Despite my disdain for cold weather, the holidays are one of my favourite times of the year… That being said, it can be one of the most stressful times of the year if you’re trying to get into shape, or even just maintain a healthy lifestyle. Temptation is all around in the form of pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes and reduced gym hours. For many people, while they go into the holiday season with good intentions to be healthy, after a few small indulgences they reach the point of no return where they give up on their healthy aspirations for the year and decide to start fresh in January instead.

This “Holiday Downward Spiral”, as I like to call it, is usually caused by an all-or-nothing attitude- You think that you need to be 100% healthy, and as soon as you make one slip up you feel like a failure and conclude there’s no point in trying anymore. That, in combination with feeling like our dietary decisions are out of our control (especially true if you are visiting family), makes this time of year one of the hardest to navigate.

Here are 6 strategies to successfully navigate the holidays without throwing your health goals out the window:

Hi friends!

This is Andrea from Balancing Andie here guest posting for my friend Juliana!

First off, I should tell you a little bit more about me…

I’m a 20 something blogger from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I am a corporate professional during the day and a food/fitness fanatic by night. I have always loved to be in the kitchen and grew up with a lot of food allergies. As I got older, I couldn’t ignore my passion for health and nutrition any longer so in March 2017, I enrolled in a local 2-year diploma program here in Vancouver to become a Holistic Nutritionist. I really believe that health begins with the food we eat and the lifestyle we live and I want to help people become the best and healthiest versions of themselves. I recognize that health looks different on everyone and that’s why I think it’s so important to listen to your body and find what works for you.

On weekends, you can find me hiking, at the gym, hanging out with friends and most likely eating sushi (one of my favourite foods!!).

Because I live such an active life, I make sure that I either eat a protein rich meal right after my workout or have a smoothie with a protein powder or collagen in it to support proper muscle repair.

“Everything in moderation”.  I’ve pretty much been living off of these words for the past 10 years. Or trying to at least. But more often than not, a “moderate” decision to get a burger and half-fries-half-salad turns into saying yes to dessert, and then going out for cocktails. Which turns into a lazy next-day of binge-watching Netflix while hugging a tub of Ben and Jerry’s, and then ordering takeout cause I’m too lazy to cook (is it just me? 😅).

While I’m sure some people are able to do the whole “moderation” thing, I’ve come to the realization that I’m just not. It’s all or nothing with me – I either eat 100% clean, or am super relaxed and allow myself treats whenever I want. Neither of these are ideal. The former creates too many restrictions, and when you finally do allow yourself some slack, most people tend to go overboard on all the things they’ve been missing. The latter, on other hand, has no rules and it’s far too easy to let things get out of control.

So if moderation doesn’t work, and strict-dieting is not realistic (or healthy for that matter), what’s the solution? I’ve been pondering this for a while, and I’ve come up with a solution that I think just might work: STRUCTURED MODERATION.