by Patrick Reynolds

Every culture from every part of the world develops a tradition of holidays and feasting. It seems to be a universal instinct for humans — sometimes you just need a break from routine, a time to slow down, spend time with loved ones, eat heartily, and reflect on the passage of time. These special times go by different names, (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Diwali, Lunar New Year, Eid al-Fitr, Passover, Oktoberfest, etc…) but at heart they’re all the same; a time to share delicious food and be together.

At Kenzai , we would never tell a fitness client to skip a special holiday in order to adhere perfectly to their training plan. Not only would doing that lead to frustration and burnout, at a basic level it denies a person's humanity. What point is there in being the leanest, most chiseled person in the world if you're missing out on all the other wonderful parts of being human?

However, what we often see is that holidays kickoff a long period of poor eating and exercise patterns. Because holidays, by definition, break up your normal routine, they can become a pivot point in which your good habits fall by the wayside and new unhelpful habits fill in the space they leave. This leaves you in a post holiday daze, picking up the pieces and having to work hard to regain a lot of lost ground.

Below are 10 of the most practical tips we have for getting through a holiday period while maintaining the integrity of your fitness goals. As a human, you NEED holidays, but with some simple tweaks your holiday doesn't need to derail your fitness efforts!

1. Drink water.

When you're running around during a busy holiday season, it's easy to forget to stay hydrated. Not only will being hydrated make you feel better and think more clearly, it keeps your stomach full and reduces snacking. So often people think they're peckish, when what they really are is thirsty. Keep water handy during the holidays and you'll end up eating less without even trying.

2. Holiday shopping should include healthy shopping.

During a holiday, it's normal to get tunnel vision and buy a bunch of celebratory seasonal foods and forget the fresh fruit and vegetables that are your nutritional daily drivers. By all means enjoy your holiday feast, but keep in mind you need to eat something in the days before and after too, and those foods better be healthy to offset all the treats!

3. A holiday isn't a time to skip exercise; it's a chance to relish having time TO exercise.

Most people leading busy lives have to squeeze in their exercise time where they can. A holiday period with days off of work gives you the JOY of having time to get in a good workout or cardio session. It's wonderful to be able to take an hour and exercise knowing that many more free hours are available during this special time of year. Make the most of the time while you have it.

4. Exercise early.

Most holiday partying and feasting happens in the latter half of the day and into the night. If you can get your daily movement done before lunch you stand a much better chance of getting it done at all. Best of all, the rest of the festive day will feel zestier and more joyous with a morning exercise session in the bag.

5. Don't discount the power of a good walk as your holiday exercise choice.

Because you have some extra time, you can enjoy the more leisurely pace of a long walk. Remember that walking a kilometer burns just as many calories as running a kilometer! The only thing that changes is the time needed. The wonderful thing is that you can include friends, family, and younger kids on your outing. Inviting the group to do burpees or run a 10k with you won't get many takers. But everyone likes a pleasant holiday stroll where you can let your food digest, chat, and catch up with each other.

6. A single portion of special holiday food gets the nostalgia job done.

One of the best part of holidays is enjoying those foods that you only eat during that special time of year. But your enjoyment of the holiday won't be any greater having 3, 4 or 5 servings of that food than just the 1. The first few bites of a food are where 90% of the pleasure comes from. You can stop after that first serving and not feel like you've been deprived of the nostalgic flavors that are part of the holiday experience.

7. Prepare to send leftovers home with others.

If the holiday involves a lot of scrumptious, rich food eaten at home, think ahead and prepare some take-out containers that you can give your guests as they leave. This spreads the caloric load evenly amongst your friends and family, and makes it much less likely that you'll overeat in the next few days as you soldier your way through a stack of leftovers.

8. It's ok to throw food away.

Many people have a tough time throwing food away, and this gets even harder when it's a holiday food that has sentimental value. Throwing food away isn't something you should seek to do, but if that food isn't furthering your health goals, then the wastebin is the best place for it. Think of it like this; when you eat leftover meals and desserts that you didn't really want, you're creating waste in another way — your wasting all the time and energy you'll need to burn through those excess calories in the future, or paying the price by carrying more mass than you need. If the food is only tempting you to overeat, then let it go, even if it's your aunt's special recipe. It's ok.

9. Choose your number of alcoholic drinks before you enter a party situation.

Alcohol flows freely during the holidays. Booze is tricky because as the drinks add up, people's choices get worse, including the choice to drink more. Not only are you getting signifigant caloric load from the alcohol itself, you also tend to make much poorer food choices when tipsy. When these two dynamics start playing off each other you can easily have a multi-thousand calorie night out. A simple and effective strategy to avoid this isn't to try and cut out alcohol altogether, but to simply decide before the festivities start how much you're going to drink. Saying, "I'll have three glasses of wine then switch to sparkling water," is a concrete plan with much higher odds of success than a vague, "I'll try not to drink too much." Setting a number lets you enjoy the event within guardrails that respect your wellness goals. This tip sounds ridiculously simple and obvious, but it works!

10. Create a holiday challenge for yourself.

Yes, holidays are a break in routine that can throw you off your game. But you can flip that logic on its head, and think of holidays as a self-contained window of time where you can do a mini challenge for your health. For example, if you have two easy weeks at the end of the year, you could challenge yourself to not miss a day of exercise, close all your fitness tracker rings, or do 100 push-ups a day during that time. The brain is bad at endless, open-ended challenges. It's really good at specific, time-boxed challenges with end-dates. Leverage a holiday period to get results and you'll feel a burst of confidence that carries over into the rest of the year!

Put these strategies to use, and you can make your holiday a time of both indulgence and intention. You'll get those must-have human moments of connection and tradition, but not end up deep in a hole with a pile of bad habits you have to claw your way out of. Cheers to that!

Navigating the Holidaze