How To Keep Those Healthy Habits Going Over The Holidays

DENVER (CBS4)- If you're feeling like holiday treats are getting your healthy habits off track, you aren't the only one. A study from the New England Journal of Medicine estimates most adults gain close to a pound during the holiday season.

Certified Health Coach Erica Ballard says it's easy to overindulge during holidays like Thanksgiving. But that doesn't mean you can't quickly get back on track.

"Thanksgiving is one day out of 365 days. So, if you overindulge, you just have to know that it's not going to affect your overall health," says Ballard. "If you did it, give yourself some grace. Stop beating yourself up for what you did, and instead focus on what you can do today and moving forward to improve your overall health."

Before Christmas comes around, Ballard does have some tips to avoid the temptation of treats. She says the first thing to do is give yourself permission to overindulge. That way it helps take your mind off sweets.

"Now if you do overindulge, one of the things you can do is an intermittent fast for 14 to 16 hours after you have sweet treats, pies, and cakes. That will give your body enough time to get the sugar and toxins out of you and reset it, so you don't overindulge for multiple days on end."

She says drinking water is also key. Water will also help flush out the sugar and toxins, while helping you stay healthy.

"Doing that is going to help you not only move those items out of your body but also make you less hungry throughout the day."

With the New Year just around the corner, many people may be making resolutions to lose weight. So how do you make a weight loss plan that lasts? Ballard says don't only make one big goal to lose a massive amount of weight. She says it's important to set smaller goals along the way.

"There's a reason businesses create annual goals and quarterly goals. Those quarterly goals let them know if they're on track. In order for us to create these resolutions, we want to create a big, lofty goal but we also want to set quarterly goals every three months so we can check in on our progress."

Ballard says another key to making a successful weight loss resolution is to start small, by creating good daily habits and routines. Instead of saying you will work out 45 minutes daily and eat clean five days a week, start with a 20 minute workout and a healthy meal one day a week.

"Doing that will set the routine up in your body so that it's used to doing that, and then the more you do it, the more your body will crave it."

For more healthy living tips, check out Erica's website.