This morning I popped my earphones in, stretched a cranky calf muscle, and eased into my long run for the week. Playing away in my ears was a mix of Christmas classics (who doesn’t love ‘All I Want for Christmas?’) and I was feeling the spirit of the holidays with every mile that passed.
This evening I will be putting my feet up, doing some Christmas sweet making with my sister, and cuddling a cup of spiced hot chocolate while we watch ‘The Muppets Christmas Carol’ together for the thousandth time.
My focus over the holidays is finding a healthy balance between nourishing my body with exercise, and nourishing my soul with seasonal treats.
Finding a healthy balance between exercise and healthy eating is important the whole year round, but at this time of year it can be a challenge.
My top tips for having a happy, healthy holiday are:
- Schedule some time for yourself to be active and commit to it. This is a great way to relax and deal with the stress of the season.
- Keep plenty of fresh, seasonal fruit on hand so that you have healthy snacks to reach for to balance out the Christmas cookies.
- Let yourself indulge a little. Pick your favourite Christmas treat, serve yourself a small amount, and allow yourself to enjoy it. Be present while you are eating and savour the spirit of the season.
- Make physical activity festive. Are there Christmas lights in your neighbourhood? Put your walking shoes on and take the kids for a look around after dinner (bonus: sleepy kids!).
- Find an exercise partner. My sister and I are planning on taking a walk early on Christmas morning so that we can have some time together before we go off to our respective partner’s family Christmas celebrations.
- Choose a fun run that takes place in the New Year and train for it over Christmas (this is my trick: Cadbury Half Marathon 2014 here I come!)
This year Paul’s Warehouse has given me a $30 discount voucher to give to one Thoroughly Nourished Life reader to help them find their healthy balance over the holiday season.
Paul’s sell a wide range of running shoes and clothing, and their prices are pretty competitive too – I know where I will be stocking up on my running gear for 2014!
To enter, all you need to do is tell me (in the comment section below) how you find a healthy balance in the holiday season. I’m open to any tips! How do you stay active? How do you keep your kids active? How do you balance out the sweet treats and the healthy eats?
The competition will close on the 30th of December so that one lucky reader will be able to reward and motivate themselves with some active gear to keep them running into 2014.
Thoroughly Nourished Life 