As temperatures drop and Thanksgiving approaches, exercise routines, healthy eating, and other forms of self-care can be more challenging to practice. It’s important to stay on track this month to avoid the winter blues, unwanted weight gain, and the effects of holiday-related stress. Here are four ways to keep up with your self-care routine this month and throughout the holiday season.

1. Adapt Your Workout Routine to Stay Motivated

As the busy holiday season looms, you may need help to stick to your workout routine, especially if you usually exercise outdoors. Adaptation is the key to keeping up your routine throughout the winter. You can also use motivational tricks to help you get to the gym.

Finding a workout buddy is one of the most effective motivational hacks. Your buddy could be a friend, partner, or even a date with someone who enjoys fitness. The buddy system makes you feel more accountable to your goals, and the social aspect will benefit your mental health and help you stay motivated. 

Signing up for a fitness class is another great way to stick to your workout routine. After paying for a month of classes, you won’t want your money to go to waste. Taking a fitness class that differs from your typical workout can also bust workout boredom. Getting bored with a workout routine is one of the main reasons why people lose motivation, so don’t hesitate to mix things up. 

Getting to the gym can be difficult at the best of times, and it’s even more difficult when you feel overwhelmed with errands or have to drive in winter weather. Instead of quitting your workout, move it home. You can put the money you would have spent on a gym membership towards some dumbbells and exercise DVDs. It’s also easy to find . You can do everything from Tai Chi to Insanity from the comfort of your home. 

You may have heard the phrase, “anything worth doing is worth doing halfway.” It means that something is better than nothing. Keep this in mind over the holidays, and remember that fitting a workout in once or twice a week is better than not working out at all.

2. Stay Connected

Humans are social creatures, and even introverts have a psychological need for community and connection. People who feel connected are less likely to suffer from anxiety and depression. But feeling connected has ironically become more difficult in the Communication Age. Also, ironically, preparing for large holiday gatherings often eats up the time and energy that people normally spend on getting together with friends. It’s important to carve out time for social activities rather than having two or three holiday parties be your only social interaction. 

If you spend any time on the internet, you’re probably familiar with the concept of Hygge. It hails from Denmark and means a certain coziness that helps you feel content in the winter. One aspect of Hygge that many non-Danish bloggers have overlooked is the importance of social and community activities. Sure it can be nice to light a candle and read a book by yourself but consider inviting a friend to help you put up decorations, bake or just enjoy a cup of tea on a cold day. You might feel cozier when you open your home and connect with a friend. 

3. Focus on Healthy Eating

Healthy eating means a well-balanced diet full of nutritious whole foods. It does not mean disordered eating or crash diets. While being aware of calories and eating an amount appropriate for your activity level can be a good way to avoid obesity and the health concerns that go with it, too much focus on calories can lead to different problems. 

During the holidays, most of us indulge in meals with more courses, richer foods, and more fat and sugar than we eat daily. Luckily, there are ways to keep things balanced and enjoy the holidays without weight gain and indigestion. 

Mindful eating is the best way to approach holiday meals. This method involves thinking ahead of time about which foods truly bring you joy this time of year and which ones don’t. When the meal comes, you can go in prepared to take less of (or skip) some dishes and eat more of others. Mindful eating also means keeping in mind why we eat (to nourish our bodies) and realizing that non-nutritious foods can be enjoyed in smaller portions (i.e. a few bites of pie.) This approach can help you enjoy yourself without overindulging. 

A common misconception is that you shouldn’t eat before Thanksgiving dinner. The truth is that this will leave you with low blood sugar, and you’re likely to gorge yourself and be hangry on top of it. It’s far healthier to eat small, balanced meals and snacks during the day before the big meal. Make sure to include protein and complex carbohydrates to keep your blood sugar steady. This will prevent insulin spikes that could make your body hang on to more weight. It will also make you less likely to overindulge at dinner. 

4. Find Your Zen

No matter the time of year, stress management is important in taking care of your physical and mental health. If you have a go-to method that works for you, don’t neglect it during the holidays. If you are still trying to find your perfect stress buster, consider trying a new habit like journaling, yoga, or meditation. 

It’s easy to be stressed and not realize it. Some symptoms of stress include trouble sleeping, feeling irritable or wound up, racing thoughts, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed. Chronic stress causes cortisol levels to remain elevated, putting us in a constant state of fight or flight. This hormonal change leads to more inflammation, a higher risk for anxiety and depression, and certain physical disorders such as heart disease, IBS, and frequent infections. 

Regular exercise, social connection, and personal de-stressing habits like journaling or meditation lower cortisol levels and help our bodies cope better with stress. 

Seeing a chiropractor can also help relieve stress and its symptoms. Chiropractic care focuses on bringing the nervous system into balance. Since your spinal cord runs through your spine and nerves branch off it to the rest of your body, it’s important to keep your spine properly aligned. Misaligned vertebrae can impact nerve roots and disrupt nerve signaling. Chiropractic adjustment can help you feel relaxed and can resolve pain that may be contributing to your stress. Your chiropractor can also give tips on improving your posture and work environment to avoid stress headaches, and low back pain. 

Wellness Care in Tennessee

At Stanlick Chiropractic, we provide pain relief and lifestyle and nutrition advice for people of all ages. Schedule a consultation to find out how chiropractic care can help you feel your best for the holidays.