• Posted December 7, 2025

Healthy Routines Can Stay on Track — Even During Holiday Chaos

The holidays can bring travel, busy schedules and family events, and for many people, that means healthy habits slip. But experts say staying well during this time doesn’t require perfection.

It’s not just the schedule that gets in the way, it’s the expectations we put on ourselves, Samantha Harden, an associate professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Foods and Exercise at Virginia Tech, said in a news release.

"We expect to have time off and be our ‘best selves’ when we step back from work and have all the space to create healthy routines," Harden said. "We set ourselves up for failure thinking we’ll be swimming in time that is actually usurped with all our other holiday activities — ones we love and the ones we loathe."

Instead of waiting for the “perfect” moment to restart routines, Harden suggests blending healthy choices into normal holiday activities.

A few examples include:

• Habit stacking: Pair a healthy action with something you already do, such as sharing one thing you're grateful for after brushing your teeth or taking a short walk after dinner.

• Gamifying: Turn activities into friendly challenges, "such as a plank challenge every time dishes are completed or having a bingo card of movement breaks," Harden explains.

• Involving others: Invite a friend or family member to a fitness class or call someone while walking outdoors.

• Travel hacks: "Move whenever you have time, stay hydrated, and give yourself ample time so backups and delays do not add more anxiety," Harden said.

Harden also recommends thinking about health as more than exercise or nutrition. She said there are six areas of well-being: Happiness, mental and physical health, close social relationships, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, material and financial stability.

"Maybe during the holiday season, you’re putting less time or other resources into your physical well-being, but you’re putting more into your perception of close social relationships," Harden explained. "Let that be enough on your well-being checklist."

“During the holidays and always, don’t think of one meal, day or season away from healthy habits means failure,” Harden said. “An all-or-nothing approach does not work for most things — don’t let the act of being a human become even harder by having expectations that don’t match your goals, behaviors, circumstances or resources.”

More information

Harvard Health has 12 tips for holiday eating.

SOURCE: Virginia Tech, news release, Dec. 3, 2025