Tracking Your Health Goals For The Holiday Season

It’s that time of the year once again where tradition and celebration meet.

No matter what holiday you’ll be celebrating, there’s a very good chance you’re going to be doing some feasting and relaxing. It’s easy to forget about your health goals in the name of a merry time, but here are some things to keep in mind to keep you on track:

Be Conscious Of Your Intake

It’s almost tradition to get carried away when you sit down for a holiday feast – your family didn’t slave away in the kitchen all day for you to not get a second or third helping, right?

Stop when you feel full. It doesn’t have to be an all-you-can-eat challenge. Don’t let the guilt get to you. You can always eat leftovers.
In fact, eat something healthy before the meal or before the party to stop unconscious grazing or overeating.
Use nutrition tracking apps like iFit® to get the big picture on the effects of your holiday diet. Knowing where you stand nutritionally is the best way to stick to a realistic diet.

Mix Things Up

All this chaos, and potential time off from work or school, means a perfect excuse to try something new in your workout routine.

Revisit your health or exercise goals and research new ways to accomplish them.
If you live in a snowy climate, you may want to invest in a treadmill to keep your cardio thawed.
Joining a specialty fitness studio (yoga, barre, bootcamp, etc.) could be the perfect way to keep you motivated and interested.
Up the intensity of your current routine. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is not only good for your long-term health, but it’s seen promise in boosting metabolism as well.
If you’re traveling, check out these bodyweight exercises you can do from anywhere.

However, once you get through your flash of inspiration, set it in stone.

Create A Schedule

The holiday season often means uncertain schedules. You’ve got to make your rounds with family and celebrations. Be vigilant in scheduling enough workout time.

Odds are you have a smartphone, so check out these alternatives to your default phone calendar.

Stay consistent. It doesn’t take that long to lose the momentum you’ve been building.

Don’t Give Yourself Slack

Don’t use the upcoming New Year as an excuse to binge. Research shows that while holiday weight gain is not as high as generally thought, it contributes to a change in your body’s status quo and subtly contributes to incrementally unhealthy weight that stays with you.

It’s easy to push your health responsibilities away when you can just “get to it next year,” but that’s a fallacy. We’ve all seen the hordes of people who resolve to be workout fiends January 1, yet the crowds tend to massively thin out a few weeks later.

The holidays are a time for family, friends, and good cheer, but if you disconnect completely from your health goals, you’ll just start the new year off at a disadvantage.