9 Essential Tips to Make Health Progress Over the Holidays

The holidays can be a hard time for people when it comes to health and fitness. It doesn't have to be like this...

The holidays can be a hard time for people when it comes to health and fitness. Often, in fact, there’s a learned helplessness – an acceptance that “this is just how it is” – sometimes bandaged by jokes around holiday weight gain.

But it doesn’t have to be like this.

In fact, the holidays can be a great time to make health progress. In this letter (and companion video), I’m going to give you 9 Tips on how to make this happen: 4 general pieces of advice on approaching the holiday’s, 4 pieces of food advice for the big day, and 1 piece of advice for if all else fails.

This won’t be complex or revolutionary, but it may be just the thing you need to hear.

1. Identify a Positive Health Goal.

Framing your holiday season with something you want to accomplish physical can bring a positive vibe to the healthy holiday endeavor.

Rather than being restrictive, there’s something you’re trying to gain. Maybe you want to learn to do 25 push-ups in a set, or run 10 miles, or do a split, or get into cold plunging.

Choose just one key thing you want to accomplish to guide you in a positive light.

2. Create a Non-Negotiable List.

These are the things that – no matter what – you won’t give in to. For some people, this could be the Pecan Pie at Thanksgiving. For others Christmas cookies. For others, alcohol. It also doesn’t need to be cold turkey, but you can have a strict limit.

Whatever is on your list, write it down.

Writing it down constitutes a contract with yourself. And, if you want extra accountability, share the list with a friend.

3. Find an Accountability Buddy.

This is big! One of the hardest elements of staying healthy during the holidays is the social aspect. There’s so much pressure to give in and indulge. So, find a force who will pull you in the other direction. This is your buddy in the tug-of-war of holiday health.

Turning the table to give health progress a positive social halo, rather than a stigmatized endeavor, can make or break your success. And this can be an in-real-live buddy, or virtual buddy or community.

4. Prepare Your Polite No(s).

You will face moments when you are pressured to indulge. It’s usually from a place of love, and that makes it all the harder to say, “no.” So, it’s worth preparing your go-to “no thanks.” What are you going to say. Here are some ideas.

• Thanks, I’m starting my New Year’s resolution early this year 

• I’m doing a holiday fitness challenge with friends 

• - My holiday treat to myself this year is not gaining the Christmas 15 lbs [insert chuckle]

• No thanks. I’m all set 

There are many appropriate answers. But prepare something you’ll be conformable saying, and be ready. It’s a more potent and powerful shield than you realize.

Now, the advice for the big day when it comes to eating…

5. Load up on Your Protein.

This shouldn’t be a problem, and you can toss out the 1/4 of your MyPlate guideline. Load it up baby! And then, take a hot second to let it settle.

The “Protein then Pause” approach can really satiate you and diffuse the temptation to stuff yourself with stuffing.

6. Savory Sides.

Honestly, this is easier when you’re the cook in the family. If you aren’t, I suggest you learn. We have several go-to sides in my house for the holidays that are crowd pleasers that I’ll share.

• Cauliflower mash with roasted garlic

Generally, I boil the cauliflower until semi-soft and then roast it until golden brown. Along with that, I roast whole heads of garlic, which you can then squeeze out, beautifully caramelized, and blend with the cauli and ghee or clarified butter, possible with some fresh thyme too. It’s so good. Dare I say, even better than mashed potatoes,

provided you add enough ghee or butter. And for those who want the creaminess but prefer to lower the calories, a 5% Greek yogurt can be substitutes as well. Oh, and salt!

• Manchego-stuffed mushrooms

Take baby bella mushrooms, pop out the stems, and stuff them with a mix of Manchego, thyme or rosemary, and bacon. Then brush with avocado oil and salt and roast them up. They come out looking amazing – kinda’ fancy – and taste amazing!

• Keto Gravy with duck fat and porcini mushrooms, garlic, onions and bone broth.

• Crispy Brussels sprouts, possibly with a homemade Caesar dressing.

7. Desserts.

• Cheese and berry platters are always winners.

• Fat bombs / Truffles – they’re elegant and delicious.

• Keto ice creams. They’re an essential in my household on the holidays, astonishingly filling, especially when made with allulose, and my family fiends rather easy to portion. You can also prep them well in advance, which is convenient.

8. Post-meal walk.

The biohacker explanation here is that activating your muscles increases the levels of glucose, GLUT4, transporters in your muscles to help your muscles better sink glucose and stabilize your blood sugar. There’s truth to this.

But, honestly, I think planning the walk is as important. Make it a premeditated family activity. I don’t know about you, but I find when I know I need to be active, it decreases my chances that I’ll overdo it to a point of discomfort.

If all else fails…

9. Make it an Experiment.

Here’s the thing, you may fall off the wagon.

I hope you don’t, and I hope the suggestions I mad here are of some value to you. But not 100% of us are going to be 100% successful 100% of the time. That’s okay. But if “failure” does happen, don’t look at it like that – with judgement. Be curious, not critical. And approach your holidays like an experiment.

You can wear a continuous glucose monitor, or keep a journal, or otherwise measure and monitor. I’ll repeat myself:

Be curious, not critical.

Because at the end of the holiday’s, if you can walk away with valuable lessons about yourself that you can the implement in the New Year, that might be even more beneficial that the gains or losses you incurred over the holiday.