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If you tend to overindulge during Christmas, it is easy to slip into bad habits that follow you into the New Year.
While it is always okay to treat yourself, Fitbit nutritionist Tracy Morris and Exercise Physiologist/Fitbit ambassador Drew Harrisberg both agree balance is crucial.
The health and fitness experts have shared with that’s life! five easy ways to keep on top of your health.
1. Pace yourself, don’t restrict yourself
Tracy warns that overly restricting yourself over the Christmas period can lead to binging on unhealthy festive foods.
The best way to avoid undoing all your good work during the year is to allow yourself some treats while also keeping that balance.
‘A balanced approach is much healthier, and more sustainable, than an ‘off-diet’ versus ‘on-diet’ mindset,’ Tracy told that’s life!
‘Remember, after Christmas comes Valentines Day and then it’s Easter – there will always be reasons to overindulge. Learn to listen to your body and every week balance mostly healthy with a little bit of less healthy.’
2. If you can’t exercise every day, aim for 10,000 steps
Finding time for workouts during the holiday period is often a struggle.
Between Christmas dinners, festive parties and post-lunch naps, many people forget to look after their fitness.
Having a goal of 10,000 steps per day, which can be easily tracked on a Fitbit device, is a great way to keep fit.
‘Move as much as possible by going for long walks and aim to reach 10k steps daily tracked on the Fitbit Charge 3,’ Drew says.
3. Use the 80:20 approach
The 80:20 (80 per cent healthy, 20 per cent ‘fun foods’) approach to your diet shouldn’t fall by the wayside during Christmas.
To avoid feeling guilty after gorging on a big Christmas dinner, Tracy says you should keep making healthy choices for all your other meals.
‘Go back to an 80:20 balance of making healthy choices most of the time, drinking lots of water and finding time to be active,’ Tracy adds.
4. Take post-meal walks
Fitbit ambassador Drew says exercise ‘snacks’ you can squeeze into your busy schedule are also a great idea.
‘A post-meal walk is a great away to stabilise blood sugar response to food and earing the majority of your cards after a full-body workout is too,’ Drew says.
‘Exercise snacks throughout the day is another great way to accumulate exercise and mitigate the negative effects of a sedentary, high-stress lifestyle.
Try one minute of squats, pushups, lunges and bench dips for a satisfying 5-minute exercise snack.’
5. Ask for health-related gifts
Asking for – and giving – health and exercise-related gifts is a sure-fire way to get excited about fitness over Christmas.
Both Drew and Tracy recommend a wearable device, like the Fitbit Charge 3, as a fantastic gift to encourage people to take control of their health.
‘It adds another level of accountability and makes health fun,’ Drew says.
Other health-related gifts could include workout gear, gym memberships or healthy cookbooks.
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