The holidays are upon us—and the best time to prepare for the unhealthiest time of the year is NOW. Think about what happens between Halloween and Valentine’s Day.
Halloween candy turns into Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving rolls straight into holiday parties, Christmas cookies, cocktails and travel. Then comes New Year’s Eve, followed by Super Bowl parties and, finally, Valentine’s Day.
That’s nearly four months of disrupted schedules, nearly four months of disrupted schedules, extra food, more sugar, more alcohol, less sleep and plenty of reasons to say, “I’ll get back on track Monday.”
Instead of waiting until January to undo the damage, what if you entered the holiday season already stronger, healthier and armed with habits you don’t want to give up?
Here are four things you can do right now.
1. Join a gym and establish your routine
Don’t wait until January. Create the routine now. Decide which days and times you’re going to train and make those appointments with yourself non-negotiable. When November and December get busy, you’re not trying to start a fitness routine—you’re protecting one you already have.
2. Hire a personal trainer
If your schedule makes consistency difficult, hire someone who can work with the hours you actually have available – and many offer remote training in addition to in person! A great trainer doesn’t just give you exercises. They provide programming, coaching, accountability and one very important reason to show up: someone is waiting for you.
3. Join a small-group program
Community can be one of the most powerful tools for consistency. A small group instantly gives you people who notice when you’re there, notice when you’re missing, celebrate your progress and encourage you through the hard days. Motivation comes and goes. Accountability and community keep you moving.
4. Get your nutrition—and your health—on track
Don’t wait until January 1 to start paying attention to what’s happening inside your body. This is a great time to establish a sound nutrition plan, address existing health concerns and understand some of your important health markers.
Know Your Numbers
Bloodwork can provide valuable information about metabolic and cardiovascular health. Some markers worth discussing with your healthcare provider include:
Hemoglobin A1C: Provides a picture of your average blood glucose over approximately three months.
Fasting glucose: A snapshot of your blood glucose after an overnight fast.
Fasting insulin: The single most important bloodmarker – It’s step one that leads to pre- diabetes, diabetes and all the chronic disease and illness that stems from that. Goal: Under 6.
hs-CRP: A marker of systemic inflammation that can also be useful in assessing cardiovascular risk.
Triglycerides and HDL cholesterol: In addition to looking at these individually, I like to look at the triglyceride-to-HDL ratio. Divide triglycerides by HDL. A lower ratio is generally associated with a more favorable metabolic profile. Goal: Under 1.5
Don’t simply collect your lab results—learn what they mean, follow trends over time.
Build Your Nutritional Foundation
One of the biggest nutritional challenges during the holidays is the sheer abundance of carbohydrates and sugar.
Candy. Cookies. Bread. Desserts. Sweetened drinks. Alcohol. Appetizers. Snack foods.
Start paying attention to your carbohydrate intake before you’re surrounded by holiday food.
Build meals around quality protein and minimally processed foods, incorporating healthy fats according to your individual needs. Protein is especially important because it supports muscle maintenance and growth, recovery and satiety.
Another goal worth working toward is metabolic flexibility—your body’s ability to appropriately use different fuel sources, including glucose and fat, depending on availability and demand.
If you regularly experience things like:
- Feeling shaky or “hangry” when you haven’t eaten
- Needing frequent snacks to maintain your energy
- Afternoon energy crashes
- Intense cravings
- Difficulty going several hours between meals
It’s worth taking a closer look at your nutrition, sleep, activity and metabolic health rather than simply accepting these symptoms as normal.
Don’t Wait for January
Here’s the message I want you to remember:
January shouldn’t be when you start taking care of yourself.
Use September and October to build the habits that will carry you through Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day.
Start training.
Build muscle.
Know your numbers.
Improve your nutrition.
Find your community.
And when the holidays arrive, enjoy them! You don’t need perfection. You need a strong foundation and habits you can return to again and again.
Because the goal isn’t simply to survive the holidays without gaining weight.
The goal is to enter the new year already healthier, stronger and feeling better than when you started.
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