CREATING A WINTER ACTION PLAN: SHIFTING NUTRITION, FITNESS, AND HEALTH APPROACH WITH THE SEASON
Most of us rolled our clocks back a little over two weeks ago for Daylight Savings Time and our ever-shortening days immediately got even shorter. Our internal clocks get a little out of whack, and, if you are like me, this can be a tougher time of year as we head into the shorter, colder days of winter.
Saying goodbye to the longer, sunnier days can cause many of us a bit of seasonal gloom. So what do we do?
I take this as an annual opportunity to really dig into my best self care practices. We can’t change the seasons, but we can lean into the things that we know will help us feel our best during these months when we’ll be missing out on a bit of sunlight each day.
Enter: The Winter Action Plan.
We know that habits and routines that help us feel our best regardless of the season. These habits and routines are no less important in the depths of winter, and just may require some shifting and adapting. Allowing ourselves to shift our plans while still focusing on our optimal health helps us lean on positive habits we’ve created, even when motivation feels lower.
THE TOP 3 PRIORITIES IN MY WINTER ACTION PLAN
1 || NUTRITION
Continuing to track and stick with my nutritional approach that allows me to stay accountable to my goals with flexibility. I can continue to provide my body with the nutrients it needs to feel it’s very best. A sound nutritional approach is just one of the comprehensive factors that contribute to my overall health and on those gloomier days, tracking holds me accountable to what my body still needs from me, even if my hunger cues may be a little off. I utilize this time to enjoy many ingredients that are thriving during this time of year - carrots, beets, broccoli, grapefruit, persimmons, and the ever delicious winter squashes. Weekend trips to the local farmer’s market are a super fun way to enjoy your nutrition during this time and capitalize on all the new seasonal goodness that is at its peak during these winter months.
2 || MOVEMENT
Where I live, it’s currently dark around 4:30 pm. Knowing myself and how I feel at the end of the day (when it’s 6pm but feels like midnight), shifting to a morning workout routine has been incredibly helpful in allowing me to stay consistent with my movement. “Win the morning” is kind of the motto around here and this applies more than ever for me in the winter months. When possible, creating a weekly schedule in advance with early morning workouts allows me to start my day with a big energy boost and usually even a sunrise. On those days when I may not make it to the gym, taking a quick early morning walk with my pup serves the same energy boosting purpose and is a great start before the daily grind begins. If my usual workout routines aren’t exciting me as much, I can shift gears to moving mainly in ways that sound FUN to me: more kickboxing or dance classes, more hot yoga, more in house competitions with the Nintendo Wii. Movement may look a little different during this time and that’s okay. Shifting expectations for performance for a time and just focusing on getting the movement in is the recipe for consistency.
3 || ACCOUNTABILITY
Just as we thrive with accountability through tracking and maintaining nutritional goals, the same is true for fitness endeavors. Having a few buddies to whom I stay accountable can be so helpful. Covid has changed the dynamic of gym-buddies for us all this past year, but accountability doesn’t always have to look like meeting up with someone physically. I can check in with a friend each day via phone in that regard and let them know I’ve moved my body. I can meet for a friend for an early morning walk or share step goals with friends via all our incredible smart watch technology. When motivation wanes, as it tends to do on gloomier days, having a team who knows my goals and wants to support me is such a gift.
Less sunlight does not have to be scary! The nights may come a little sooner but there are many aspects of this time of year that also make it magical: incredible soup and crockpot dinners, bonfires and s’mores, crisp mornings and pumpkin spice & eggnog flavored everything.
The habits that we lean on in our happiest, perkiest times are those same ones we can lean on during the colder months, as long as we understand that it’s ok to adjust our approach and our expectations in order to be our healthiest, most successful selves.
Winter also means the holidays are swiftly approaching! We strongly believe that the holidays don’t have to be a reason to throw our fitness and nutrition goals out the window and “wait to start over in January;” we can still prioritize our health while enjoying time with family, delicious meals, and our favorite holiday treats. Grab our Macro-Friendly Holiday Guide for recipes, nutrition tips, and our best knowledge for handling the holidays.