Going into the holiday season (or any special event for that matter) can be a difficult time when you are trying to stay in weight loss or healthy lifestyle mode. Focusing on the positive changes you have made or are making in your life can make all the difference. Be grateful.
Grateful For Learning
Be grateful for the process of learning. Learning about what makes up a healthy lifestyle. Understanding what was not healthy about your way of life, knowing how that made you feel and how you changed all that! There are so many ways to learn! I have learned so much through the Noom Weight Loss Program and also just through reading (or listening) with Audible Books! Please checkout some books that I highly recommend in my Journey Book Shop! Consider a gift for yourself or for someone special in your life!
Learning allows you to better yourself in your personal life, your home life and even in your work life. Learning allows you to expand your horizons and keeps you striving for more! Taking advantage of all you have learned can serve you well going into the holidays.
Grateful for Healthy Foods
Foods like vegetables and fruits. Lean meats and whole grains. Leaner dairy products. These foods feed your body with fuel and nutrients it needs to keep going and keep you satisfied. Foods that are filling without the calorie count. That’s good!
Healthy foods make you feel physically better. You have more energy, don’t feel bloated and even your emotions can feel calmer-you don’t feel edgy or irritable from sugar or caffeine highs.
In this world with so much choice, it is nice to see grocery stores and restaurants that are joining on the healthy bandwagon. Wide selections of fresh fruits and vegetables, healthier dairy products and other foods are more readily available in supermarkets. Some foods are already prepped or entrees created ahead to ease our prep time at home. Restaurants are also offering healthier choice options on their menus. Many restaurants are also starting to carry nutritional information on their foods. Either in pamphlet form or online, we are able to check out resources ahead before going to a restaurant, or choosing an entree.
Grateful For Exercise
Exercise keeps the body strong, healthy and running at peak performance. It’s heart healthy, improves overall circulation and is essential for keeping bones and muscles strong, mobile and improves flexibility. Exercise can even be effective for stress relief. Got some negative energy you need to lose? Just exercise and let some of those pent up anxieties melt away.
According to the National Institute of Health you don’t have to do many hours of exercise per day to live healthy. 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity exercise is all that is required to start living healthier. All forms of movement are helpful in achieving this as a matter of fact. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Parking in a farther parking spot to gain more steps. See my article “How To Get Started on A Walking Program (When You’re Not Exercising)” to get you on the road to exercise.
Above all else, doing activities you enjoy really helps in the long term with your motivation to keep exercising. We are fortunate to have exercise options for every season. Try different things and do what you enjoy!
Grateful For Rest
Be aware of the importance of rest. It is something we often overlook, with the multitude of commitments and tasks we take on. With the holidays, this is of particular importance. Going to bed at an earlier hour, or even recognizing the need for a nap during the day, can give your body that rest and recharge it needs to work at its best. Having enough rest will improve your focus, develop more clarity and ultimately make better decisions.
When thinking about rest, think of it as a form of self-care. Think about giving your body the time it needs to reset. You will be better off for it.
Grateful for Being Productive
Being productive allows us to accomplish tasks faster and with greater efficiency. Being productive will center the focus on your goals. Take care of what is important and develop priorities. This is especially important during the holidays when there are many things occurring simultaneously. Planning is the key. Include a specified amount of time for the task. It gives your time a purpose! Creating healthy habits and routines all year round will keep you moving on automatic pilot. Accomplishing all the stuff feels wonderful!
The holidays can be challenging with all the temptations and the hectic pace. Being productive can help with the chaos. Create meals ahead and freeze them for the hectic weeks ahead. Consider online shopping. Assign chores. Have a visible calendar that all in the family can see for what’s going on. Being productive keeps life flowing smoother-even during the holidays.
Grateful for Simplicity
Simplicity aids in living peacefully. Life is so multi-faceted these days. So many things going on. Reducing some of those things in life will let you ultimately focus on what is most important to you.
Reducing clutter, whether physical or emotional, will allow you to concentrate on what matters most. Having less, but being able to give more. Kinda what the holidays were meant for anyway, right?
Simplicity is in some respects is about less commitments. Too many options at Christmas with events and parties. Too much commercialism and less time for just the little things. Enjoying special family moments or traditions. Helping others. Choose what serves you. In the end, you may indeed find that simplicity over the holidays, gives you the most memorable experience ever!
Grateful for Choice
Ultimately, we all have choices. There are options to most situations. Being aware of those options and what choosing them could mean, can affect how it serves you ultimately. When it comes to the holidays, you have choices. Choices where food is concerned. Making a choice to enjoy outdoor activities with family vs a Christmas movie or board games inside. Choosing an early night to rest and recharge in advance of the busy day ahead.
Be grateful that you have the choice in how the holidays will play out for you. Be true to what you want. Recognize recent positive choices you have made and can they work during this busy season? Do you love the tradition and still want to take part in some of that? Can you do that in moderation? Can you give yourself some grace? The choices are many. Do what works best for you and know you can adjust. It’s your choice. Enjoy the holidays in whatever you decide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes you can. It can be more difficult with all the temptations, obligations that sets aside routine healthy habits that have been started and potential lack of proper rest with all the activity. You can lose though by healthy eating, maintaining your exercise program, and getting enough rest. Be very aware of what triggers you to indulge or forego healthful activity and have a plan to counteract that.
Be mindful and aware. Practice meditation and consider using guided focus meditation and mindful eating meditations during this period. Have a plan. Make exercise a priority. Set time aside for it and keep your appointments for that, even if it means rescheduling them. Have a plan when you attend parties. Know what is being served, eat some beforehand so you aren’t as hungry. Enjoy being social without food as a crutch. Consider healthy activities that don’t include food.
After years of weight issues, I have finally found the formula of combining healthy food choices, regular exercise and positive behavior change to lose weight for good. Coupled with, exploring self-development, being productive and living simply, I am now maintaining a healthy lifestyle and in a good place. I enjoy writing articles to help my readers to become the best they can be!
Leave a Reply