The Holiday Season can be a period of the highest highs and the lowest lows.
If you are like most people, you are excited to see family, eat amazing meals, exchange gifts, and decorate the house. But you may also feel exhausted by cleaning, cooking, spending money(!), and juggling everyone’s competing needs.
The Holidays bring up a lot of emotions, including the concern of falling off the wagon of making healthy choices, including eating well, exercising regularly, and getting enough rest.
The Paseo Club is a social club in the Santa Clarita Valley that has supported members in health for over twenty years. We offer eight acres of court, fitness, swim facilities, and dining, relaxing, and socializing areas.
While we cannot help you with your Christmas shopping bills, we can provide some easy and accessible steps to stay healthy and accountable to yourself during this busy season.
What are the 7 Steps to staying healthy and accountable during the holidays?
When you try to create healthy habits, you must make them simple enough that they are attainable. Below are seven steps you can achieve that do not require any complicated changes to your current lifestyle.
1. Eat balanced (or as balanced as you can)
People experience a lot of temptation during the holidays. Mounds of delicious sweet and savory foods come out in full force — seemingly at every corner you turn.
It does take some willpower to eat a well-rounded diet in modest proportions. Here are steps to help you have more success.
- Keep healthy foods in the fridge and pantry.
- Add protein and veggies to your meals to keep your energy levels consistent.
- Bring healthy dishes to potlucks so you know you have at least one great choice.
- Select one or two small treats at parties so you can enjoy something special but not overdo it.
- Eat at regular intervals so you do not find yourself starving at mealtime, which often leads to impulsive decision-making.
2. Schedule Exercise
You probably have a good workout plan during most of the year. You’ve got the days, times, and classes scheduled, and you’ve got it inked into your calendar. However, there is nothing like the holidays to throw a wrench into your weekly exercise routine.
Instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater, create a realistic but consistent workout plan.
- Do early morning workouts before the day gets started
- Take advantage of family visits and schedule group walks or hikes
- Attend a small group class or personal training session where accountability is high
- Collaborate with a friend to meet for tennis games, jogs, gym time, etc., so you can help each other stay motivated
3. Modesty in drinking
A little Wassail or a hot toddy is a delight during the cooler winter months. However, too much alcohol can harm your energy levels, athletic performance, and immune function. Drinking can also add extra calories and slow the metabolism.
View alcoholic beverages as treats — similar to cookies, candy, and chips. If it is not an automatic addition to dinner, you can weigh out when having a drink or two is a special indulgence and when it is time to stick with a glass of water to accompany your supper.
4. Get sleep (Including power naps)
Whether you are staying up late at a party, wrapping gifts after the kids go to sleep, or sweeping the endless crumbs from cookie making, we all tend to lose sleep during the holidays.
Sleep is an integral part of staying healthy, eating well, having the energy to exercise, and keeping your immune system functioning optimally.
Try to create a designated bedtime for yourself that you will commit to. Budget a little time to wind down before bed so you can transition easily into deep rest — no screens, low light, hot shower, stretching, and snuggling with your spouse are all helpful strategies.
If you lose sleep the night before, try to lie down for 20 minutes at lunch or in the afternoon. Nap if you can, but even closing your eyes and resting is deeply restorative.
5. Manage stress
Stress can be the hardest factor to overcome. Elevated stress levels can lead to reduced sleep, higher sugar and alcohol intake, less energy, and apathy toward exercising. Yet, without exercise, we don’t get those all-important endorphin boosts — which lowers stress levels.
Feeling overcome by stress and compensating for those feelings with unhealthy choices is a slippery slope we have all been on. The best way to avoid that negative trajectory is to boost your self-care regimen.
- Meditate
- Take time in nature
- Balance social and alone time
- Treat yourself to a massage, facial, or a manicure
- Do your best to eat well, drink modestly, and get good sleep
- Exercise — even if it is only 15 minutes a day to walk the dog
6. Treat yourself (to things other than food or booze)
The holidays are a celebratory time, and just because you want to be healthy does not mean you have to live like a monk. Discover how you (and family and friends) can pamper you and not compromise your health.
- Date night
- Spa treatment
- Private classes
- Club membership
- Girls/Boys night out
- Tickets to a film, concert, or dancing
7. Forgive and move on
It is easy to create high expectations of ourselves. You want to be great as a colleague, as a parent, as a spouse, and as a friend. On top of it, you want to make the right decisions for your health and wellness.
In the day and age of social media, we are bombarded with images of people who seem to have it all. Exposure to these mythically perfect people can create more unwarranted pressure.
Although it may be difficult, relaxing your standards and forgiving yourself when you stray from your goals is one of the healthiest steps you can take. Self-forgiveness is proven to help you have better mental health (less anxiety, anger, and depression) and physical health (better sleep and less fatigue).
Staying happy and healthy at the Paseo Club
The Paseo Club is your place to find community, workout partners, and long-term friends. Join us in the gym, in the pool, on the courts, or in class. There are dozens of ways for you to stay active and have fun at the club.
After an energizing workout, stay and relax for a while. Enjoy a bite to eat at the cafe, a treatment from the spa, or join in one of our many social or charitable events. We have a seasonal calendar that keeps you up-to-date on all the activities available to you.
Would you like to become a member of the Paseo Club? You can join the club in just a few minutes with our online purchase platform. Membership instantly grants you access to all eight acres of our facilities. Start living your best life at the Paseo Club.
