The holidays are the perfect excuse to eat food – lots of wonderful, delicious, glorious food (I almost want to break into song here). This often means that although we're happy and satisfied throughout the holidays, we also tend to get hit by pangs of guilt for falling off the health wagon (again) towards the beginning of the new year. This seems to be a fairly normal cycle for many people. 

How can we stop ourselves from completely turning away from a healthy lifestyle throughout the holiday season, without feeling as if we're missing out on things such as quality time with family, relaxing, and good food? 

Here are a few things you can do to help you keep your health on track, and still enjoy yourself. 

1. Find a workout buddy

Working out and having to stay on track on your own can get a bit lonely, frustrating, and boring, especially when there are so many events happening, and so much food to be had. When you're on a break from work, it's easy to just pack it in, flop yourself on the sofa, and watch Christmas shows all day, or sleep in until late, instead of waking up for a run. 

It's times like these when friends or family members can help each other, pushing each other to not give up on themselves just because it's the holidays. Meet somewhere for a jog, or at the gym, keep each other updated on your daily workouts and eating habits, and be a support system for each other. It makes staying on track so much easier, and a lot more fun,

2. Keep the workouts short

For those of us who are super busy over the holidays, it may become difficult to fit in an hour-long workout into our routine. Here's the thing – a workout doesn't have to be super long in order to be effective. 

You can find loads of great, short but intense workouts either on online fitness magazines, or on YouTube. Just type in what you're looking for in the search bar, and you'll be linked to a number of different workouts. Anything from ten to thirty minutes will do as long as you put your all into it. Just keep moving.

3. Go for a walk

Sometimes the idea of working out during the holidays just seems like work. So why not do something more fun instead? 

If heading to the gym sounds like the equivalent of going to the office during Christmas, you can always get a friend, or family member, and go for a walk – enjoy some fresh air, and have a chat as you burn off some calories. You can also volunteer to walk dogs at a local animal shelter. Not only will it keep you fit, but you will be surrounded by cute fluffballs, and you would be doing something wonderful for the pups. What could be better?