How to Run Through the Holidays While Maintaining Fitness and Weight

Holiday weight gain happens to the best of us, even fit runners. But the end of the year, with its extra servings of rich food and activities, can cause us to slack in our training and healthy diet, leading to a few extra pounds at year’s end. Here’s how to maintain your running fitness, your sanity and your waistline.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Set a realistic, specific goal beginning today and ending around January 5th. Examples include maintaining 25 miles a week, running four times a week or accruing 150 miles a week.
2. Register for three holiday races, including a Turkey Trot, a December holiday race and a New Year's Day or Eve Race. Set a time goal and develop a specific training program to achieve your goals in each race.
3. Keep a daily log for the calories you are consuming and burning. This will help you to keep tabs on all of those holiday indulgences, as well maintain your weight.
4. Aim to maintain your weight rather than lose weight. Save the weight loss goals for January, when there’s fewer temptations.
5. Don’t skip meals, especially breakfast. Better to eat several small meals throughout the day to keep the blood sugar stable than starve all morning and gorge on mashed potatoes and ham.
6. Eat a small balanced meal or snack before going to a party and avoid high-calorie seasonal drinks, such as egg nog. Allow yourself a smidge of room for indulgences.
7. Shorten your runs, but pick up the pace, on days when you are pressed for time.
8. If you’re behind on your daily workouts, incorporate small gains, such as taking the stairs more often, walking to the mall and other small bursts of activity that get you moving throughout the day.

Tips & Warnings

• Start a family (or personal) tradition and walk or run on the morning of the holiday.