It’s that time of year again! The holidays are here! Family is visiting, the holiday meal will be exceptional, and for most of us the weather is not encouraging for any outdoor activity. We will cover a few ideas to keep you motivated and potentially reduce some guilt for the holidays.
Ways to Prepare for the Holiday Meal
It’s great to see family and friends, but those meals are just so tempting. Most typical holiday dishes are not prepared with healthy ingredients in mind. Also, the variety of desserts will put you in a difficult spot. Counting calories will become difficult, if not impossible. Here are a few things to try:
- Start the day right: Before you head out to see family, plan time to get out for a run. The longer the better, but anything will help get the day off on the right foot and potentially reduce the guilt of those holiday meals. If you don’t start first thing, it will probably not happen.
- Run the day before or day after: If you can’t get out to run on the holiday, try getting out the day before and the day after. Why not make life easier? Knowing you put in an aggressive run can help reduce the guilt from that holiday meal without destroying the plans for the day.
- CrossFit or Walk: If you’re traveling and options for running are limited, take time to consider an alternative workout. CrossFit or a walk can help bridge the gap for a day you can’t get out and run.
Come back to your routine
Even if you cannot get a run in, do not skimp on your holiday meal! It’s just not worth it! Think about all of the days this year that you’ve gone out for a run. It’s completely fine to take a day off here and there to enjoy the holiday.
The most important thing is to be able to get back to it after the holiday. When a routine changes, there’s a small chance a new habit will form or it will be difficult to resume the previous routine. Think about what is important to you and use that as motivation to get back into the routine you had going. If you can avoid it, keep the routine going. Also, think about setting goals for yourself over longer holidays. Do whatever you can to make sure the holidays don’t stop you from achieving your running goals. Best of luck!