Stay Fit Through the Holidays by Learning Three Simple Techniques

The key is found in your attitude towards long term fitness.

One of the most challenging things you will do as a hobby athlete is maintaining your fitness through the holiday season and not having to start all over in the new year.

The first thing you’re going to notice is the phrase “hobby runner” or “hobby athlete.” I began using this term earlier this year when I wrote an article about running and fitness. Someone emailed me to point out that I can’t really offer suggestions and tips on running because I am not a coach or full-time athlete.

Urban Dictionary defines a hobby jogger as, “term of mild abuse describing recreational runners. Normally invoked by more experienced and accomplished runners.” I have since embraced this as a term of endearment. It is correct that I am a full-time business person who just happens to run a lot.

As a hobby ultra-runner myself, I struggled with this until last year during the pandemic. I also have struggled to maintain a healthy weight in the past. These straightforward tips to stay fit through the holidays are things this hobby runner has found to be highly beneficial in not having to start over every year from scratch.

Stop, Breathe, Choose

It is all up to you when you’re not a paid athlete and don’t have the budget to pay a professional coach to keep you on track with your health and fitness goals.

Therefore, you must begin by developing the proper attitude toward health and fitness. My wife is my source of this mantra which helps me every day.

What do you do when that holiday tray of cookies is staring you in the face? The cookies lay on that tray and scream, “EAT ME! You know you want to eat all of me.”

Chances are, if you’re like most humans, you give in to that craving and begin munching. One or two cookies can’t do any harm, right?

Healthline.com has an excellent article that describes what can happen if you overindulge during the holidays, “What Happens to Your Body When You Pig Out Over the Holidays.”

However, there is a solution, and it really isn’t that difficult. Chances are that if you have had a solid year of a fitness routine, this should be a breeze.

The first step is to STOP! Seriously! As you’re reaching for that first cookie on the tray or eyeing the gingerbread house and the little gumdrops, just stop. Take your eye off the desired morsel for just a second. It’ll still be there, I promise.

The second step is to take a deep breath. The University of Michigan Health Department validates this step. “Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation,” says that deep breathing is one of the best ways to send a message to your brain to calm down and relax. The breathing exercises in this article are very informative and will go a long way toward managing better health practices.

Finally, perhaps the most difficult of steps. Choose. I love this website, www.goodchoicesgoodlife.org. and their article “Life Doesn’t Just Happen: Realizing the Importance of the Choices You Make.” This is such a sobering reminder that our choices in life really matter.

Knowing that our choices matter is vitally important in maintaining health and fitness through the holidays. It can be the difference between going into the New Year with a bulge at the waistline or going into the New Year without missing a step in your pursuit of a healthier life.

Putting It All Together

Stop. Breathe. Choose. is a simple method to making better choices, but how does one actually put this into practice when you’re rushing from activity to activity?

The secret is that you become conscious that you have been making choices every day in your pursuit of a healthier life. Choosing to get out of bed on a dreary winter morning while everybody else is sleeping is where you begin. Then choosing to stretch, do yoga or lift weights means you have learned how to discipline yourself.

Discipline takes all three of the above actions ( stop, breathe, choose) and produces a lifestyle of health and fitness.

Discipline is the difference between building a base for physical fitness and maintaining physical fitness. Maintaining is so much easier than building.

As an ultra-runner, I have watched as many friends have battled injuries throughout this last year. This year, I have suffered no injuries, not even through my falls on technical trails while running the Appalachian Trail.

No, I’m just your average dude. This isn’t because I’m a naturally gifted athlete with a svelte body and low body fat. I love running, so I choose to run intelligently and listen to my body.

Even more important, learning to stop, breathe and choose has made all the difference in starting and stopping continually.

I am living a healthier and more physically fit lifestyle in my late fifties than I have ever before in my life.

You can do the same thing.

Stop. Breathe. Choose.