list of what didn’t go well in 2023 and brainstorm some solutions to each one on a separate page.
Remember, this should be a judgement-free zone!
Forget the quick fixes
Come January 1st you’ll inevitably be bombarded with toxic juice diets and questionable exercise trends and it’s not always easy to recognise these for what they are: total BS and a fast track to failure.
Sure, they might get you fast results but most aren’t sustainable or enjoyable and after a few weeks you’re likely to be right back at square one. (Worst case scenario, they could cause health problems or injury too.)
Here’s my pro tip: forget instant gratification and think about your long-term health and fitness goals. Are you going to be fit and strong in your 80s by drinking nothing but green smoothies and forcing yourself to do hours on end of cardio you don’t enjoy?
No, strength training and eating in a way that fuels and nourishes your body is a much safer bet. So forget about all the “Lose 10lbs in 10 days” BS and think about what you can sustainably achieve in six months instead. My Power Of Mum programme is based around this very ethos.
Build momentum now
Okay, so bear with me a sec while I draw on the research of Isaac Newton. According to Newton, an object at rest stays at rest, while an object in motion stays in motion – unless something comes along and throws it off course.
How does that relate to your fitness routine? Well, it’s that feeling of “I can’t stop now, I’m on a roll” and the reason why once you stop it’s so hard to get going again. Here’s the good news: you can capitalise on this in December by simply starting now.
Find ways to start small – maybe it’s scheduling two workouts a week or slowly building up your daily step count – and you’ll create momentum for the new year. Or as Newton puts it, you’ll already be in motion.
In short, do something – anything – to get the ball rolling in December and it’ll be a whole lot easier to keep making progress in January.
You’ve got this.
