Ok, Thanksgiving is over which means that the season for overindulgence has officially started. Most years, I feel like the candy and sweet treats start with October, then is followed by my birthday, then Thanksgiving a couple of weeks after that so by the time Christmas rolls around so do I. Just kidding but a late Thanksgiving means that we got a bit of a break between the two feasting holidays this year. However, it’s pretty common knowledge that this is the time of year when diets slip and we all overindulge in one too many holiday treats. Who can blame us?! I’m all about the holiday cheer and in my world, holiday cheer almost always comes with a cheese plate and a large dessert selection.
However, I want to start off the new year healthy and happy rather than sick and needing a detox. A couple of years ago, Andrew rang in the New Year alone because I was at home sick with the flu. Not fun, trust me. So here I am, trying to balance all that holiday cheer with some vegetables in the hopes that I don’t get sick.
Most of the things that I’m doing to have a healthy holiday season are pretty straight forward but I still wanted to share them with you today. Maybe I’m doing something a little differently that might help you. And please let me know if there is anything that you do to keep up during the holidays that I should try. I always like hearing your suggestions!
How I’m Having a Healthy Holiday Season
GETTING A FLU SHOT
First up I wanted to just get up on my soapbox and say that the holidays equals winter and winter equals flu season. Please go get your flu shot and wash your hands. When I was working in an office, this time of year was always punctuated with the sounds of coughing, hacking, and nose blowing. We’ve all been there and it’s GROSS! Let’s all promise to wash our hands, get our flu shots, and to stay home when we’re sick, ok? I have faith that we can keep healthy with that alone.
COOKING AT HOME
Especially since we’ll be attending quite a few holiday parties over the next few weeks, I’m trying to cook at home as often as possible. It’s easy to control salt, fat, and sugar when you know exactly what is going into your food. We’ve made some pretty significant changes to our diet over the past six months that include going to a completely whole foods plant-based diet so eating at home is way easier for us these days than going out. Plus we have a baby who refuses to sit still for longer than 15 minutes so there’s also that.
If you aren’t a wiz in the kitchen, I suggest you try out the Mealime app. It’s a meal planning app that basically does all the work for you except going to the store to buy the food (but you can basically get your groceries delivered anywhere these days). I used it regularly when I was working and didn’t want to get home then have to cook. This allowed me to plan out all our dinners and grocery shop over the weekend then cook a 30-minute (or less) meal during the workweek. It caters to basically every diet under the sun and they have a huge recipe index to choose from. Give it a try if cooking isn’t really your thing but you want to eat healthier. It’s also a lot cheaper than services like Home Chef or Blue Apron although I really appreciate how they make life so easy.
STAYING ACTIVE
Annually I tend to struggle with seasonal depression and living in a cold, wet, grey, place hasn’t helped any. What has helped is high-intensity cardio and plenty of it. Last year I was super into running sprints on the treadmill, Visual Impact Fitness style but this year I discovered High Fitness! It’s so much fun! If you like cardio workouts with fun upbeat music, this is a workout for you. I leave every class totally sweaty and in the best mood.
Part of staying active for me has also been to upgrade my workout gear. I haven’t spent any money on workout clothes in years, which can be a little embarrassing sometimes when I roll up to my workout classes in ancient leggings and ratty old college shirts while all my friends are looking cute in Lululemon.
I’ve found that there are some great activewear clothing lines that aren’t too expensive but both look and function great. Old Navy has been a big surprise to me on that front. Their Elevate 7/8 compression leggings are a hidden gem that I wish I’d known about sooner. They also have some nice basics tanks and tees but if you try anything from their activewear line, get the leggings. Bonus is that they are almost always offering some kind of sale.
Zella at Nordstrom also has a great selection of leggings. I generally wait until these are on sale before buying a pair as they are on the high end of what I’m willing to spend on a pair of leggings. I have their high waisted live-in leggings but they also have a 7/8 length pair available as well. Z by Zella is available at Nordstrom Rack and that is another great value brand. I have a sweatshirt and a pair of joggers from them that I wore all throughout my pregnancy.
You might also like:
- 5 Ways to Stay Active in Winter
- Healthy Habits for the Holiday Season
- How I’m Staying Active Throughout My Pregnancy
