7 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays Without Blowing Your Fitness Goals

Enjoy yourself without dreading the aftermath this holiday season.

Fast-forward a few weeks — it’s January 1, and you’re lying on the couch, surrounded by empty wine bottles and cookie tins, feeling bloated, defeated and angry with yourself for completely ditching your health and fitness priorities for a holiday-induced bender that destroyed all the hard work you did in the gym and in the kitchen the last few months.

Oh yes, your day of reckoning is fast approaching. The moment when you’ll have to pay for all those heavy meals, late nights and Netflix binges is just a few short weeks away.

“I want my clients to enjoy the holidays, to spend quality time with their families, to enjoy some delicious foods, and to get a break from their normal grind,” says Jonathan Jordan, a NASM-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach in San Francisco. “However, in my experience, once Santa’s sleigh takes off, we’re left feeling gross and frustrated and wondering why we went all Tasmanian devil at the dessert buffet and all Keith Richards at the open bar.”  

Instead of engaging in the same pattern of self-destructive behavior that tends to happen when you relax the reins a bit, why not do seven specific things differently this year? If you go into this holiday season with a resolution for moderation, some thoughtful planning and realistic expectations, you’ll be able to enjoy yourself without dreading the aftermath.