Do you struggle with keeping your exercise routine up during the holidays? Does your motivation to exercise wane over Thanksgiving, Christmas and other holidays?

If that sounds familiar, don’t worry, you’re not the only one!

Almost everyone struggles with staying active during the holidays. There’s so much disruption, whether you have family staying, are going away or are just out of your normal routine. It can be a very special time, seeing family (especially grandchildren) and celebrating together. But, if your exercise programme is important to you, you can end up feeling frustrated that you didn’t keep it up.

As a specialist exercise instructor for more than 15 years, I’ve helped hundreds of women to feel stronger and improve their balance, posture and mobility.

I’ve realised over time that, however good the exercises may be, people want help to fit them in and make them work in their lives.

Our members all have these challenges too, and we work hard to support them at times like this. In this article I’m going to share what works for keeping up with your exercise routine over the holidays.

Think Ahead

Take some time to think about where you’ll be over the upcoming holidays. Think about who you will be with and how you’ll be spending your days. Also think about what’s important to you.

Here are some of the challenges you may face:

• Which of your usual activities (classes etc.) will you miss during this time?
• What venues may be closed (e.g., health club, swimming pool)?
• What equipment might you not have available (e.g., exercise bike or dumbbells you have at home)?

Here are some of the opportunities you may have:

• What different activities could you do? (Perhaps it’s nicer weather and easier to go for walks outdoors.)
• Are there different facilities available (e.g., a pool)?
• Are there any fun ways to stay active with your family and friends?

Make sure to spend as much time thinking about the opportunities as the challenges!

Plan and Schedule

Yes, your usual routine may go out of the window. But that doesn’t mean you have to stop everything. You just have to make a new plan.

Look at your planner and decide what you’re going to do and when. Be specific, so rather than saying ‘I’ll exercise for about half an hour’, commit to do a specific video for 20 minutes. Then you’ll know exactly what to do, and you’ll know when you’re done!

Write it down, put it on the fridge, add calendar reminders in your phone and set alarms to remind you.

You might have to be a little flexible, but if you know what you’ve committed to, then you’re much more likely to do it.

Make It Easy

I cannot say this often enough. Make it as easy as you can. There are going to be lots of distractions, so if you want to keep up the exercises, you need to keep it simple.

Here’s how:

• Keep your exercise equipment at hand. If you have guests and don’t want it out in the living room, that’s fine. But don’t stash it at the back of a cupboard! Find a temporary home (perhaps in your bedroom?) where you can easily get to it when you need it.
• Have any clothes or shoes you need clean and ready to go. If you have to spend 10 minutes upending laundry baskets to find your exercise clothes (or is that just me?), you may never actually get round to doing the exercises.
• Know what you’re going to do. If you’re not used to exercising at home, find a programme to follow. Online exercise videos can be helpful as you can watch the exercises and follow on. It’s so much easier to keep going, and you don’t feel like you’re alone.

Try this video at home now (it’s a taster video to give you a feel for some of the balance training we do in our online Studio)

A Little Help from Friends

If your family and friends are supportive of your exercise goals, it can be extremely helpful. Here are three things you can do to get the support you need from your family and friends over the holidays:

1. Explain to them why you’re exercising and why it matters to you.
2. Let them know where and when you’re doing your exercises, e.g., “After breakfast, I’ll be doing my exercises in the living room for 20 minutes.”
3. Tell them what you need from them or what would be helpful for you, e.g., “Please could you answer the door or phone/ keep pets and grandchildren out of my way/ don’t interrupt unless it’s urgent.”

Reward and Celebrate

Take a minute to celebrate the fact that you’ve made the effort and done something for you. At busy times of the year, we can end up giving all our energy to others (especially if that’s what they’ve come to expect). It can be hard to prioritise ourselves and our needs, and we need to celebrate when we do.

Stop and notice how much better you feel after you exercise. Becoming more aware of how you feel – physically and mentally – can help motivate you next time you don’t know if you feel like exercising.

Reward yourself. Plan to have a nice coffee and reminisce with a family member, play holiday games with your grandchildren or enjoy reading a new book for 10 minutes. Knowing you’re doing something you enjoy right after your exercises helps you to keep going (and will wire your brain to see exercise as positive for the future too).

You can find more exercise videos in the Vida Wellness Studio. We offer a 14-day free trial so you can get a chance to try out the exercise videos, ask lots of questions and see if it’s right for you.

How easy do you find it to keep exercising in the holidays? What tips would you share to help others keep up their routine? Join the conversation below!

When you were growing up, there’s a good chance that your parents told you, “You could be whatever you want when you grow up.” It’s something that most of us hear at some point in our lives.

That’s all well and good when you’re a child, but there comes a point when you realize that you can’t be a dog (one of my daughters wanted to be a dog when she grew up) and that queen of the universe isn’t a real job title.

So, though our passions do change as we get older, we start to write off even the realistic ones as being unattainable.

The greatest experience you can have in this life is striving for a goal that ignites your passion, something that is of real interest to you and motivates you to work harder every day. The key to living a full life is to chase your passions and here’s why.

Clarity

In this modern age, even those of us who have reached our mature years have far too many distractions in our lives pulling our focus from what’s truly important to us.

Whether it’s texts, social media, emails, phone calls, your friends, your partner, your family, your job, you are being pulled in every direction and everyone wants a piece of you.

It’s kind of impossible to give your attention to everything properly, but when you start to chase your passion… the world tends to fall into focus. It’s easy to see what’s truly important and allow everything else to fade into the background.

What might this look like? In my own life, I struggle to find time to write and create, but writing and creating are the passions of my life. When I got clarity that these were the things I was destined to do, it became easier to say no to distractions.

Less time on the Internet or fewer unnecessary shopping excursions are easier to give up when I am clear on what is the highest and best use of my time – writing and creating!

Purpose

When you chase your passion, you fill your life with a sense of purpose that not only fuels your soul but improves your mental health and overall well-being and allows you to live life to the fullest.

Sometimes as we get older, we question our purpose. Our kids are grown, and we don’t see where we fit into the world moving forward. Finding and pursuing your purpose will help you lead a fuller, maybe even longer, life.

Fun

You know that old saying about doing what you love, meaning that you’ll never need to work a day in your life? There’s so much truth in that! Following your passion means that even your job won’t seem like work.

It’s something that you love doing and can get lost in for hours, forgetting everything else around you. Nothing feels better than waking up and starting a day that you designed entirely.

When I am having an especially good day writing, or arguing a case in court, I have to pinch myself and ask, “And I really get paid to do this?”

Minimalism

Not everything in your life is necessary, whether it’s appliances, clothing, or clutter. When you have that sense of clarity, you understand that less is more and that material wealth isn’t what will fulfill you. Rather, your actions and activities will help you live a full life. So, why not design the life that you really want to live?

After raising four small souls, I have some clarity on this. I constantly fought the battle of clothes and toys for years. Now I fight the battle of my clothes and my toys. I am highly aware that the more I have, the more I have to clean and take care of.

The Pay Off

If you choose to make your passion your career, it will eventually pay off in monetary ways. Whether you are a blogger, an artist, a musician, or a makeup artist, when you are truly passionate about what you do, it shows, and success is inevitable.

Consider, also, that money may not be your motivation. For many years, writing purely to encourage others was the only motivation I needed to keep going. Getting an email or a note from someone saying I had touched their life was worth more than all the money in the world!

A full, passionate life will look different for each of us. Don’t compare your journey or quest to anyone else’s. Trust your own heart to be your guide.

Are you living a full, passionate life? Have you identified the thoughts and actions that might be holding you back? What aspects of yourself do you need to conquer before you will feel fulfilled and happy?

Eventually, to maintain a healthy diet, you must cook. Two years after moving to Mexico part-time, I began writing a cookbook, The Lazy Expat: Healthy Recipes That Translate in Mexico. It’s for travelers, snowbirds and expats trying to cook “their food” in Mexico and Latin America, a compilation of healthy dishes that can be made from the simplest of kitchens with the easiest-to-find ingredients.

The cookbook however has a dark secret: I’m never hungry.

Not Eating Can Be Just as Bad as Overeating

I do, however, wish to stay alive. In a society where so many people have problems controlling their weight, you don’t get much sympathy if you complain about lacking an appetite (Cry me a river! they laugh).

You rarely find anything written on what to do when you’re never hungry, when you have to drag yourself to the kitchen to prepare every meal. (“Why can’t we just have a pill!” I’d whine.)

Not eating leads to consequences just as serious as overeating. At 48, I came a hair’s breadth from colon cancer after months of not eating following a divorce. The mere thought of food made me nauseous. My joy in life came back. Oddly, my appetite never did.

When I moved to Mexico in 2014, the cultural challenges of cooking in a different culture compounded the problem. Obstacles to cooking abounded: language barrier, the metric system, differences in availability and different tastes of staple foods (due to processing).

Many native recipes were designed to appeal to another palate. For the first three months, I lived on bottled pasta sauce and smoothies. It took three months to recognize spinach at the grocery store.

In great part, I developed the cookbook to have a slate of healthy meals I could prepare anywhere. In addition to having great-tasting, reliable dishes to cook, there are other hacks I’ve discovered that can help when you totally lack an interest in food.

Hacks for Stimulating Your Appetite

#1 Buy Only Perishable Fruits and Vegetables, Nothing Frozen 

Most people hate to throw away food. Fresh fruits and vegetables are fairly expensive. I used to think having easy-to-prepare frozen vegetables would help me eat more. But I needed the guilt. Many a night I cooked rather than throw money away. (Waste is one of the 7 Deadly Sins. Don’t give up your soul.)

#2 Plan Your Meals in Advance 

Seven p.m. at night is not the time to decide what you’ll make for dinner. Create a weekly menu containing a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Schedule the meals by perishable item. For example, schedule a dish with greens (which don’t keep as well) on a Sunday, one with carrots on Saturday.

#3 Think in Terms of Cups Not Servings

Our whole lives we’ve been indoctrinated by the rule of five: 5 fruits and vegetables a day. I find this sounds like an unrealistic goal to achieve day after day if you like to think about things other than your diet.

Instead, think in terms of cups. Two and a half cups a day of fruits and vegetables of a wide variety through the course of the week might play in your head better.

#4 Dinnerware Makes a Difference 

You eat with your eyes first. You will be more likely to reach for oatmeal layered with blueberries in a parfait glass than eat from a ceramic bowl. Another type of dishware I recommend is large shallow bowls for the presentation of pasta dishes and dinner salads. Keep healthy leftovers in clear containers so you don’t forget about them.

#5 A Glass of Wine or Aperitif After You Have Finished the Meal Prep 

For a year or two, the only thing that got me in the kitchen was the reward of a glass of wine, which I permitted myself only after I’d cut, sauteed, and prepped the meal. Many meals have a 15-minute lull toward the end, when a stew is simmering or the dinner salad just needs tossing. And aperitif can stimulate appetite and be a reward for getting yourself to the kitchen. 

#6 Include Brightly Colored Foods 

Avoid monochromic meals. One of the most colorful dishes in my book, Beet and Red Pepper Soup, is bright fuscia in color. I value the dish for both its simplicity and the pop of color it gives to an otherwise pale meal. Even foods that might not be your favorite, like peas, serve an important visual function on a plate. 

#7 Don’t Overestimate Yourself 

Acknowledge any lack of enthusiasm by building a library of the simplest healthy dishes you can prepare. If there’s one thing I learned in developing this cookbook it’s that simple dishes can be just as delicious as complex ones. Have fallback dishes. Keep baggies of cut vegetables you can stir-fry to accompany a take-out meal. 

#8 Invite Others Over for Dinner and Cook for Them 

My Mexican friends love to come over and try dishes that aren’t common in Mexico. (It’s fun when guests don’t know how to make lasagna.) The pleasure others take in your cooking for them will increase your own pleasure in doing it. 

#9 Take Note to Include a Wide Variety of Superfoods from Week to Week

Keep a written list of superfoods and ask yourself, when was the last time I had a sweet potato? Sweet Red Bell Peppers? Walnuts? (Fortunately, a benevolent god created chocolate as a Superfood.) Variety in superfoods is important too.

In The Lazy Expat index, I list superfoods, their properties, and which dishes in the book contain them. Some weeks I simply scroll through the list and cherry-pick recipes that include ingredients I hadn’t used the week before.

Create your own list from your existing cookbooks. You could create an index card for “Sweet Potatoes” on which you list all sweet potato recipes you like. Shuffle the cards and create menu plans that vary from week to week.

#10 Limit Ingredients You Use to the Most Common, Healthy Ones 

I will elaborate on this point in another blog. Basically, the idea is that it’s much easier to put together meals on the fly when you become intimately familiar with the most common healthy ingredients.

You can cook for years and never develop the ability to improvise if you’ve always had the luxury of ivory bell peppers and Kaffir lime leaves. Limited availability of many flavoring ingredients in Mexico (although most of the produce is available) has made me a better, more instinctive cook.

Many cookbooks are written by people who suddenly and urgently needed to fix their eating habits. I freely admit that my cookbook sprang from the need to fix mine. And after four years it’s still a cookbook I use almost every day, no matter where I am.

What is your appetite like? Do you have a tendency to not eat? What triggers your lack of appetite? Do you have any tips to help stimulate appetite? Please share them with the community and let’s help each other!

If you’re on Beauty TikTok even a little, chances are you’ve seen the viral Tom Ford lip balm that costs a whopping $58. It’s so popular, it sold out on the brand’s website and at Sephora. That’s why fans are looking for a Tom Ford Soleil Balm Frost Lip Balm dupe — and they think they found one. Oh, and it’s $51 cheaper and in stock. For now, anyway.

First, let’s see why Tom Ford’s lip balm is so popular. The hydrating formula feels luxe going on and leaves a pink-gold shimmer behind. It’s not glittery and rough but instead, you can’t even feel the shimmer. It’s gorgeous alone but especially pretty as a high-shine lipstick topper. It’s also free of sulfates SLS and SLES, parabens, formaldehydes, phthalates and mineral oil. If you can find it and it’s in your budget, fans say it’s definitely worth the price.

Tom Ford.

TikTokers @mekaelafarris and @itsnanacastro both have the $58 Tom Ford lipstick but shared with their followers an affordable dupe they say is seriously similar. The Hard Candy Glitteratzi Crystal Lip Duo, Shimmering Champagne has a bit more color (Tom Ford’s is sheerer) but a similar sheen when applied. There’s a glitter lipstick on one side and a gloss on the other to increase the shine. Is it as luxe and hydrating as Soleil Balm Frost Lip Balm? Of course not. But it’s less than $7 and is available now.

The shade Dream Queen is a best seller too but that one has a lot more pink in it.

Hard Candy.

This is the most affordable dupe TikTokers have found and is sure to sell out just like Tom Ford’s lipstick did. But it’s not the only option. Pat McGrath Labs’ Lip Fetish Astral Lip Balm came out in 2018 and features six shimmery, high-shine shades, though only four are available right now. It’s also seriously hydrating. Which one you absolutely need in your life is your choice — they’re all great options for a shimmery winter lip.

The colonial furniture had made its way from my childhood bedroom to my first apartment and my next four places of residence, but now that I was downsizing and leaving my home of 36 years, it was time to say goodbye. In Marie Kondo fashion, I thanked the furniture for its service and put pictures of the set on Facebook Marketplace, offering all the pieces for free.

Sentimental Value

I had no takers for weeks, and then a man messaged me that he was interested. He asked to get on a phone call to explain.

“I’m 65,” George told me when we chatted, “and I had this exact furniture when I was a kid. I kept it for many years, but my brothers made so much fun of me for it that they finally talked me into getting rid of it. Now seeing your photos, I miss that furniture.”

George rented a van and drove three hours each way to claim my Ethan Allen desk, dresser, hutch and cabinet as his own. He brought along a buddy to help him with the lifting, and both of them were already laughing when they arrived.

We all knew that there was no reasonable justification for this level of sentimentality, but what a win/win for him to recapture a slice of his childhood and for me to know that my long-loved pieces would be appreciated in their new space.

Sell, Donate, Discard

Not everything that came out of my now former house met as happy a fate. My husband and I found ourselves using that 1-800-got-junk number more than we’d hoped, especially at the end of this journey when our home buyers unexpectedly asked to push up the closing date, giving us only a week to finish clearing out the house.

Into the dump truck went wonky-switch lamps and random cords and cables, while outdated softback textbooks got tossed into the recycle bin.

“You will sell, give away or throw away more than you want to,” a friend who had recently downsized informed me when I started the process of moving to Florida. “The sooner you accept that, the better.”

I knew she was right, but it was painful. Of the three – sell, donate or discard – I thought the middle one was the best fit for me. Just by word of mouth, we did score some cash for easy-to-sell items like our snow blower, but I had neither the physical energy nor emotional stamina to hold a big house sale and haggle over whether some cherished object was really worth $3. I’d rather just give it away.

Places That Take Your Stuff

Facebook Marketplace proved effective not only for my childhood furniture but for a range of other possessions. For small household items, we took advantage of a local Salvation Army Dropoff box. There’s also Craigslist, Freecycle and some other organizations listed here.

Late in the game, a friend told me about a “Pass It On” Facebook page restricted to the handful of Chicago suburbs around my house. As you might guess from the name, all items you post on Pass It On must be offered at no charge.

Urgency is built into the group, because it’s first come, first served. The person parting with the item is supposed to give the first responder top priority and so on down the line. Each successive requester simply comments “next” to indicate dibs on being next in line if no earlier responders end up taking the offering.

The Joy of Giving

I had responses just seconds after I posted my coffee maker and coffee bean grinder on Pass It On: North Shore Families. It was as if the members of the page kept a constant lookout for free things they could use, and within the hour someone I’d identify as a young mom – apparently a prominent demographic on the page – arrived to pick up the grinder.

I convinced her to also grab some coffee cups I’d been using as cereal bowls since they were the last remaining receptacles of any kind in the house. Soon after, the coffee maker, too, found a good home.

“This is so great,” the night nurse on staff at a large local hospital said when she showed up on my doorstep. “Our coffee maker broke, and our nurses are buying coffee. Nurses shouldn’t have to buy their own coffee!” I had to agree.

Next came the white metal Elfa drawers I’d bought at the Container Store when my kids were young. They’re so versatile for toys, cleaning supplies, clothes or anything really, and I figured they’d go fast. In no time a mother of 3-year-old twins was piling them into her SUV.

A Goodwill bin at a nearby 7-Eleven sat ready to accept multiple carloads of our no-longer-needed winter clothing, and I found an organization to take in some toys that were still in good shape.

Residing on a well-traveled street was convenient at this point – we could just stack stuff on the parkway, and people driving by would stop to select items to take home. A woman sifting through my bags of discards told me she did a lot of craft projects and was always looking for fabric and small objects she could use in a decorative way.

One person’s trash is indeed another’s treasure. Anything I could keep out of a landfill made me smile as I paid it forward, turning a painful process into a joyous one.

What item could you never part with when downsizing? Have you used donation services when moving to a smaller living space? Which websites or Facebook groups have been the most helpful for finding a new home for the stuff you no longer need?