Friday Five: Staying on Track during the Holidays

It's Friday!  Who else is super excited?  I've been looking forward to this weekend for a long time--it's finally time for the Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon :)  

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It'll be interesting to run a race at night, plus it's my first time running this race at Disney.  The course runs through Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Epcot, so this should be a fun new experience!  Plus, Joe and I will be enjoying the Food and Wine festival in Epcot after the race!  It'll be a lot of fun :)

Ok...on to today's post!  I had so much fun linking up with Courtney from Eat Pray Run DC, Cynthia from You Signed Up for What?!, and Mar from Mar on the Run! that I decided to do it again.  Today's Friday Five post is all about staying on track with healthy living over the holidays.  

It's so easy to get swept up in all the delicious treats and busy schedules during November and December and let your exercise and healthy eating fall by the wayside.  Here are 5 things I'm planning to do to stay on track this holiday season!

1. Look for healthy options of your favorite recipes.

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Pot lucks, holiday parties, and family holiday meals often mean that you have to bring something along with you.  I use Pinterest to find healthy or "skinny" versions of the holiday classics.  Just this week, I used this recipe for a skinny Chicken Broccoli Cheddar Casserole for Joe to take to a pot luck.  It was very tasty but a lot healthier than your typical broccoli cheddar casserole.

2.  PLAN to be healthy.

I've found that writing down workouts in my planner and creating a meal plan helps me actually stick to my healthy intentions all year round, but I certainly plan to do both during the holiday season.  Particularly as the busy-ness of the holidays picks up, scheduling time to work out will keep other things from getting in the way.  Pre-planning meals will also help you reduce stress, as you know what you'll be eating each day and have all the ingredients for each meal!  This a great idea to use all year round, as well!

3.  Participate in healthy activities with family and friends.

Running a 5K with my sister-in-law in May

It's a lot easier to stay on track with a healthy lifestyle when people are there to join you/hold you accountable.  Sign up for a holiday-themed 5K with family and/or friends.  Find a free fitness class to try with someone else.  Go for a walk with your cousin, aunt, uncle, grandfather, dad, etc. to catch up while visiting for the holidays.

4. For all you runners: Pile on the Miles this November!

If you haven't noticed on my sidebar, I'm participating in Pile on the Miles with Monica at Run, Eat, Repeat this November for yet another year!  All you have to do is set a healthy goal for the month (it can be miles you plan to run in the month, going on a walk 5X a week, exercising for 30 minutes a day, whatever you want!) and check in each day.  It's a great way to make a healthy goal for the month and stick to it with the daily accountability.  Added bonus: there's a daily prize offered to those who sign up and check in!

5.  Participate in the Holiday Sweat Challenge!

Those of you who have followed the blog for a while know that I have LOVED participating in Amanda's Holiday Bootie Buster Challenge.  Well, this year, Amanda is teaming up with Sweat Guru/Sweat Pink to bring us the Holiday Sweat Challenge.

You'll earn points for exercise, eating healthy, and checking in daily from November 24-January 5.  You'll compete against people in your own fitness level (based on the number of hours you expect to exercise per week) and have the chance to earn some great prizes!  It's an awesome way to stay motivated during the holiday season, and the community is just SO awesome and supportive!

If you're interested in signing up, check out the Holiday Sweat Challenge announcement post for more information and to sign up.  If you do decide to sign up, feel free to put my name and/or blog name in for a referral!  I'd be very thankful as there is a referral prize I could win :)

Hope y'all have a great weekend!

Question for you: What are you planning to do to stay on track during the holidays?