Stay motivated during holidays. Hey Santa Baby!

The holidays have finally arrived (happy dance), and there's sooo much to look forward to! Whether you're spending your days watching movies and decorating sugar cookies, or buying gifts for friends and family while you stroll through the mall with a latte in your hand, there's no getting around the fact that the holidays are both super fun aaand crazy busy!

During this fun season, your regular sweat sessions can seem to get buried underneath big gatherings with the people you love and cozy nights at home. Not to mention all of the amazingly delish meals and sweet treats that make eating healthy seem almost impossible!

As this happens, we all tend to lose track of our goals and slip out of the good habits that we've been developing all year, and just tell ourselves that once January 1st comes around, we'll get back after it! But babe – think about how much better you'll feel come January 1st if you're already doing the things that you want for yourself, rather than spending the first month of the year trying to make up for progress that you lost during the holidays?

But don't worry, girlfriend! We've learned that lesson the hard way and are here so you don't have to! Here are some practical tips and tricks for staying motivated during the holiday season:

Take It Slow:

It's easy to lump in holidays together or view it as one big season full of temptations like pumpkin pie and cookies, but try breaking up the season into individual weeks and set specific goals for those weeks. Rather than thinking, "Oh no, how am I going to work out consistently all season long??", this allows you to look at the week ahead and think, "All I need to do is get in my regular sweat sessions during the next 7 days, just like I have been!". Even if you miss a workout or two one week, it allows you to approach the next week as a clean slate rather than feeling like your goals for the whole holiday season are down the drain.

Be Social:

Get plugged in with the people around you who are trying to accomplish the same thing you are! Commit to an LSF challenge (we've got one of our favorites coming up!), or sign up for a month of classes at a studio near your house. Connect with people that will hold you accountable and motivate you to keep kicking booty!

Mix it Up:

This time of year is exciting, so your workouts should be too! Try finding something new to add to your routine to keep yourself interested and avoid becoming bored. This could be a new yoga class on YouTube or at a studio a few times a week (help manage that stress, too!), or you can pick up some new workout tools (booty bands, anyone?) to add to your workouts!

Rise & Shine:

There will be days this winter to sleep in, but make it a goal to wake up just alittle bitearlier each morning and create some time first thing in the day to tackle your goals. This will help you avoid procrastination, or even bailing on your workouts altogether. It may seem painful for the first few minutes your alarm goes off, but I promise babe… you will feelsomuch better as you head into your day knowing you've already accomplished your goals for that day and can focus on other things…like watching Christmas movies.

Be Prepared:

We all know that holiday parties are where your food-related goals go to die, but you're still going to go, duh!! Don't worry, babe – you can go to allllll of the events, and come out the other side with all of your goals intact. Navigate these parties with grace by eating a healthy snack or small meal before you go, so you're not hungry and substituting a healthy meal with sugary or fatty snacks at the party. Also avoid showing up early, so that as soon as you get there you can occupy yourself with socializing and visiting with friends rather than having nothing to do but snack while you wait for more people to arrive.

All Things In Moderation:

The holidays are when some of the most delicious and revered family recipes come out, and the grocery stores release the goods they've been hiding all year (hullooooo Peppermint JoJo's!), so there is no need to torture yourself, girl! But rather than allowing yourself to go crazy as soon as the treats hit the table, make it a goal to limit yourself to one serving only. See how you feel – we promise you'll be satisfied! If there are multiple things you want to try, take only a couple of bites of each so that rather than having 1 serving of 5 different desserts, you're able to have 1 serving but try everything you wanted to!

Reward Yourself:

Maintaining your goals during all of these fun things can seem so difficult, so as you succeed in getting in the workouts you want to and continuing to eat healthy (for the most part), reward yourself for your hard work and intentionality! While some of us might automatically think of a slice of pie as being a great reward, try to find other things to treat yourself with that don't compromise your efforts. Take yourself out to a mani pedi, buy that cute anthro sweater you've had your eye on if you can stick to your goals for 3 weeks straight, or go get a spa treatment before all of your family members come into town! Your hard work deserves recognition, girl, and we want you to treat yourself!

Babe, we know the things we're talking about here are hard. But remember that we're all in it with you. We all want to fully enjoy the holiday season while maintaining the goals we've all worked so hard for and heading into 2020 feeling good about ourselves! Don't hesitate to use the LSF community to find support during the weeks ahead – we promise we'll be right there with you!

Need a little more motivation and support? Grab our Holiday Survival Guidefor alllllll the tips and tricks to survive this holiday season!