Holiday Survival Guide Part 2

Today I am back to share my top 10, personal/REAL life tips for enjoying the holiday season AND keeping your health a priority. If it matters enough to you, you CAN have both.

Because isn’t that what it’s about after all? Being able to enjoy family, friends and the magic of the season, without feeling like a hot mess.

If you missed yesterdays blog, check it out here where I laid out some solid facts on why your health cannot take a back seat the last stretches of the year.

Top 10 Holiday Survival Rules to Live By (that work all year long!)

1) Wake up and pound down 1-2 cups of water. I practice this ritual EVERY SINGLE morning and it’s been a game changer.

Seriously! If you take just one thing from me, let it be this.

It’s hard to wake up in the winter. It’s colder, darker and your bed is ohhhhh so cozy.

Waking up and drinking water is like a jump start for every system in your body.

It also gives your brain and body a task that you complete right away, setting the tone to keep getting things done. It will get you going, I promise!

2) Meal prep –  I know, I know, how lame and unfun does that sound? But sometimes the most mundane and unexciting chores, make for an easier, healthier and more planned out week.

The busier and more chaotic my life is (which seems to be always!), the more stability and planning I need.

An hour or 2 a week of meal planning and prep, saves my family a ton of money from wasted food and will make sure we are eating wholesome food as much as possible.

I am a pen and paper girl. I simply write out my meal plan for the week and then make my shopping list from there. If a week at a time is too much for you to plan, take it 2-3 days at a time.

They key is to make the plan and THEN shop.

I don’t know about everyone else, but I enjoy feeling good. And while eating out now and then is amazing because I don’t have to cook/clean up, if I eat out a lot, I feel like crap. And I hate feeling like crap………So I try to meal plan and prep as best I can.

3) Going off of tip 2, a big motto I have the crazier the weeks are, is KISS (keep it super simple). 

If I have a crazy week, you bet I am not going to overwhelm myself with trying new recipes and making things overly complicated.

Those are the weeks we live off the good ol tried and true staple meals and eat A LOT of leftovers.

If subscribing to a meal service plan a few nights a week is something that will simplify your life, DO IT!

They say money can’t buy happiness and I have to agree, but sometime spending some money on a cleaning person, babysitters or a meal prep service can buy you time. And more time ALWAYS makes you happier 🙂

4) PLAN your workouts and make them NON-negotiable. (by now you are getting the sense in how important plans are in my world!)

More than likely your schedule is going to be a bit bonkers and out of the norm over the next 6 weeks. Don’t expect the plan that normally works for you, to work right now.

Sit down once or twice a week and look at what you have going on each day. Then plan accordingly.

Maybe you’ve always been an after work – worker outer, but that may not fly right now.

So guess what, you are going to need to get your booty out of bed in the mornings and get er done!

It may not be easy, but I promise you will feel SO much better for committing to your workouts.

And don’t let them be negotiable. You wouldn’t miss a doctor appointment or important event.

Showing up for your health and mental well being should be looked at as one of the most important events of your life. Without your health, not much else matters.

5) Don’t go to a party “hangry” – actually just don’t go anywhere “hangry”, it’s not a good look on anyone!

Make sure you load up on some nutrient dense food and are hydrated before hitting up the nacho cheese bar at your company party.

Keep snacks for YOU in your purse and make sure you do your best not to get “hangry” during the holidays.

This will be important as you try to knock out your holiday shopping, hit up holiday parties, work events, kids performances and more.

RX Bars, Epic Bars, Boiled Eggs, Avocado, Nut butter and apples, raw nuts and carrots and hummus are some of my favorite, “say no to hangry” snacks and are easy to take anywhere.

6) Don’t let one holiday binge or extravagant party throw off your food choices the rest of the day.

This one is really important and one I think we can all relate too. How many times have you just said “Oh F it, I ate a donut for breakfast, I am going to have pizza for lunch, Chineese for dinner and start over tomorrow.”

Letting go of this mentality was a game changer for me!

You have a lot of opportunities to nourish and fuel your body in any given day.

Take all of the times you can control what you eat as a chance to fuel your body and enjoy the parties/events and treat them as that, a “treat”.

If you know you have a big dinner out and plan to fondue (I love cheese!), then eat a solid breakfast and lunch to give your body the nutrients it so deserves.

7) Stop Punishing Yourself!

You are not allowed to step into any of my fitness classes to undo something you ate or beat yourself up for missing a weekend workout.

I’m sure some people do, but if I knew they felt that way, I’d kick them out and have them come back when they were ready to celebrate the workout they were about to crush!

NO ONE likes to be punished. Stop doing it to yourself.

8) Just say NO!

This is another game changer for me. I stopped saying yes to everyone and everything. It’s just not sustainable and we end up a raging wreck of a family.

Go to the events your really cherish, surround yourself with the people who make you laugh and who you enjoy and don’t be afraid to say no sometimes.

I know this isn’t always possible, but I guarantee there are things that are not contributing to your or your families overall well being that you can opt out of.

9) Keep Calm and Unwind (we actually made a shirt with this exact saying).

Raise your hand if you are guilty of running at mock speed from the second you wake up, til the second your head crashes on the pillow!

I am raised both arms and legs! Guilty as charged!

But over the past year, I have made a concerted effort to stop, drop and unwind! And it hasn’t been easy, but my mental and physical well being is so much happier and well balances.

We talk about it as “conscious rest”. Letting your mind and body process and let go of some of your day, while holding onto the good.

I can’t make anyone do this, but I can assure you coming from a very Type A personality (ME!!), the more wound up you are, the more you need this.

10) HAVE FUN!

Something else I am working on more…….. Enjoying the present moment.

After all, none of the tips above matter at all if you aren’t taking some time to stop, smile and enjoy life!!

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy, fit and fantastic holiday season,

Rachele Jaegers, VFit Studio Owner