The Lazy Person’s Guide to Getting Back on Track After the Holidays

The festive season is about spending time with your loved ones and friends, spreading cheer, goodwill and overindulging in sumptuous food and drinks. Suffice it to say that it is the most wonderful time of the year—but probably not for your overall health.

But after all these merriments, getting back on track with healthier habits can prove to be challenging. The good news is that there are steps you can take to help you recover from your holiday indulgences and get back into a healthy routine.

Let the following steps help you get your bounce back:

Don’t Be Too Hard on Yourself:

Feeling guilty that you had a little too much to eat at last night’s party? Forgive yourself and forget it ever happened. Guilt has a way of weighing you down if you’re not careful.

The best tip for bouncing back from a relapse is to simply forget about all those excess calories and begin afresh the very next day. Make a plan, set goals and start small and get back into your everyday routine.

Eat Your Favorite Healthy Meals:

It is important to start fresh and provide your body with much-needed nutrients by eating extra healthily over the next few days after you overindulge. To help give you the motivation to eat healthily, make it a point to eat your favorite healthy foods going forward.

Avoid the leftovers from the previous day’s festivities as they may be high in carbs and focus on eating whole foods like vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and lean protein. These foods can help you reset your palate from all the overeating and most importantly, reduce your cravings for sugar and oily food.

Drink A Lot Of Water:

Drinking enough water every day is essential for healthy living. The goal is to drink about 8-10 glasses of water daily. This will help your body flush out toxins and also, energize you throughout the day. Another advantage to doing this is that it can help reduce appetite and aid in weight loss.

Exercise Regularly:

I know how difficult it can be to find the time to head to the gym during the holidays. But, incorporating regular exercise into your routine is the key to getting back on track after holiday indulgence. You might not be able to stick to your healthy diet during the holiday season, but you can at least stick to your exercise routine. Choose activities you enjoy, e.g., walking, running, swimming, or cycling so it doesn’t feel too much like a chore.

Identify Your Stressors And Manage Them:

Try to manage stress by incorporating relaxation techniques like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing exercises.

Avoid Weight Loss Pills Or Supplements:

Like fad diets, these either don’t work at all or they “work” as a placebo. Worst case scenario, they may be harmful to your health and at the end of the day, it’s not a sustainable way to keep the (holiday) weight off.

Set Achievable Weight Goals:

There’s a common temptation to shed as much weight as possible just after the holidays. Ditch that mindset and make it your goal to maintain the weight you have and not add any more. Avoid setting an impossible weight loss standard as it will only discourage you and make you lose your motivation. Once you get active again and start eating healthily, weight loss will follow suit and you’ll start to feel better.