6 Healthier Holiday Traditions

Appears courtesy of Fitness Flame.

For many of us, the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day is about eating. OK, it’s about much more than that, but the Christmas season pretty much boils down to food way more than most of us would probably like it to. There are family get-togethers, parties, baking days (and plates of baked goodies to give and receive), and candy dishes everywhere.

Many of those activities would be lovely if we didn’t end up feeling stuffed and sluggish afterwards. So this year I’m determined to get through the Christmas season with plenty of energy and without an extra five or ten pounds to lose when I wake up on New Year’s Day. To do that, I’ll need some new traditions–or at least some new ways of doing old traditions. Want to do the same? Here’s how I’m changing old holiday habits to create six healthier Christmas traditions. Maybe they’ll spark some ideas for you, too:

Old Tradition:

Take at least six weeks off from working out. (The holidays are so busy, who has time to work out, anyway?) Start working out again the first Monday after New Year’s Day with at least five new pounds and a lot of bloat to work off.

Healthier New Tradition:

Work out five or six days a week, primarily by getting up early with exercise videos to make sure I get it done each day. Take the dog for a long walk at least once a week.

Old Tradition:

Bake cookies, almond toffee and other goodies for a full day. Sample them while we’re baking. Put together plates for friends and neighbors. Sample some more. Get similar plates from friends and neighbors. Forget sampling those, just snarf them right up.

Healthier New Tradition:

Create hand-made cards for friends and neighbors. Get the whole family involved. Play Christmas music while we write, glue, sprinkle and stick. Hand-deliver where possible.

Old Tradition:

Tromp through the snow for hours with friends to find perfect(ish) Christmas trees out in the woods. Let the kids and dogs play in the snow to their hearts’ content. Enjoy hot chocolate, cookies and chips after we have the trees on top of the cars. Head back for a chili-and-cornbread feast complete with chips, cheese, and beer.

Healthier New Tradition:

Tromp through the snow for hours with friends to find perfect(ish) Christmas trees out in the woods. Let the kids and dogs play in the snow to their hearts’ content. Enjoy hot tea or spiced cider after we have the trees on top of the cars. Head back for a crockpot chicken-and-veggie meal complete with a side salad and a glass of wine.

Old Tradition:

Drive around to see Christmas lights.

Healthier New Tradition:

Bundle up and walk through the whole neighborhood to see Christmas lights.

Old Tradition:

Eat two giant Christmas dinners–one with each side of the family–and take home leftovers from at least one of them. Spend much of our visit sitting around talking or watching TV.

Healthier New Tradition:

Well, we can’t tell either side of the family they can’t have Christmas dinner, but we can take smaller plates, fill them primarily with lean meat and veggies, and have just a few bites of the richer foods (or skip them altogether). Go for a walk after dinner.

Old Tradition:

Get together with friends for a huge New Year’s Eve bash. Play games, eat chips & dip, drink, talk, eat desserts and appetizers, drink, watch the ball drop, eat the last of the chips, bang pots and pans, crash. Wake up too tired the next day to do much of anything.

Healthier New Tradition:

Get together with friends for a huge New Year’s Eve bash. Play games, eat veggies & dip, drink water and then have a non-sugary cocktail or a glass of wine, talk, have a light dinner like sandwiches or build-your-own-baked-potato or taco salad (heavy on the salad, light on the cheese and sour cream), watch the ball drop, bang pots and pans, wake up feeling pretty good the next day and go cross-country skiing or snowboarding.

By taking the focus of our Christmas activities off of food and instead putting it on togetherness and health, we can enjoy a rich, warm holiday season with friends and family but without the sugar crashes, food comas and general discomfort that comes from gorging for a month straight. Who’s with me? What holiday traditions will you change (or start) this year to start 2012 full of energy and in a state of better health?

About the Author

Melissa Mitsch is an Independent Team Beachbody Coach who is working to improve her own health while helping others reach their weight loss and fitness goals. She blogs at http://fitnessflame.com/blog/, posts daily at http://www.facebook.com/FitCoachMelissa, and could stand to Tweet more often at http://www.twitter.com/MelissaMitsch. Melissa is married and the mother of a not-quite-teen daughter.