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In keeping with the spirit of my favorite time of year, I wanted to do a quick post with simple ways to maintain your goals this Holiday Season. This is the time of year where parties seem endless and the food is plentiful. If you go into this Season with a PLAN you will succeed! It is that simple.

Year after year Alex and I enjoy wonderful food, friend and Holiday cheer while maintaining our goals. I am giving you some of my favorite tips here and if you do these things and stay focused, you’ll prove to yourself that you can indulge in the festivities without sabotaging your hard earned results or well thought out goals.

Grab a pen or make a note in your phone and let’s create that plan to MAINTAIN this Season!

Notice I didn’t say ‘lose’? I mean, who wouldn’t love that right? The first step however, is to be reasonable. This is the time of year where you’re better off seeking maintenance and enjoying a ‘cleaned up’ version of the Holidays. Do not put pressure on yourself to lose weight. If it happens, GREAT! Consider it an extra gift but above all, seek to really build in and continue to develop deep rooted ‘healthy’ habits this Season.

Here are some of my very own tried and true tips! I love this time of year and have figured out some clever ways to stay focused on my goals while enjoying all of the ‘fun’ going on around me!

• Create A Plan: Think of this as your ‘bullseye’ … figure out where your biggest struggles lie and address those IN ADVANCE. When you go into the Season with a gameplan and your mind already made up, it makes the journey that much easier! What does this look like for me? I always plan out my weekly workouts and no matter what’s going on – I make sure I get them in! If I have to rearrange or tweak due to this busy time of year, I do! I don’t however, sacrifice this time for anything. Try to make a calendar each week and build in your time for exercise and healthy lifestyle habits.
• Pre-Plan Your Fav Holiday Snacks and Meals: I know that each year I will be invited to atleast 2-3 big Holiday parties and I never show up empty handed. I pre-plan some of my favorite goodies (cleaned up of course!) and bring them with. That way, I know I always have a healthier version of a cookie, brownie or pie to indulge in. Bring 2 or 3 items that you can enjoy if the other options seem less than favorable. If you do indulge, don’t beat yourself up. THIS IS NOT CREATING A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD. The key is to know that you can enjoy some things in moderation depending on what your goal is. If you’re really focused on ‘weight-loss’ and worried about falling backwards, then plan cleaned up versions of your traditional meals. Some healthier swaps for example are replacing sugar with raw local honey or stevia in your recipes. Consider bringing ‘Kombucha’ to the next party and don’t slam alcoholic drinks back to back. In between, pour yourself some gut friendly kombucha and you’ll cut your alcohol consumption in half by the end of the party. 
• Write Your Goals Out: This is a time of year where you will fail at losing or maintaining if your goals are out of site! Remind yourself WHY you want to reach your goals and how this will be the year you don’t sabotage yourself. Enjoy moderation, stay active and eat clean the other 80% of the time. My favorite thing to do each year is to create a vision board! I love having a visual of how far I’ve come and where I still want to go. As long as you’re breathing, you should be creating goals!
• Get a ‘Holiday’ Health Buddy: The buddy system always works amazing! Get someone close to you to go for walks or to hit the gym with you! If you come across a recipe, play with cleaning it up and share with your buddy and have them do the same for you! By the end of the Season, you’ll be able to high five each other for a job well done! You don’t have to ‘go it alone’.
• Drink alot of Water and Eat Clean 80% of The Time: When it comes to the Holidays, it is ok to enjoy in moderation. If you have a big gathering or Holiday party, be sure to eat clean the day of and really eliminate ‘picking’ or snacking. Drink a lot of water and be sure to stay hydrated. This alone will helot minimize the damage by applying the 80/20 rule.
• Go Easy On Yourself: There is enough stress with the Holiday Season. The biggest thing is to enjoy yourself, have fun and be merry! Do not put pressure in unnecessary places. If you’re mindful of the suggestions above and careful to plan ahead, it will take out MUCH of the stress. At the end of the Holidays you’ll look back and realize you maintained well and still were able to enjoy yourself and have FUN!

I hope these simple tips for success help you to stay ahead of the game this year. Remember, living a healthy lifestyle is about planning and balance. You can maintain your goals despite this busy time of year with a little forethought.

Enjoy this bonus Holiday core workout! 🙂 It is always good to stay on top of your fitness this time of year too. This should keep you sweating & your core strong!

Here is to enjoying a healthy Holiday season this year!

Blessings,

Alex & Ashley Poptodorov

Owners, A+A Wellness

Atlanta, GA