As Fall starts and temps cool down (not where I live sadly), everyone starts to look forward to the holiday seasons and new year. It’s a time of preparing for school and work commitments. So to make sure that you are keeping up with your healthy habits or starting new ones, here are 15 tips to fall into fitness.

See what I did there… (￣y▽,￣)╭

Pin me please!

1. Figure out what kind of activities you like to do indoors and outdoors.

Depending on where you live, the Fall season can either be an amazing season to revel in reasonable temperatures or be a cluster of temperamental weather changes ranging from frigid tundra to Amazonian rainforest.

That’s why its best to plan beforehand to make sure you don’t have an excuse to miss that workout.

Some indoor activities can be a video workout. My mom loves Jillian Michaels DVDs, while I’m more of a Fitness Blender and Blogilates fan. The ease of using YouTube anywhere versus being restricted to a TV just makes me unmotivated.

Outdoor activities can be like walking, running, boot camps, etc. These are things you can either do by yourself (thank goodness) or with your friends. Just make sure to be consistent with it.

2. Take it easy and focus on your diet.

Fall is the start of the holiday season. For some, it might be the most jovial time of the year. For INFPs like me, it’s a time of mourning for what alone time we used to have.

Parties, get-togethers, reunions, fall /winter weddings, etc.

In the clamor of events, your fitness goals can take a major hit if you are not careful. Exercising becomes somewhat more difficult. Eating becomes more of a habit. And you descend down further into the rabbit hole.

To make life slightly less complicated in terms of your fitness goals, you have two choices.

Push through the holidays and keep up with your fitness efforts

Dial back some aspects of your fitness plan to make sure you don’t erase your recent progress

The first one is an obvious plan of action, but it’s not great for everyone. For example, I am notoriously horrible at brute forcing things that are hard.

Health doesn’t have to be hard, but most people make it so. And it’s only more so in the holidays.

Go ahead if you know you can do it and have been successful in reaching your goals. But I half-ass everything, so no bueno for me.

The other option is more realistic for most people. It can be done in many ways.

For calorie counters, eat using your maintenance calories (TDEE) to prevent gain or loss of weight/fat. This link has info on how to find out what this is.

For intuitive eaters, really focus on maximizing your nutrition while you eat. So more fibrous foods, fats, and proteins. Then you can have other types of carbs to top it off.

3. Find a class to try.

Gyms, trainers, and fads are starting to ramp up in preparing for the tidal wave of people who want to start their fitness journey.

Use that to your advantage. Gyms usually offer specials for memberships and trainers will have deals on workout packages.

Fads will be easier to sniff out. So please avoid those.

Find a place that encourages a community aspect.

Places like Groupon, Living Social, and etc. are great places to find deals on new places you may have never seen in your area.

4. Check your gear.

A little known fact about me is that I used to have knock knee (genu valgum for all you med geeks out there). You’d never be able to tell now, but I went through a lot of shoes.

I mean a ton because of my gait.

Make sure to check your gear so it isn’t hindering you in any way. I know that when I finally got some shoes that helped me walk better after my multiple surgeries, I felt so much better.

No back pain from walking. I could walk farther and faster too.

5. Try meditation.

With all of the hub-bub of our lives, sometimes we just need to come back and recenter ourselves. Meditation is a method that works for many.

Yoga is one popular form. The stereotypical “Ohm…” is another. I honestly meditate sitting up, relax ing on a chair.

There are many apps to guide you if you are a beginner, like me.

6. Reassess your goals.

Every once in awhile, you may find that you aren’t progressing as much as before. For most, this is called a plateau.



I honestly think plateaus are both physical and mental.

The physical is when you don’t see the number on the scale or inches go down, or even when your clothes still fit the same despite all of your effort s.

(Disclaimer: This is for people who are actually focusing on making a lifestyle change, not those who are jumping into the next fad.)

Really make sure to plan in a way that fits you this season.

The mental one is where you don’t see your progress or feel as if your progress is not enough.

These are perfect times to recollect yourself and look at how far you have come.

I happily advise you to write a letter to yourself, as I did here, celebrating the victories!

7. Invest in self-care .

Massages, mani-pedis, hanging out with your friends, reading, sleeping, lying on the floor staring at the ceiling.

Whatever you want to do to relax and forget about the day, week, and/or year, just do it.

I personally do photography, video editing, skincare, and blogging as my outlets.

Here’s a pic of mine.

One of my favorites.

8. Find a fitness buddy.

Fall is a great time to find someone to share the journey with. Find a friend that has similar goals or just amplifies your energy when you are together.

I know that I am soooo much more comfortable when I’m with people I know. Which can make working out so much better and safer since I won’t push my limits. Especially, when I weight train, which can get pretty dangerous if you aren’t paying attention.

9. Learn a new recipe.

I personally like to figure out how to make my culture’s food less caloric.

My mom does the Keto diet as it helps her enjoy foods without a gallbladder.

And my brother eats anything, but usually finds new recipes online to try when he has time.

Basically, find a way to find new foods or recipes to try and incorporate into your diet.

It’s a lot easier to stick to a lifestyle change when your culture’s food still tastes good and doesn’t destroy your calorie goal, your new diet actually helps you feel better, or you have options to try.

10. Try meal prepping.

Fall is a busy time for many. Everyone is getting back into the lull of the normal workday for them.

And that can cause you to forget things. Like eating.

Been there. It’s not fun.

Try meal prepping. You can start with just prepping a snack every day and working your way up from there.

Eventually, you’ll be able to easily make an entire week’s worth of food.

When it was easy for me to meal prep (circa a few years ago), I would make one to two weeks of two meals and a snack.

Freeze the next week’s meal and refrigerate the rest to warm up each day. (I mostly eat rice which is super spicy, so it holds its taste a lot better.

Looks tasty, right?

11. Add extra activity throughout your day.

Simple additions to your day can easily snowball into tangible results. My campus is a walking/biking campus, so I naturally walk everywhere.

I try to get 10k steps as my reach goal but can settle with a solid 8.5k as well.

When I was at home for the summer, I would walk to my local station or the corresponding bus stop instead of paying $2 to go somewhere 5-8 minutes away.

Basically, there is a way to include some extra activity no matter how small.

12. Prepare for the holiday season.

Prepare for the shallow conversations with family. Prepare for explaining why you probably won’t be at the dinner. Prepare to be bombarded with a ton of stress for the most benign things ever.

My family doesn’t really celebrate any of the fall/winter holidays at all. My mom’s an INFJ, so she prefers the intimacy of our immediate family where she can relax. So it influenced me and my brother.

Others can’t do that. They have to go home or to a place that they would rather be elsewhere more than anything.

Make your game plan now. At my college, you can request to stay on campus during breaks. You are kinda SOL since the food places on campus are closed, but at least you have an extra option.

If you have to go home, then prepare for impact. I always have a tendency to feel a bit jarred when I come back after being away for so long.

But as long as I stayed my usual self and explained that I have a ton of work, I was fine. My mom has an education-first mindset, so that works for me.

13. Try a Fall Fitness Challenge

Now be careful with this one. Sometimes it can go out of hand when you jump in completely.

This is coming from the person who tried to do a Blogilates squat challenge and couldn’t sit down properly for three days.

Do a challenge if you know you can start it and make sure to go at your own pace.

Missed your day 5 workout because of school or prior commitment?

Do not try to catch up on day 6. Either do it on a rest day if you are able or just don’t worry about it. Just keep moving on.

14. Plan non-food related events with friends.

Pumpkin. Spice. Lattes.

I don’t get it. I don’t drink coffee, so maybe that’s why?

What I don’t get is why people make events so focused on food.

Whole festivals dedicated to eating, paint and drink some wine, going to the movies practically requires the super caloric but super tasty popcorn.

To help prevent some major derailing, plan something with your friends that doesn’t involve food. Like hiking, window shopping (did a ton of that), scavenger hunt, a tour, etc.

There are so many interesting things to do besides eat.

15. Get some sunlight.

Please don’t do it like this and always wear sunscreen!

This time of the year gets darker and gloomier, which means paradise for a majority of my fellow introverts!

I can stay inside all day and still be socially acceptable.

But that’s not good from a health standpoint. Get that Vitamin D, ya hear?

It’s tempting to stay inside buried under covers, but please…

Take a walk outside and absorb that sunlight.

That’s it for me!

Hope this helps you in achieving your fitness goals this fall. (*^▽^*)