TAKING ACTION: ✅ Does your family celebrate the New Year in a big way? Or are you in bed at your regular time? Let’s wrap up the week by participating in the comments below today! Coming up next: the New Year. 🎉 We’ve almost made it through the holiday season, friends; however, the New Year is a holiday that many of you celebrate—and celebrate big! Some of us our in our pajamas by 9:00 PM on NYE, but some of us like to ring in the New Year! Even if food choices aren’t as big a struggle on this particular holiday, there is another topic we need to discuss because it’s often consumed on New Year’s Eve— And that’s alcohol. 🥂 If you plan to have a few cocktails over the next few days, it’s best to plan for them ahead of time. Tracking alcohol is a little different than tracking your macros, and it’s important to know that you can’t simply rely on the label. If you need more information about how to track alcohol, check out this in-depth article below. The article also contains a few alcohol cheat sheets for your benefit! 🥂 How To Track Alcohol Macros | Lauren Fit Foodie

TAKING ACTION: ✅ What’s your favorite treat to enjoy during the holiday season? Let’s have a little fun in the comments below! You know I love giving you healthy, delicious recipe ideas every Tuesday—but let’s be real—all we’re thinking about today is what we’re going to eat over the next several days. Am I right or am I right? 😉 With that in mind, I want to give you some healthy Christmas treat ideas today. While we all have different tastes and preferences when it comes to our cravings, the truth is that sugary sweets have a stronghold on many people. That's because processed sugar is highly addictive. It's why some (okay, most) people can't just have one cookie, one bite, etc. Processed sugar creates a massive dopamine dump, and therefore, your brain wants to find (and consume) more sugar! If you know sugar is a struggle for you, but still want to enjoy a sweet treat, try creating a recipe that uses alternative sweeteners like fruit, maple syrup, honey, or dark chocolate. Check out the recipes below and find one that will satisfy your holiday cravings! 🍪 https://thehealthyfoodie.com/25-healthy-christmas-treats-recipe-roundup/

“Have yourself a healthy little Christmas…” TAKING ACTION: ✅ We are starting our second and final week of our FITMAS Challenge today, friends! Comment FITMAS below if you’re in it to win it! 👊 Good morning and Merry Christmas week, friends! 🎄 For some, this week will be filled with back-to-back holiday celebrations. If you fall into that category, hear me when I say this—there’s no need to stress over it. Seriously. It’s critical to keep your mindset in the right place. This includes leaving shame and defeat at the door. This conversation is always a tricky one for me. It’s tricky because I strongly believe you need to give yourself both truth and grace if you want to create healthy coping mechanisms. For example, if you fall off track, it’s important that you admit that and allow yourself to feel what it feels like to disappoint yourself. Neuroscience tells us this is actually a very critical step in overcoming “feelings” about ourselves. We must face the actual truth of what is; however, it’s just as critical to give yourself grace afterwards and create rational thoughts about those feelings. Rational thoughts may look like ⬇️ 🧠 I haven’t ruined everything. 🧠 I’m not ultimately defeated because of this. There’s always “my next best decision”. 🧠 Everyone (and I do mean everyone) has hiccups. That’s life. That’s reality. As you navigate the upcoming week, remember this quote and repeat it to yourself as often as needed: “Truth without grace is mean, but grace without truth is meaningless.” With that in mind, let’s enter into this week with both at the forefront of our minds—if you do, you’re going to have yourself a merry (and mentally healthy) little Christmas! 🥰 FITMAS CHALLENGE: WEEK 2!! Seated Knee Lifts • Sit tall in a chair • Lift one knee at a time • 10–20 total reps Great for hips + gentle core activation

“Your body can stand almost anything. It’s your mind that you have to convince.” ~Andrew Murphy TAKING ACTION: ✅ After reading today’s post, have you noticed a difference in any of the brain changes listed below that typically improve because of regular exercise? Share with us below! ✅ Remember to go all in with our FITMAS Challenge! You’re improving your mind and body! This week, we’re talking about why fitness is so important when it comes to your health & wellness journey. Just in the last couple of weeks, we discussed your metabolism—and how muscle is one of the most important factors to consider for your metabolic health. With that said, you already know your fitness journey is important because when you strength train, you’re building muscle—and metabolic health! 💪 But aside from that, why else is it important? Well, friends, that’s an answer that would take me a lifetime to write about. The benefits of working out are too numerous to cover in one week; therefore, I will do my best to break them down for you this week. One reason your fitness journey matters so much is because of its effect(s) on your brain! 🧠 Here are the three most common and well-researched positive effects that regular exercise has on your brain: 🧠 Improved Mood & Reduced Depression/Anxiety 🧠 Sharpened Memory, Focus & Cognitive Function 🧠 Strong Protection Against Brain Aging & Neurodegenerative Diseases For the sake of time, we’ll get into this topic a little deeper tomorrow, but as you can see, the benefits exercise has on your brain are serious matters, friends. It’s about more than building a great body. It’s about more than building healthy muscle tissue. Exercise and fitness play a huge role in the health of your brain—and your brain is your most powerful weapon! 💯 FITMAS CHALLENGE DAY 3: Wall Push-Ups• 8–12 reps• 3 sets Hands on wall, body angledUpper body + core without wrist strain

“Success in life is not for those who run fast, but for those who keep running and are always on the move.” ~Bangambiki Habyarimana TAKING ACTION: ✅ As always, share your weekly win today, friends! Celebrating your wins consistently plays a big role in changing your brain. We celebrate on purpose! 🎉 I love the quote above. It’s simple, yet its meaning is much deeper than what meets the eye. Your “success” doesn’t have to be fast. The real success happens when you keep going. When you refuse to give up. This is true because when you do so, you quite literally change. You become unrecognizable. You grow as a person. Your goals change. You continue to move closer to the person you desire to be. This can’t happen by reaching your goals quickly; therefore, that’s why “fast” doesn’t mean “successful”. If you really want to feel successful, keep going. Keep going when it gets hard. Keep going when you don’t feel like it. Keep going when you have to force yourself. Keep going when the going gets tough. That’s real change. That’s real success. 💯 💪 FITMAS CHALLENGE DAY 5: Standing Stretch + Deep Breathing• Reach arms overhead, inhale• Exhale and fold or side stretch• 3–5 slow breathsNervous system regulation + recovery