It\u2019s late October and you\u2019re heading into the holiday season with feelings of dread rather than cheer. You may have been pretty good about eating healthily and working out regularly, but you know that November and December are different. You\u2019ll be busy with holiday parties which means eating more. To make matters worse, it\u2019ll be cold and dark when you usually work out, so it\u2019s much harder to get out and exercise. You\u2019re afraid that your efforts to stay fit all year will go for naught. When January 1 comes, you\u2019ll feel like a total blob and be wracked with guilt for allowing yourself to once again fall into the \u201choliday health blues.\u201d You also know that you\u2019ll be making lame New Year\u2019s resolutions and starting from scratch trying regain your healthy lifestyle.<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t despair! This gloomy scenario doesn\u2019t have to happen this year\u2014or ever again. There are steps you can take to avoid this yearly winter trap and enter the new year having enjoyed the holiday season and still remain in fine shape.<\/p>\n
Choose Fun Fitness<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s easy to stay fit during most of the year; it\u2019s sunny, warm, and with long days. You can be outside and enjoy the mountains, beaches, or other natural beauty. Life changes during the winter though. It\u2019s dark when you get up in the morning and it\u2019s dark when you get home at the end of the day. It\u2019s also cold which means you either have to bundle up for outdoor exercise or schlep to the gym from an indoor workout. To make matters worse, the people who you usually work out with may also fall into the winter blahs, so you have no extra incentive to get out there.<\/p>\n Perhaps the biggest problem with winter exercise is that it can be a chore rather than a joy. Without the inherent motivators present to get you to exercise, you have to create your own. The best motivator is to find activities that you enjoy. Weightlifting in a crowded gym or running on slushy sidewalks probably doesn\u2019t bring you joy, so find something that does. Take up cross-country skiing, join an indoor volleyball league, learn to play tennis, squash, or racquetball, take dance lessons or aerobics classes, or join a yoga class. There are many activities that aren\u2019t considered typical exercise, but that offer great cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility benefits and, more importantly, they\u2019re fun!<\/p>\n Find a Training Buddy<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s 6 am, dark, and cold outside. Your alarm just went off. The night before, you told yourself that you were going to wake up early and run, but your cozy bed in your warm house won\u2019t allow you to get up. So you hit the snooze button and go back to sleep. Or you get home from work or school at the end of the day and you\u2019re tired and hungry. You just can\u2019t get yourself to change and go for a workout.<\/p>\n It\u2019s tough to go it alone, especially when the elements are against you. You need a really good reason to get yourself to exercise and one of the best reasons is other people. Find a training partner to work out with. For many people, the social aspects of exercise are very motivating. Being around other motivated people, having good conversation, and, at the very least, commiserating about how cold and dark it is, can make winter exercise not only tolerable, but often enjoyable.<\/p>\n The commitment you make to a training buddy can also motivate you to get out of bed or off your sofa. When you agree to train with someone, you\u2019re establishing an informal contract that brings with it responsibilities. When you schedule a workout with your training partner, you\u2019re creating an obligation to be there. When you don\u2019t show up for a planned workout, you\u2019re letting your partner down and violating your agreement. You\u2019re no longer just hurting yourself when you don\u2019t exercise, you\u2019re also hurting your training buddy.<\/p>\n Set a Goal<\/strong><\/p>\n Another great motivator is to have a goal that you want to achieve. You need a darned good reason to work out during the winter and \u201cgeneral health and fitness\u201d is perhaps too nebulous to get you going. But a specific goal may offer you the push that you need. Goals can include gains in strength, weight loss, learning a new sport, improving at an old sport, or preparation for an upcoming competitive event, such as a running race or triathlon. Whatever goals you set, be sure they\u2019re specific and measurable, attainable with effort, and you can chart your progress.<\/p>\n The Hardest Part is Thinking About Exercise<\/strong><\/p>\n The hardest part about working out is not starting, doing, or finishing the exercise, but rather just thinking about it. Exercise seems more difficult and unpleasant before you begin your workouts. You think about the sweat, fatigue, and pain. But once you begin, it\u2019s rarely that bad. In fact, you\u2019ll probably enjoy being active and vigorous. The really good feelings come at the end. When you finish your work out, you usually feel great; energized and affirmed for the effort you expended.<\/p>\n Schedule Your Workouts<\/strong><\/p>\n Don\u2019t expect to stay committed to an exercise program if you try to fit it in around the rest of your life. You\u2019ll be too busy, too tired, or too stressed, and you\u2019ll always find an excuse not to work out. Rather than fitting exercise into your life, make it a part of your life by scheduling your workouts. By setting aside time throughout your week to exercise, you ensure that there won\u2019t be time conflicts and you\u2019ll develop the mindset that working out is just another part of your day, like eating and bathing.<\/p>\n In scheduling your winter-exercise program, don\u2019t bite off more than you can chew by creating a workout plan that\u2019s too much for you. A program that requires too much time doing activities that aren\u2019t enjoyable will make it easy for you not to exercise. Be realistic about what you can and won\u2019t do as part of your training program. It\u2019s better to do less consistently, than try to do more sporadically or not at all.<\/p>\n Your exercise program should also be convenient. If your gym is a 30-minute drive from home, you\u2019re probably not going to motivate yourself to go when it\u2019s dark and cold. Make working out easy by doing activities that are readily accessible. For example, schedule your workouts on the way to and from somewhere, so it\u2019s easy to stop by and have a workout. And, no matter what happens, go directly to a workout at the end of the day. If you stop at home, you will probably stay at home.<\/p>\n Commit to Moderation<\/strong><\/p>\n What makes the holiday period so difficult is that socializing and eating are done in excess and exercise is often jettisoned completely. You can enjoy the holidays and still maintain your fitness and not gain much weight if you make a commitment to moderation in your holiday activities. Moderation means either cutting back on your holiday parties so you aren\u2019t too tired to exercise the next day or leaving at a reasonable hour so you can get a good night\u2019s sleep. It also means demonstrating some restraint when faced with open bars, plates of hors d\u2019oeuvres, buffets, and dessert tables. Don\u2019t fall into the more-is-better mentality when it comes to food and drink. You don\u2019t need to try everything (or, at the very least, try smaller amounts of everything). Moderation allows you to enjoy your holidays, but relieves you of the guilt and regret you feel the morning after having eaten to excess.<\/p>\n Accept Little Failures<\/strong><\/p>\n One of the biggest deterrents to staying committed to an exercise program is falling off the wagon and not getting right back on. When you decide to sleep in rather than getting up to work out, you feel like such a failure and figure that there\u2019s no point in exercising at all if you keep giving up. But one slip doesn\u2019t make you a failure.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t have to be perfect to stay in good shape, just consistent. Accept that you\u2019ll miss some workouts for any number of reasons and that doesn\u2019t make you weak or a bad person, it just makes you human. When you skip a workout, cut yourself some slack, tell yourself that it\u2019s okay, and recommit to working out tomorrow.<\/p>\n When it comes to your diet, don\u2019t beat yourself up if you do indulge yourself and overeat a bit. It\u2019s not the end of the world. Just be sure to get back on the wagon at your next party and show some restraint. You will always feel better after the fact having done a little less than a little more.<\/p>\n Exercise Before and After You Indulge<\/strong><\/p>\n Perhaps the best strategy for the holidays is to commit to exercise before and after you indulge. By exercising before holiday events, you\u2019ll have earned the right to enjoy yourself. You can eat guilt-free because you\u2019ve already burned off the calories. Knowing that you\u2019ll exercise the next day ensures that you\u2019ll work off your indulgences of the previous evening and relieves you of any guilt you may feel. By working out before and after your holiday events you balance the scales and the whole thing is a wash.<\/p>\n Live a Little<\/strong><\/p>\n Finally, live a little. The holidays are meant to be enjoyed. As the holiday season approaches, make peace with eating a bit more and exercising a bit less than usual. If you remain committed to consistent exercise and food in moderation, you won\u2019t lose much fitness or gain much weight. Not only will the holidays not hurt you physically or reek emotional havoc on you, but they will actually bring you cheer.<\/p>\n Sidebar: Singing the Winter Blues?<\/strong><\/p>\n Feeling the winter blues is as common as seeing snow in the mountains in December. Many people experience the winter blues as the clock changes in October and the days become shorter, darker, and colder. The winter blues, in its extreme form, even has a psychiatric designation: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). SAD affect about 500,000 people each year of which 70% to 80% are women. The syndrome can be debilitating, but most often it is mild and simply uncomfortable. Typical symptoms include sleepiness, lethargy, irritability, weight gain, feelings of melancholy, and cravings for sugary and starchy foods (comfort food). Not surprisingly, the winter blues are more common in the northern latitudes.<\/p>\n Here are a few things you can easily do if you have the winter blues:<\/p>\n If the symptoms persist or they significantly affect your daily functioning, seek out professional help for treatment. Thankfully, the winter blues fade away with the early signs of spring and don\u2019t return until the next winter. To learn more about the winter blues and SAD, visit sada.org.uk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s late October and you\u2019re heading into the holiday season with feelings of dread rather than cheer. You may have been pretty good about eating healthily and working out regularly, but you know that November and December are different. You\u2019ll be busy with holiday parties which means eating more. To make matters worse, it\u2019ll be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1517],"tags":[1057,149,1054,1055,186,766,60,155,61],"class_list":["post-6571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports","tag-athlete","tag-mental","tag-mental-edge","tag-mental-strength","tag-performance","tag-prime-performance","tag-psychology-2","tag-sport-psychology","tag-sports-2"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6571\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drjimtaylor.com\/4.0\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n