I’m writing this just after Thanksgiving and depending on how you celebrate the holiday season, there are potentially two food-focused holidays behind us (Halloween and Thanksgiving, respectively.)

Which means, Christmas, and to a lesser degree, New Year’s Eve, will be the last two holidays for many people to celebrate as we lean into 2026.

I’m not here to say whether you should be dieting this time of year or attempting to maintain. That is totally up to the individual.

What I would like to mention is that this holiday season (or what’s left of it) can be so many things at one time: joyful, stressful, depressing, inspiring and exhausting. Sometimes, all at once!

So, make sure you’re doing a handful of things to keep yourself as stable and sane as possible:

-If you can, schedule the rest of your workouts for the year. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but plug those days and times into your routine. If you have to move slots around in real time, do so. But make movement part of your plan for the remainder of 2025.

-Give yourself time and space to decompress. Depending on where you live, the weather may not be forgiving enough for you to be outside. So, find a place where you can recharge your batteries. That might be at home, it might be in a bubble bath, it might be at a library or a coffee shop. Make sure you get that time.

-Have a small, but meaningful, gratitude practice. It could be a note that you type out on your phone, it could be a considerate text message to someone you love and appreciate in your life, or it could be something you take pen to paper and write out.

-Drink your water.

-Spend as many days as you can with your “normal” eating routine. I know many people have a lot of holiday themed events and these are an added stressor to the holidays themselves. Navigate accordingly and when all else fails, stay protein and fiber-centric with your food choices. This can help fill you up before you indulge in the treats.

-Be kind with people. Be patient at check out lines. Some people are doing all they can to hold it together this time of year. Don’t be the reason they can’t hold it together any longer.

-There is a plague that takes over many homes this time of year. It’s not Chevy Chase and it’s not Mariah Carey, although they both rank near the top. It’s Elf On The Shelf. Some brilliant person sat back and asked the question: What can I add to the holiday season that children will love and will push parents to their breaking point? And the elf came to be. If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to wake up in the middle of the night in a full panic that you hadn’t moved the elf before the kids woke up, you just can’t appreciate how much power the elf has on the household (and the behavior of children leading up to Christmas Day). This is of course assuming that that you haven’t had to buy multiple versions of the elf over the years because it’s been misplaced, burned, peed on, or traumatized by a pet. I think we’re on our 6th one. My hat goes off to every parent who understands this plague. Happy Holidays!

(Photo courtesy of Toa Hectiba)