Feel Good for the Holidays

Happy December people! For me, December 1^st feels like the real kick start to the season and I’m fully ready to embrace it! There’s this wonderful electricity and excitement in the air, sparkly lights and pretty, shiny things to look at! What’s not to love?

…Besides, maybe,  the stress that often tags along with the holidays. There’s gift shopping to do, parties to throw and attend, as well as all the other regular life stuff we’re already trying to keep up with!

And then there’s the increased amount of eating we all tend to do during this month. What with all the holiday parties, recipe experimenting, celebratory dinners and treats that only come around this time of year, how could anyone expect us not to chow down to our heart’s content?

Of course the downside to all this extra food is the lethargy, guilt, added pounds and further stress that comes as a result.

SO what I propose is that rather than postponing a healthy resolution until the New Year, why not start now? Let’s get our booties off the couch and get some cardio in there! Let’s toss those processed foods and make some hearty meals instead! Let’s indulge in treats when they’re presented (duh!), but balance ‘em out with some fitness and healthy choices so when January 1^st rolls around, we’re not feeling like we’ve hit rock bottom in terms of eating habits.

[Mornings feel right when there's a parfait in the mix]

I’ll be the first to admit that exercise isn’t always fun, but it does make me feel more alert, more inspired, more productive and overall, a happier person to be around. You’re welcome friends and family.

As the very wise Elle Woods once said, “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don’t shoot their husbands…they just don’t.” So there’s that, too.

[Exercise = happy as a gingerbread man]

I’m also more likely to make healthy eating choices when I’ve worked out and am feeling good. Additional bonus: If you’re like me, the shorter days and finishing work when it's already dark out has a mental effect on you. Exercise makes it slightly more okay.

I recently found this website, Fitocracy, where you can log your fitness hours, gain points based on work out difficulty, track your progress or compare it to others and motivate friends to keep up! Have you ever heard of it?? Ever used something like this?

[Maybe I'm not yet over JT marrying her (read: definitely not), but JBiel certainly knows how to work it out]

What do you do to get yourself motivated and out there? What type of workouts are your fave?

Do you use some sort of social media to track progress? What songs do you love to exercise to? 

Feel free to share here or over at our FB page!