Prepping For The Holidays: A Quick Checklist
The holidays, especially Thanksgiving, are quickly approaching and this can become a stressful time for many of us. Family may be traveling to you or you may be preparing to do the traveling, both of which need plenty of preparation and planning. Whether you are doing the cooking or just doing the eating, here are a few tips to help make this Thanksgiving as stress-free as possible.
Don’t Procrastinate
A major factor of stress during holiday season is the feeling of not having enough time in the day to get done what needs to be done. An easy fix to help ease your pressing schedule is to plan ahead and do not wait until the last minute.
- If You Are Hosting – If family and friends are coming to you for the holidays, do your grocery shopping early. Go ahead and buy all food that you need that will not spoil as early as possible. These items may include broth, can vegetables, stuffing ingredients, etc. Avoiding grocery stores closer to Thanksgiving will remove a stressful situation from your task and give you peace of mind.
- If You Are Traveling – If you are hitting the road for Thanksgiving, do not wait until the night before to pack. This can often lead to forgetting something and also increase stress levels. Take the time to set aside clothes you know you will need leading up to your departure and pack anything you can ahead of time.
Coordinate Activities
Thanksgiving can be a wonderful holiday full of family time and great food. It can also be a speedbump in our fitness goals, if we allow it to be. Plan ahead and coordinate some activities for you and your family so that down time is limited. Being active, especially after the big meal, can help burn a few of those calories that seem to be inevitable during Thanksgiving.
Healthy Desserts
Stress eating occurs even more around holiday season and can really set us back on what we are trying to accomplish in regards to fitness. Instead of trying to completely block the dessert options out, try to find or prepare lighter and healthier dessert choices for you and/or your family. This way you can be smart about what your eat and also avoid the depressed and stressed feeling you would have normally gotten if you had eaten a dessert loaded with sugar.