Derailed in December? Not this year! 3 Steps to keep your health on track.

We always say to each other and our clients that there is no middle-ground with Health.

You are either moving towards it, or away from it! No pause button. No happy floaty-place in the middle where we can simply “check-out” for the holiday season – and come back on some vague date in January (or February) to pick up our exercise gear where we left it in a heap in early December.

If moving toward Health and feeling great is important for you, when most are over-indulging and under-exercising, look no further than our hand-picked strategies! Let’s dive in:

1. Begin with the End in Mind

It’s one of Steven Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Successful People” – and when you really grasp it, this concept hits you like a mince pie to the temple (every family has a food fight on Christmas day, right…?).

It’s deceptively simple. How am I going to look, feel and perform at the end of the holidays? Strong and fit, with great energy and quality of sleep? Sounds marvellous! In that case, I’ll start moving toward these characteristics now, because I’d like to start my 2018 in excellent shape, to build toward new personal milestones. The rest is straightforward details: scheduling your exercise and sticking to it (see #2), getting the rest your body needs, and practicing mindfulness (see #3).

2. Don’t think. Just do.

We all have the voice in our heads, the hand-wringing, excuse-making voice explaining why now is a bad time to get outside and move our body, or why we deserve that glass of wine.

There’s a dinner later to get ready for, and we might run out of time.

It might rain soon, better stay in. Just in case.

But I’m foggy and sluggish from too much chocolate!

The trick here is stepping outside our own minds and tapping into something deeper, almost robotic. Just get out there. I won’t implode, or miss out, or let anyone down. I have my end-goal in mind, and this jog/swim/gym session is non-negotiable. Just rock up. Your body will do the rest.

3. Total, brutal, honest: Mindful eating

There’s a nostalgia around food at Christmas time, evoking childhood memories of family gatherings, and gift-giving. But is that piece of shortbread really so amazing? I challenge you to pay full attention when you eat one… is it incredible? Or is it dry, over-sweet and unsatisfying? Perhaps that’s the reason we eat another 2 or 3 of them – it just doesn’t satisfy.

With mindful eating, even a single cashew or raspberry becomes enjoyable. The biggest aspect here is to slow down when we eat. Refuse to rush. The added bonus is your stomach will have time to fill up and you’ll be full sooner.