'Tis the season! The holidays always bring the aroma of freshly baked pumpkin muffins, gingerbread cookies, roasted turkey with all the buttered trimmings…and the not-as-appetizing thought of January fitness resolutions.
Too often, we tend to binge eat our way through the holidays, thinking, “I’ll buckle down between Thanksgiving and Christmas,” which leads to, “Well, I’ll start over after this next holiday party,” which leads to, “I’ll just get serious about my fitness and nutrition in January with everyone else.”
The problem with that mindset is that it is based on denial, procrastination, and typically shame or guilt. And who accomplishes anything worthwhile while laden with shame and guilt? (Spoiler alert—no one!)
I’ve been guilty of this pattern and finally broke out of the habit over the last several years. The biggest lie we can tell ourselves in fitness is “I’ll start over tomorrow.” Maybe you will. But why not now? Instead of continuing to eat poorly and be upset with yourself for the rest of the day, why not make a better choice with your next choice? Why not go for a walk right now? Why not move your body today instead of waiting for tomorrow…next Monday…next year…
We would never do this with sin, right? We don’t sin and tell God, “Well, I already messed up today, so I’m going to just keep sinning until tomorrow, next week, or next year.” That’s silly. So why do we do this to our own bodies and our own mental and emotional health?
Here’s the truth—there is a middle ground between over-indulging for weeks or months straight, and being so strict you don’t enjoy the holidays. There is a middle ground between loafing on the couch full of cheese for weeks and running yourself into painful shin splits on a treadmill. And that middle ground has everything to do with obtainable goals and a godly mindset!
So here are five ways to create—and maintain—your fitness goals as you navigate the holiday season.
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1. Start.
This seems over-simplified, but sometimes, the best way to meet a goal is to begin. Start small, as long as you start. Don’t procrastinate; wait until January 1st when the gyms are overcrowded and your pants won’t button. Go for a walk today. Get moving today. Meal prep today. One of the cool ways God designed our bodies is that productivity and activity beget more productivity and activity. Do you know that feeling you get when you’re bored, and suddenly it’s hard to want to do anything, even stuff you like? The opposite is also true. The more we care for our bodies, the more we want to. The healthier we eat, the healthier we want to eat. The more we exercise, the more we want to exercise. Eventually, our bodies even stop craving the chemicals and the fake foods. It just takes time…which is why we should start now. Why wait?
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2. Pray about it.
Ask God what specifically is a good way for you to start exercising. The Holy Spirit knows what will be healthy for you, and what will be a temptation into obsession or negative body image. Not everyone is meant to weigh weekly or count calories. Not everyone is meant to be a runner. Not everyone is meant to join a class. So ask Him where you should start, then get going…and keep praying.
One of the things I love most about exercising is the opportunity to pray while I do it. I’ll admit that doesn’t happen often in the middle of CrossFit class (not very many coherent thoughts at all happen in the middle of a CrossFit class!), but there have been times when I’m running (and struggling to do so) that I start praying. And before I know it, I’ve completed the lap. Praying took my mind off my physical struggle. (Whew. That’ll preach!) A good friend of mine is a marathon runner, and she uses her morning runs as her quiet time to listen to worship music and pray. She used to hate running, but now, it’s her favorite part of the day. There are many natural opportunities to grow your spiritual life while working on fitness. If you can exercise to some degree outside in God’s creation, it's even better.
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3. Envision the goal.
Goals can become obsessive, but they can also be healthy and God-honoring. And our goal here in faith and fitness is not to become obsessive or make fitness an idol, but rather, create obtainable steps toward a God-glorying end. That step is joining a gym or finding a video to exercise at home. Perhaps it’s finding a jogging buddy, starting a Couch to 5k program, or trying a dance class. Your goals will look different than someone else’s, and that’s okay. This isn’t a competition (unless, of course, you’re actually in a 5k::wink::)
The point is to think about how much better you’ll feel on Christmas Day, having exercised over the weeks leading up to it, rather than trying to find room for one more piece of pie and dreading the turn of the calendar page. I’ve heard it said: “The time is going to pass anyway.” Again, simple but oh so accurate. The time is going to pass. Lord willing, January 1st is coming, and how you feel on that day is determined by the choices you make before then. Do you want to enjoy that season, or feel grumpy that your clothes are tight and you huff and puff climbing the stairs? Do you want to feel confident and healthy, or annoyed that you repeatedly put off your promises to yourself? It’s up to you.
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4. Adjust your mindset.
Challenge yourself to think of fitness as a gift, not a burden. Some people legitimately can’t exercise in the ways you can, and they would give anything to be able to. Moving your body is a gift. When you think of it that way, you come at exercise with a heart of thanksgiving rather than a grouchy attitude. You don’t have to—you get to. And it honors God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (ESV) Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
One time, when I was going through a hard season, I thought about getting a milkshake because “I deserved it.” Don’t get me wrong, it’s completely fine to enjoy an occasional milkshake. Amen! But for me that day, it wasn’t about the milkshake but about emotional eating. It was a method of coping with stress. My friend knew that, and she gently reminded me that it was okay to get the treat if I wanted, but to remember that what I—and my body—deserved in that stressful season was healthy, nutritious food and exercise. That word of wisdom has changed my thinking on this topic so thoroughly, and has aided in my temptation to stress eat ever since. When we change our mindset, we can change our bodies, habits, and lives.
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5. Count the cost.
Exercise is challenging, you guys. If it weren’t, the gyms would be crowded year-round instead of for three weeks in January! But the cost of sore muscles, heavy breathing, and being uncomfortable for thirty minutes to an hour is beyond worth it. Remember, you are a whole unit. Too often, we try to separate body from spirit from mind from heart from hormones, as if the one doesn’t affect the other. We compartmentalize our thoughts from our hearts and our bodies. But they are all tied together by God’s design. Think about it—when we are sick, we emotionally suffer and get down. When we are hormonal, our bodies react. When we are stressed, that stress manifests in our bodies through headaches and acne, digestive issues, aches and pains, etc. It’s all connected.
Endorphins are crucial for whole body, mental, and emotional health. Endorphins are hormones that are released when your body feels stress or pain. Known as “feel-good” chemicals, these neurotransmitters are released by the pituitary gland and hypothalamus in the brain. And you guessed it—one way to release these helpful little guys is via exercise. That’s why when I leave CrossFit, I feel amazing despite having just strained my body to near failure. I can be dripping in sweat and sporting a bruise on my shin from missing my box jump and have shaky arms from wall balls, but still feel like a million bucks. And that good feeling stays with me throughout the day, fueling my mind, body, and emotions with energy, creativity, and an upbeat mood.
True story—I was in a horrible mood heading to class a few weeks ago, so I almost didn’t go. I had felt sluggish and depressed and overcome with worry about different circumstances for days. Nothing in me wanted to go to the gym. But I went, and it was a class where we worked heavy squats. And somehow, something broke off during that third rep of back-squatting my body weight. I put a physical load on my back, and it replaced the emotional load that had been weighing on me for days. I left the gym incredibly happy for the first time all week. God used that workout session to help me.
Endorphins aren’t magic or science—they are one of God’s gifts to us. And in this season of gift-giving, they are a crucial one you can’t afford to ignore or return. Commit to gifting yourself a new godly mindset toward faith and fitness this holiday. You won’t regret it—especially on January 1st!
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Maya Karkalicheva
Originally published Thursday, 16 October 2025.
