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How to ever have a healthy holiday season, but STILL have FUN too? Here’s how to do just that!

My favorite time of year is coming right around the corner and so are the endless amounts of good food and good company. There’s nothing like gathering with loved ones to celebrate the holidays, and more often than not, we celebrate with a feast too! But sometimes, with all that good food, trying to have a healthy holiday season doesn’t come easy. You feel like it is one or another, either have FUN or stay HEALTHY. But I want to show you how you can do BOTH.

In fact, I’d say having a healthy holiday season is arguably the biggest challenge we have when talking about our fitness and health goals.

The hoops we have to jump through to stick to our regular healthy eating habits and keep up with our exercise goals are not always easy. But so, so doable! Trust me. Though there might be tons of good holiday food on the table, a lot of that stuff is not so healthy to make a habit of eating. You always have the power to stay on track and take control of the habits you are creating. Now I’m not saying one day of indulging in all sorts of holiday foods will hurt anyone. It’s when we start creating habits out of the way we eat around the holidays that the trouble starts. It’s easy to get caught up in thanksgiving, and then the thanksgiving leftovers, friendsgiving, Christmas eve, Christmas day, those leftovers, new years eve, and new year’s day even! So many fun and amazing times that we have to look forward to, but so many high calorie, high carb foods, and sugary drinks that we’ll be surrounded by too!

So with all of that in mind, I decided I would share a few of my best ways to have a healthy holiday season while still having FUN (because it’s totally doable)! No more “well I’m not being perfect so why not just go off the deep end” mentality, okay? Let’s get started!

Ways to have a healthy holiday season (in a fun way!)

Cook Healthy Alternatives to your Favorite Holidays Dishes

One really awesome way, and probably easiest switches to make during the holidays is to create some healthy alternatives to the classic dishes we make during the holidays. We all love to make good food for our friends and family, so why not pack it with nutrients too? Make sure you are being mindful too and picking drinks that aren’t too high in calories or sugar if you’re going to be sipping during the evening!

Now I’m not saying you have to make ALL the dishes healthy or you CAN’T eat your favorites still. But it’s always good to mix in some healthy swaps in the party as well! Check out my post on Thanksgiving Recipes for some inspo on great recipes for the holidays!

And for alcoholic drinks? Try out this healthier margarita, this pumpkin cocktail, or these 4 healthy holiday drinks!

Pack Snacks for Travel

This is an all time must for me. I usually do a lot of traveling around the holiday time, and if you’re anything like me, you get quite hungry on those long highway drives. That’s why I don’t leave the house without packing a few light, good-for-travel snacks for when we hit the road. I also pack snacks if we’re doing any hiking, any sight-seeing, traveling or any other fun stuff where I wont have easy access to healthy food choices. I find that I am much more able and willing to stick to my nutrition goals over the holidays and on vacations when I plan ahead and pack healthy snacks for my days. It keeps you from having to resort to fast and typically unhealthy foods that won’t even fill you up.

Here are some of my favorite shelf stable options for heaving a healthy holiday travel experience:

Thrive PRO Bars (always look for bars with some good amounts of protein and fiber!)
ThriveFIT protein packets (mix in water or almond milk!)
Hacked Snacks
Hacked Snacks
Hacked Snacks
Roasted Edamame/Chickpeas
NowFoods Dried fruit and nut mixes
Got a lunchbox? I love packing hummus with veggies, apples and cheese sticks, and greek yogurts!

Portion Control

Trust me, I know how easy it is to want to load up on the mac n’ cheese and the mashed potatoes. It’s hard to say no to the turkey and the stuffing, the green beans and the gravy. And you don’t necessarily have to say no to all of it to have a healthy holiday! Just be conscious of how much you’re actually putting on your plate. Like the old saying goes, don’t eat with your eyes. Know that what you put on your plate is probably what you’re going to end up eating, and you don’t necessarily have to say yes to everything either! Be mindful of how much food you’re actually piling on to your plate, and try and keep it reasonable. Remember that it is just one meal!

Also, try to NOT get into the mentality that “I already went off track so why not just go alllll out”. It’s ok to not be perfect or totally on track (I teach my 1-1 clients how to do exactly this and avoid this mentality!). What’s not okay and WILL ruin your goals, is going off the deep end as you eat everything and just saying, screw it!

Forgive Yourself if You do get off Track

Like I said before, one day of unhealthy eating and not sticking with your health plan to a T won’t hurt too much. So forgive yourself if you end up going for seconds on thanksgiving evening or if you have some pumpkin pie- it’s no big deal. But remember, it’s when we start making habits out of those nights that we get ourselves in trouble. Small decisions turn into habits. Forgive yourself for getting off track, and allow yourself that forgiveness by getting right back on track! Again, avoiding the “screw it” mentality at all times is key!

Find a Workout and Healthy Eating Plan you Love, is SUSTAINABLE, and then Stick to it!

To avoid getting off-track at all and still have a fun but healthy holiday season, find a really great health plan that you love and stick to it! Whether it’s healthy recipes, a great workout plan you love, or a combination of both, find something that motivates you and stick to it! I’m all about teaching my clients how to make this a LIFESTYLE that allows for fun and not taking away your freedom. And that’s what my hope for you is as well, to find just that — a lifestyle, not strict program.

FREE OPPORTUNITY! Want to learn how you can REALLY have a healthy holiday season in a FUN way?

In fact, I have something you might like! I am doing a 5-day Fitmas challenge starting December 10th! Now this isn’t necessarily a normal challenge where you HAVE to compete/finish each day. It’s more so 5 days of FREE inspiration and mini lessons on how to stay healthy in a FREE and FUN way.

What will you get with this free challenge?! Receive emails every morning with:

Daily nutrition challenges and tips for getting through the holidays
Optional Daily Workouts under 20min that you can do ANYWHERE
An action plan for 2019 to start STRONG (Day 5 we are going IN DEPTH on how to set your 2019 up for success!)
AND the chance to win some AMAZING prizes!
Plus it’s totally free! Join in on this fun #freshfitmas challenge on instagram and stay fit during the holidays!

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Have a Healthy Holiday Season