Fit For Life: Holiday Excuses. Don’t Let Holidays Compromise Your Health, You’re # 1

Sunday, December 24, 2017

Matt Espeut, GoLocalPDX Health +Lifestyle Contributor

It’s that time of the year again, and before you know it, it will all be gone, and our sights will be set on tackling another year.

We will look back on the past year and decide what we did right, what we did wrong, and what we are going change to improve our situation.

Then we look ahead and start to make mental, and verbal plans as to what we are going to do in the New Year.

Its also the time of year that we get so frazzled and stressed out that we forget to think and live in the present, and focus on taking care of ourselves.

I realize that we all have stuff to do to prepare for the holidays, but this is the time of year we should ALL relax a bit, and enjoy what they are really all about.

And that’s enjoying the company of the people you like and want to spend time with.

There is no need to let yourself get all stressed out, with the shopping, cooking, etc. These things should be enjoyable, and not feel like an obligation. Some people get so gassed out after the holiday they need a break just from the season.

I tried to coerce my mother back into the gym last week, but she refused. “Not until after the holidays” she adamantly replied back. “I’ve got too much to do”.

I know the holidays stress her out, so my intention was to get her to start working out again to re-energize her and alleviate some stress. But nooooooo. She will be shopping, cooking and cleaning like a crazy woman right until Christmas eve.

Even though we are all grateful, and appreciate what she does, she over does it, and we would have just as enjoyable of a day if she did 1/4 of the work she puts on herself, and relaxed a little more.

We all know people like this.

These are the same folks that miss the gym, fall off their routine, and derail their eating plans that you work so hard to stick to all year round, and it doesn’t have to be that way.

They give so much of themselves to making others happy, that they forget about themselves, and neglect what should be important.

Listen, we will all miss workouts, and eat things we shouldn’t, but we cant let it get out of hand, and use this time of year as a reason to regress. All it will do is put you in a tailspin, and make it tougher to get back on track.

I encourage you all to enjoy the season.

Indulge a little, but don’t self-destruct.

Try to stick to your routine, get to the gym as much as you can, and try to eat clean whenever possible.

Less than perfect is better than nothing at all.

Look back to last year, look ahead to next year, but most importantly, and enjoy the present.

The holiday season is a joyous time of year, not the time of year to stress ourselves out, and neglect ourselves.

Lets remember what the true meaning is and do what is important.

Be nice to each other, enjoy family, friends, good food, and happy spirits.

Matt Espeut, GoLocal's Health & Lifestyle Contributor has been a personal trainer and health & fitnesss consultant for over 25 years.

Related Slideshow: The 7 Best Health and Fitness Apps

Here is a list of some of the most obsession worthy health apps.

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MapMyRun

MapMyRun is the number one selling running app for a reason: it is easy to use, offers community support if you want it, and tracks and stores your exact routes for you. If you are training for a race or a serious runner, users say that the extra perks in the upgraded paid version are well worth it.

Made for iPhone, Android and Blackberry

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MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal seems to be the clear favorite amongst everyone polled. It is helpful not only for the fitness tracking aspect, but everyone polled mentioned how much they loved the food/diet aspect as well. From carb counting for diabetics to recipe ideas to complement your fitness goals, users love this app.

Made for iPhone and Android

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JeFit

JeFit is another fitness app that has rave reviews. It not only tracks progress for you, but offers a huge database of workouts. While many apps offer community support, JeFit allows you to sync workouts with friends who use the app, offering a (real) virtual buddy system.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Strava

Strava gets the highest mark of all the cycling apps. While it is also great for runners, the cyclers seem particularly inclined towards the fierce competition that can be ignited by this app. You can track all of your rides via GPS, then you can compare your efforts to those logged by others in the community on the same stretch of road. You can also join ongoing challenges that can net you great prizes (in addition to bragging rights).

Made for iPhone and Android

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YogaStudio

YogaStudio gets the top vote for Yoga apps. It has a lengthy collection of full class-length videos available at your fingertips. Unlike many other apps, this one also allows you to customize your own video yoga class. All of the poses are done by qualified yoga instructors, and you can find classes suitable for all levels of yogis.

Made for iPhone only

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SimplyBeing

SimplyBeing meditation app offers the best of both worlds. You can choose to run this app as a background for your meditation with soothing music or natural sounds that run for a set amount of time. Conversely, for those of you who have trouble focusing during meditation, you can choose a soothing voice-guided meditation.

Made for iPhone and Android

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Fooducate

Fooducate is an app all about educating people so that they make healthier food choices. Although not perfect, this app is easy to use (you can even take pictures of bar codes to instantly find foods in their database). It gives food a letter grade, tells you the pluses and minuses, and gives you better ranked alternatives. You can also use it as a weight loss tool by tracking your daily calories.

Made for iPhone and Android