Five Ways to Stay Happy During the Christmas Holidays

It’s Christmas! We’re happy, right? Not always. But we can do things to help boost our happiness. Here are five ways to find your holiday happiness!

Firstly, we need to establish something. How long are the Christmas holidays? For me, my clients want to stop training with me around December 23rd and, more often than not, don’t want to start up again until the start of the New Year. Let’s say that this is the Christmas period - this is 8 days long. So now that we’ve established how long the holidays are, we can start to evaluate ways in which we can make these 8 days as enjoyable, and not-regrettable as possible.

1. Start the Day Right

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I personally only eat between the hours of 11am and 7pm, but during the holidays, I accept that this isn’t going to happen. What I do, however, is make sure my breakfast is as healthy and jam-packed with good calories as possible. This is so the day starts right, regardless of what else I eat during that day. A great example is homemade Bircher Muesli, packed full of berries, nuts, and oats that will fill me up so much that I turn down the numerous offers of mince pies and chocolate that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to resist.

2. Set a Goal

This can be something small, or something that will really challenge you over the holidays. My goal for last Christmas was to be able to do 80 press ups non-stop before New Year’s Day. I set myself up with a day-by-day account of the numbers I wanted to be achieving. By December 29th, I had smashed the number 80 and was hitting just over 90. This is a great example of keeping your fitness going but not missing out on valuable family time over the holidays.

3. Have a Cheat Day

Christmas Day is to be enjoyed; it is also there to remind us of the good things in life. I always take the day off from worrying about press ups or whatever goal I have, I skip the muesli and enjoy the wonders that are in my stocking, on the dinner table, and the time with loved ones. Doing this is a great way to really enjoy the day and helps me look back on the holidays as a good vacation.

4. Plan Ahead

I encourage my clients (and myself) to make sure we have something active planned every day. Whether it be a big family walk or a 15-minute HIIT workout, the hormones that get released doing this small thing will seriously help. Not only will it prevent you from becoming lethargic it helps improve your mood and gives a sense of peace and calm.

5. ENJOY IT!

Maybe the most important thing to remember about the Christmas period is that it’s a time for relaxing and seeing family. It is a holiday, and only the most regimented people will be able to keep to their meal plans and gym programs going. If the holidays stress you out because of all the obligations and expectations, I will leave you with something my Dad always says to me: “It doesn’t matter what you do between Christmas and New Year’s, it’s what you do between New Year’s and Christmas that counts.”

Merry Christmas, everyone!

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