5 Tips to Stay Fit Over the Holidays

I am in complete denial that is it November (and almost the middle of the month!!!). October flew by and I have so much going on in November that I know it will too. I’m not ready for fall to leave, I’m not ready for the holidays and I’m certainly not ready for consistently cold weather. Sigh. But, I am looking forward to seeing my family soon and I am looking forward to the feeling of a fresh start that each new season brings.

As the seasons change, I usually find that my body craves different workouts and different intensity of workouts so I go with the flow. But I like to set goals during the holiday season to help me stick with my healthy habits during the festive, busy time. Here are five tips that have worked for me!

5 Tips to Stay Fit Over the Holidays

1. Focus on doing workouts you are craving. Just like when you’re trying to improve your eating habits it helps to focus on increasing consumption of healthy foods vs. cutting out too much, try increasing the workouts you enjoy and don’t worry so much about forcing yourself to do the workout you think you “should” do.  I tend to crave more yoga during the colder months so I’ll likely increase my yoga practice and not worry so much lifting weights.

2. Make a plan. Schedule your workouts at the beginning of the week. Put it on the calendar and try to stick to it like any other appointment – list the time of the workout and what type of workout you’ll do.

3. Log your workouts. I get a lot of satisfaction from logging my workouts in DailyMile (you can track non-running workouts too). It’s motivating to see my total workout stats for the week and getting encouragement from friends on there is a huge help too. If you don’t want to join DailyMile, try posting about your workouts on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. You’ll get lots of  encouragement from friends and you’ll very likely help keep others motivated. And you can always reach out to me via email or Twitter, Instagram and Facebook if you need encouragement! We’re all in this healthy living world together! 🙂

4. Get workout clothes you really like wearing. I’ve blogged about this before, but it’s so much easier and more fun getting ready for workouts when I have clothes I feel cute in and fit me well. If it’s in your budget, you can treat yourself to a new tank or running tights for each week you stick to your workout plan in #2!

On that note, I recently got a box full of active wear from Kohl’s that I’m loving!

I never really thought of Kohl’s as a place to buy workout clothes, but I’m impressed with the quality. Plus they have cute patterns and designs and the items are affordable enough to buy as your “reward.” I’ve even gotten brave and have been mixing patterns! Here are links to the Tek Gear Keyhole Capri Yoga Leggings and Tek Gear 1/4-Zip Printed Fleece Lined Jacket I’m wearing. I love the material of the top and the arm pocket. I find their leggings run a little large but these are still ok on me! Just order down a size if you get them.

I’m super obsessed with this lightweight Tek Gear Hoodie if you want something just for lounging or wearing to and from the gym. And the side stripe on these colorblock leggings is really flattering. Too bad I took a picture with my iPhone when it was super dark so you can barely tell. Sorry!

OK, on to the last tip!

5. Be merry! Don’t throw all your healthy habits out the window but don’t be so hard on yourself that you don’t enjoy the parties, the treats, the busy-ness of the season.

What are your tips for staying healthy during the holidays?