The holidays are right around the corner! For a lot of people that means FOOD! I’m all about enjoying yourself and living life but I also know how I feel after I over-indulge, and its NEVER a good feeling. My family makes an insane amount of food for the holidays and we eat ALL day for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Seriously, all day.

While I’d love to tell you it’s always been super healthy and I’ve never turned into a complete glutton…that for sure would not be true. I used to throw down come holiday time. I mean THROW. DOWN. I prided myself on the amount of food I could eat. Horrible, I know. It was pretty much a twice a year all out binge. Which is HORRIBLE for your body. And of course, I never felt good afterwards. I felt miserably stuffed and insanely lethargic. For. The. Rest. Of. The. Day. No energy. No motivation. Sick to my stomach. And still continuing to eat for some unknown reason. I mean if the food’s still in front of me, I wanna keep eating it–even if I’m not even hungry! Can anyone else relate? Is it really worth it? I definitely don’t think so! There’s a way to enjoy yourself, have treats, enjoy the foods you want and NOT totally overindulge. It’s all about balance and conscious eating. 

Here are my top tips to tackle the holidays and feel super AWESOME!

1. Find a happy balance. Moderation is key here–Don’t restrict yourself! It’ll just lead to stronger cravings and a grumpy you. You can enjoy yourself and still stick to your goals. One cookie isn’t going to make or break you. Enjoy the holidays, have a drink, have those sweets, but just keep it in moderation and be sure to keep up your exercise to keep feeling good. 
2. Find a workout buddy. Get a workout buddy and schedule your workout with that person in advance. This will help to keep you both accountable to the workout since you’ll both be counting on the other to show. Just make sure your workout buddy is as serious as you are and will hold you accountable as much as you’ll hold them accountable.
3. Get out & get moving. If you don’t have much time to spare, just get out and get moving. Take a walk & just get the blood pumping or do a quick bodyweight workout (Looking for some quick bodyweight workouts? I have a week’s worth of free workouts you can download here) 
4. Watch those portions. Watch your portion sizes and be start small. When there’s so much food around it’s easy for your eyes to be bigger than your stomach. So start off with smaller portions and you can always go back for more if it wasn’t enough. The goal is to enjoy yourself and still feel great after!
5. Slow down & then chill for a sec. Eat slowly and really enjoy the meal! Then once you’re finished take a post-meal pause before you go and get seconds. This way your brain has enough time to register how full you actually are before you shovel down more food. Take a minute to figure out if you’re even still hungry to help avoid that miserably full, horrible, awful, stuffed feeling.
6. Drink lots of water. You’ll most likely be taking in a lot more sodium than normal during your holiday feast. Drinking some extra water will help keep you hydrated and feeling good.  
7. Make sure to get your zzz’s. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep! Sleep will help keep you feeling good and can help so that you don’t overindulge. Your brain & body will be well-rested and ready to take on the holiday season!
8. Try to keep your stress levels as low as possible. I know, I know–holidays can be crazy & sometimes it’s hard to keep stress low, but just remember the havoc it wreaks on your body & mind. Long periods of stress cause the body to release a hormone called cortisol. Cortisol increases your appetite which could cause you to eat more than you intend. Not to mention, feeling stressed sucks. If you start feeling overwhelmed with stress, try meditating, exercising, getting outside or just something to get your mind off of the stressful situation. Take a deep breath and be conscious of your thoughts. 
9. Set a post-holiday goal that you can work towards. Set a goal now that you will reach over the holidays. This will help keep you accountable and you will have it in the back of your mind when you’re making decisions during the holiday season. Get really clear on the goal and set a date for when you will reach it by.
10. Opt for healthy options when you can. Don’t skip out on that veggie platter! If there are healthy options, take advantage of the opportunity to get those nutrients in! But if you’re heading out for a party or event and you’re not sure that there will be any healthy option, make a healthy snack at the house before you take off. This way you get in some solid protein and veggies beforehand, so if wherever you’re going doesn’t have any healthy options, at least you started the day off right and got in some solid nutrients. Plus you won’t be absolutely starving when you get there, which usually leads to overindulgence. Double whammy win! 😀  

These are my top tips for surviving the holidays and feeling great! Do you have any other tips that you use to stay feeling great over the holidays? I’d love to hear them! Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time,

Ashley