Mastering Your Holiday Fitness and Nutrition - Tip #3

How to stick to the plan during the crazy season.

Part 3

If you missed Part 1 you can read it here!

End of the year celebrations, travel, visiting family and friends, awesome family meals...all of this can be stressful and make you feel like the hard work you put into your health and fitness the rest of the year will be sabotaged.

You'll think it's going to be impossible to maintain your workouts, impossible to avoid gaining weight, and end up going into the New Year guilting yourself into killing yourself in the gym three hours a day, eating kale chips, and drinking smoothies.

We all know how long that kind of "all or nothing" extremism lasts - maybe a couple weeks? A month?

That's why I wanted to put together this series of tips to help you make it through the end of the year craziness with your hard work, and hopefully, your sanity intact.

These are some of the same tips and strategies we use with Size Healthy Coaching clients to help them prioritize their health and fitness no matter what time of year, or what life puts in their way.

If you've never travelled during the end of year holidays, consider yourself lucky...or smart!

Stuck in the airport for hours. Long bus layovers in seedy neighborhoods. Long drives in bad weather with less than ideal eating options.

Even if you're not travelling you have your kids' holiday recitals, Christmas sports tournaments, and seemingly endless trips between the mall and the grocery store.

All of this can make it seem impossible to sit down and enjoy a meal with some vegetables and lean protein in it.

Difficult yes, but not impossible!

All you need are a few easy to follow strategies and a little planning to make it through this challenging time of year.

Here are a few tips to help you eat healthy on the go, and do the best when it comes to eating healthy with whatever life throws at you.

We've used these tips and strategies ourselves, and given them to our Size Healthy Coaching clients so that they can have fun while making the most out of their holidays AND their healthy and fitness journey. Now we want to give them to everyone.

Tip #3 - Healthy eating on the go.

Eat a healthy meal at home before you go. If you know you're going to be out shopping for several hours, or on the road for awhile don't leave hungry - eat something healthy before you set out.
Pack some healthy snacks. For those times you know you'll be away for a long time pack some healthy snacks to stave off those hunger cues long enough to keep you away from the bad stuff.
Pack a cooler. If you're going to be on a long road trip make sure to pack a cooler and put it in the car with you. With our kids playing travel sports all year long, we have mastered this.
Make good use of your carry on luggage. If you're flying or busing it, pack some healthy foods and snacks inside your carry on luggage (make sure they are airport security friendly).
Staying in a hotel? Look for a room with a mini-kitchen, then head to the grocery store to stock up with healthy foods. You'll save money and your waistline!
Aim for good, not perfect. There will be times you'll find yourself eating at place you know are not healthy and that's ok...just pick what looks the healthiest offering on the menu.
Hunger does not constitute an emergency. If you don't like your food options at any given time and you really want to stick to the plan just wait. Trust me, no healthy person has ever died from skipping a few hours between meals.
Stick to the basics. Even when eating foods you feel you shouldn't, don't feel guilty. Just fall back on good habits like eating slowly and eating to 80% full.

Remember that no one ever got fat from eating one cheeseburger...and no one ever lost weight by eating one salad.

The holidays are all about celebrating, having fun, and spending time with friends and family.

Of course we want to do the holidays while staying as healthy as possible, but just remember that it's ok not to be perfect!

Want help becoming the best version of you in 2018? To finally say goodbye to dieting forever?

We all know that getting exercise, eating sensibly, getting enough rest, and finding ways to manage stress are essential to feeling and looking your best, but we all need help at times when it comes to actually putting it all together in our busy lives.

That's why we work hard to help Size Healthy Coaching clients improve their health, get the body they want, and live their lives better than ever - no matter what's going on in their lives.