Your Personalized Holiday Game Plan

01 Nov Your Personalized Holiday Game Plan

With only two months left of the year, there’s no better time to map out healthy habits to carry you into 2019. For many people, the holiday season is more of a maintenance time of year, while others decide to set and reach goals related to weight loss (fitting into your favorite holiday attire is always a good thing), healthy blood work (wouldn’t it be great to get those numbers into the green), etc.. So let’s begin with the basics:

Sleep: The recommendation for healthy sleeping habits in adulthood include 7-9 hours of sleep per night. However, you might have to revert to childhood and set yourself a bedtime in order to make that happen. Here are more helpful sleep tips.

Stress: Identify potential stressors this holiday season and get ahead of them. Find ways to communicate with the people flagged on your stress radar to define expectations, arrival/departure dates, lodging logistics, meal planning for gatherings, etc. In between all of that, schedule in time for things you enjoy – exercise, coloring, yoga, meditation, hiking, etc. Do your best to find some you time so that you’re never too busy to take care of yourself.

Physical Activity: Tis the season for foods that you only eat a couple of times a year and possibly a few more drinks than you’re used to. It’s not a surprise that holiday get-togethers are around the corner since they happen annually, so knowing this fact of life you can enjoy the food and festivities, but also be creative when it comes to finding time to keep your body moving. Schedule time now for a turkey trot, workout videos, boot camp, trips to the gym, whatever works best for you because if you don’t make time for it in advance, it’s easier to kick it to the curb.

Healthy Eating: As mentioned early, it’s not a crime to enjoy the food and festivities that are around the corner. The most important key is to remember the balance that you’ve strived to find all year long. How can you plan, shop, and prep to follow the Harvard Healthy Eating Plate (50% veggies, 25% carbs, 25% protein) model? If sitting down to plan meals and a grocery shopping list is unrealistic for you and your family, maybe you need to call in back up, such as a meal planning service – Mealime, meal planning website, like SkinnyTaste.com, meal service (think HelloFresh, Blue Apron, Sun Basket, etc.) or place a King Soopers ClickList order to save time. Choosing the right fit will depend on you, but just know the reinforcements are ready and waiting for their big shot to get in the game and put points on the scoreboard, called life, for you.