Anyone else love advent calendars? When I was little, my mother always gave my brothers and I two different advent calendars for us to open every day. The first was a generic calendar filled with mini chocolates, while the second was a Play Mobile calendar for us to share. Each year we would nibble on our daily chocolate and place the new Play Mobile character or object into the set arrangement, always taking time to guess what number 24 would be (which for some reason was always Santa, but we never seemed to catch onto after doing it year-after-year).
With my love for the advent calendar, as well as the holiday season, I thought it would be fun to try something a bit different. Instead of indulging in a new chocolate every day, or trying the 24 days of baking, I thought it would be fun to focus on my health. To take 24 days to prepare myself for a delicious Christmas feast, while also setting myself up for success once the new year approaches.
24 Days of Healthy Holidays became the brainchild of that vision, which I am excited to share with all of you! It walks you through 24 days of workouts, as well as two weeks’ worth of healthy, low-carb meals for you to cycle through. I put together a printable e-book for you to check off your daily workouts, as well as a guide for healthy meals/snacks for you to make. All resources for your workouts (and recipes) are completely FREE, located right here in this blog post.
Guidelines for the 24 Days of Healthy Holidays:
- Try to be active for 30 minutes every day. Some of the workouts provided below are already 30-minute videos. If they aren’t, click on another and round out your workout to a total of 30 minutes. I would also recommend doing a good warmup before and a stretch afterward.
- Allow yourself one “cheat” a week. It is the holidays after all, and I know holiday parties will be taking place. Plan out when you are going to take your cheats, and make sure that you don’t go overboard. When I say cheat, I mean a small dessert, a frothy peppermint mocha, or a Christmas tree donut that your co-worker brought to the office.
- Or, try not to cheat at all! I don’t plan on having any holiday sweets until Christmas Eve. If you are trying to get yourself into healthier habits before the new year even starts, I recommend trying this out with me.
- Get a buddy! Doing this is way easier when you have accountability. Share this with a friend and ask them to join you in this advent challenge!
- Daily reflection in a gratitude journal: Since the holidays are all about being grateful and joyful, take time every night to reflect on one thing that brings you joy. Write it down in a gratitude journal!
- Use the hashtag #ilivebalanced: And finally, be sure to share your experience on this blog’s hashtag #ilivebalanced
I am SO excited to be embarking on this journey with all of you! Everything you need is below, and if you have any questions, feel free to shoot me an email at hello@kierstenhickman.com.
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Meals
Breakfast
- Greek Yogurt with berries & homemade granola (by Kiersten Hickman)
- Egg Cups (by The Dinner Mom)
- Smoothie Packs (by SELF Magazine)
- Quick oatmeal (by A Mom’s Take)
Lunch
- Asian Chicken Salad (by Taste of Home)
- Tuna in Pita Pockets (by Culinary Ginger)
- Honey Sriracha Meatballs (by Eat Yourself Skinny)
- Apple Walnut Cranberry Salad (by Flavor Mosaic)
Snacks
- Popcorn
- Pickles
- Sliced Cheese
- Pepperoni
- Bell Pepper Slices
- Carrots with Hummus
- Banana with Peanut Butter
- Dark Chocolate
Dinner
- Meatballs with Zoodles (by Kiersten Hickman)
- Skinny Taco Salad (by Well Plated)
- Sausage with Peppers & Onions on Zoodles (by Kiersten Hickman)
- Pork Chops with Roasted Squash (by Damn Delicious & All Recipes)
- Serve with a side of greens with balsamic vinaigrette
- Chicken Fried Rice (by Life In The Lofthouse)
- Stuffed Peppers (by Honey Bee Homemaker)
- Pesto Chicken with Roasted Green Beans (by Kalyn’s Kitchen & Frugal Living Mom)
- Buffalo Chicken Zucchini Boats (by The Wholesome Dish)
- Chicken Zucchini Fritters with Roasted Green Beans (by My Suburban Kitchen & Frugal Living Mom)
- Paprika Chicken Thighs with Brussel Sprouts (by Eating Well Magazine)
- Serve with a side of Roasted Sweet Potatoes (by Kiersten Hickman)
- Teriyaki Chicken with Roasted Sweet Potatoes (by Mom on Timeout & Kiersten Hickman)
- Serve with a side of greens with balsamic vinaigrette
- Tuna Melts on Sweet Potato Toast (by Lexi’s Clan Kitchen)
- Taco Lettuce Wraps (by Skinny Taste)
- Spiralizer Sweet Potato Enchilada Skillet (by Sweet Peas and Saffron)
Workouts
Try to workout between 25-30 minutes a day. Some of these routines are less than 30 minutes, so you can either repeat them or try a new routine!
Total Body Cardio
- 30 Minute Full-Body Cardo Workout, No Equipment, 30 minutes (via POPSUGAR Fitness)
- Lean & Sculpted Body, 30 minutes (via Blogilates)
- The 20 Minute Total Body Cardio Workout, 20 minutes (via Greatist)
- Full Body Cardio Workout, 30 minutes (via Shape)
Legs
- 7 Exercise Moves for Lean, Sexy Legs, 15 minutes(via Women’s Health)
- 18 Moves to Tone Your Legs, 30 minutes (via Health)
- Best Thigh Exercises for Toned Legs, 12 minutes (via Blogilates)
- Sexy Summer Legs Workout, 20 minutes (via TransformFitspo.com)
Arms & Abs
- Core Crusher, 11 minutes (Blogilates)
- Arm Fat Blaster, 15 minutes (Blogilates)
- Shoulders Workout, 20 minutes (My Trainer Carmen)
- Arms Workout, 30 minutes WorkoutLabs.com
Cardio
- HIIT Workout, 25 minutes (via Tone It Up)
- Ultimate Fat Burn Workout, 8 minutes (via Blogilates)
- Silent Death Cardio, 13 minutes (via Blogilates)
- Full HIIT Workout, 30 minutes (My Trainer Carmen)
Butt
- Lower Body Workout, 10 minutes (via Tone It Up)
- Best Booty Burn + Tricep Toner Workout, 30 minutes (via Tone It Up)
- Build a Booty Workout, 13 minutes (via Blogilates)
- Body Weight Booty Workout, 30 minutes (My Trainer Carmen)
*Something Fun*
- Cardio Dance, 13 minutes (via Blogilates)
- Kickboxing-Inspired Dance Cardio, 30 minutes (POPSUGAR Fitness)
- Cardio Dance Workout for Celebs, 25 minutes (POPSUGAR Fitness)
- Go for a walk outside, 1 hour
Yoga
- Full Body Power Yoga, 30 minutes (via SarahBethYoga)
- Yoga for Weight Loss, 40 minutes (Yoga with Adriene)
- Power Yoga Workout, 30 minutes (Heart Alchemy Yoga)
- Yoga Workout Challenge, 20 minutes (Boho Beautiful)
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