Can you hear the Christmas carolers? Because I sure can. The holiday season is in full swing and with it comes cookies, cakes, pies and more. Food is a huge part of any holiday and Christmas/Hannukah/New Year’s/etc is no exception. It can become literally impossible to attend a social event during this time of the year without being offered delectable, irresistible yummies. So what’s a girl (or guy) supposed to do?

Well for starters, you can read my tried and true strategies for staying on track during the holidays which offer solutions to dilemmas faced by everyone. I promise you’ll instantly feel 1,000 times better about the holiday season after reading my solutions.

Strategies for Staying on Track During the Holidays

Dilemma #1: You spot your favorite food at a holiday party and OMG you need it in your belly now. 🙄

Solution: Ok. Firstly, ask yourself if you’ve had this delicious, favorite food recently. If you had it yesterday, then you should probably hold off from eating it again so soon afterwards. However, if it’s been a while since you’ve eaten it, and if it genuinely is a food you love and adore, go ahead and have some! Balance is key and I’m a firm believer that deprivation will drive you crazy and ultimately lead you on a binging frenzy. Not good for staying on track! So be kind to yourself; take a small serving of your favorite food, eat it SLOWLY and savor every bite of it. Try and resist the urge to get a second (or third or fourth) serving.

Dilemma #2: It’s really cold outside and hell no am I driving to the gym/pilates/meeting my friend for a run. 🙄

Solution: I feel you! Utah gets extremely cold during the winter and while our friends in California and Miami may not face this issue, the rest of the country does. Do you have a garage or some sort of covered parking? While it will still be cold, at least you can run to your car and drive to your workout, instead of scraping ice and snow off of your car and feeling your motivation fall steeply. This personally works for me.

If you do not have a garage, another strategy to consider is to workout at home. Staying on track is easier than ever in our modern, digital age with endless options. There are workout guides that require little to no weights available, free Youtube videos and inexpensive streaming options that mean you can stay home, be warm and still get your workout in. Check these out and see if any of these work for you:

• FBG (Fit Body Guides)–use the code ‘honestlyfitness’ at checkout for a 10% discount
• Blogilates–free workout videos that target every inch of your body. This is my fave video of all time haha.
• Grokker–Grokker offers a variety of different workout videos, including yoga, and yummy recipes too! Here’s a review for you to read if you’re on the fence and a cheeky 2-week free trial.

Dilemma #3: Your schedule is really inconsistent and it’s hard to eat healthy and stay on track because you’re traveling, staying with family, and eating out all. the. time. 🙄

Solution: This is a really annoying yet very real dilemma. Let’s split this solution up and address sticking to your workouts and then discuss how to stay on track from a food perspective.

Personally, I need to workout first thing in the morning regardless or else I won’t do it. This fact is truer than ever during the holidays. And I know it’s super hard to workout in the mornings and ESPECIALLY when it’s cold but do what you have to. Sign up for a week’s worth of classes you’ve been dying to try, get personal training in the mornings just for a short while, buy that new workout guide you were eyeing up. Do anything you can to motivate yourself to get up and just go. And if you’re traveling, and don’t have a workout studio or gym anywhere near you, find a bodyweight Youtube workout (see above) and crank that out in the morning.

When it comes to food, this is certainly harder in my opinion. If you can, I’d recommend trying to eat breakfast at home as often as possible so at least that meal is controlled even if lunch or dinner isn’t. If you’re being dragged to restaurants left and right, my strategy is to either a) get a salad with dressing on the side or b) just eat half of your meal and take the rest home or share an entree with your meal buddy. The holidays make it much harder to be able to do your usual meal prep etc but don’t beat yourself up. You can always go to Trader Joe’s and grab a salad or fresh spring rolls if need be.

Dilemma #4: Why the hell is everyone and their mother bringing cookies, cakes and chocolates to work and more importantly GIFTING ME all these unhealthy, tasty treats. 🙄

Solution: The solution to this is, unfortunately, good old fashioned willpower. There may be all of these delicious yummies at work but that does not mean that you have to eat it. Do what you can to avoid coming face to face with these treats–walk to your desk via a different route, make sure your hands are full when walking past them or just don’t go near them (if possible). Also, realize that if you eat just one chocolate, cookie, etc, that is absolutely 100% ok. Just make sure to keep it to one 🙂

When it comes to being gifted with all manner of delectable delights, try this out: simply thank the person and then put away the edible gift in your bag. Yup, staying on track is as easy as that! I do this all the time (admittedly after a bite of the treat) and then forget about it all day and offer it to my husband at home (replace the word “husband” with friend, roomie or family member).

Dilemma #5: Help! The cold weather has made me terribly sick and thrown off my workout schedule and I’m so de-motivated.

Solution: Yikes–getting sick is the worst. The rest time from your workouts is necessary but it can be hard to “bounce back” once your illness has subsided. I totally get it. I’ve definitely fallen prey to this and it’s genuinely hard to care after you’ve had a weird, unusual week. 

I’d recommend doing your favorite workout just for a couple days after you’ve been sick and are suffering from a severe bout of “I don’t care.” Love megaformer but don’t go often because it’s expensive? Now’s the time to splurge on a pack of 5 classes or a drop in. Have a particular style of workout (such as weight lifting) you loved doing but haven’t done for a while? Do that for a week and then return to what you were doing previously. Remember why you started working out and do what you really enjoy to get you excited and re-motivated again.

I’m hopeful that these cover the majority of typical holiday dilemmas that throw you off track. Please comment below if you have another unique dilemma and I’ll try and help you figure out a solution. If you LIKED this post and it helped you immensely, I’d truly appreciate if you shared this article on your social media network of choice 🙂

Happy Holidays!

Alice xxx

P.S. Thanks to all of my friends who shared their biggest holiday food and diet setbacks! You were instrumental in helping me craft up the most useful post possible.

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