The festive season can throw our exercise routines out the window. You might be staying somewhere different, with no access to a gym. Maybe your yoga studio is closed or social sport is on a break. Or you might just be too flat out with social events to find the time.

For some people, a break from pushing their bodies will be exactly what they need.

But others will want to keep up the fitness and strength they’ve been working on throughout the year – and some will crave the mental release.

Here are some low-equipment, time-efficient strategies to keep you exercising through the break.

Staying fit

If you want to stay fit over the festive season, walking can be an easy and effective low-impact way to keep enjoying the health benefits of cardio exercise.

But how much should you walk? The more steps you take each day, the lower your risk of dying early, from any cause.

For adults 60 years and older, the benefits plateau around 6,000–8,000 steps a day, and for those under 60, at 8,000–10,000 steps. So these are good to aim for.

But people who run a lot or play a sport may be trying to maintain a higher level of cardio fitness over the holidays.

So, say you have been including brisk walks, running or high-intensity interval training into your routine.

You can reduce the number of sessions (for example, from five to two sessions a week) and/or how long they last (for example, from 40 minutes down to 20 minutes).

But to maintain your fitness, it’s key to push to the same intensity as normal when you do train.

You can also try cardio exercise snacks. These are short, high-intensity workouts, typically less than ten minutes. But they’ve been shown to enhance cardio fitness.

There is evidence even five minutes or less of high-intensity interval training – where you work hard for 30 seconds and then rest for 30 seconds – can still improve cardio fitness.

Another recent study found one minute of vigorous physical activity has the same health benefits as 4–9 minutes of moderate activity, and up to 153 minutes of light exercise.

So even a tiny “snack” is worth doing, if you’re able to exercise at a high intensity.

Keeping strong

For those who want to build or maintain muscle strength, small bouts of body weight training can work as resistance exercise snacks – a similar idea to cardio snacks.

These involve using your body for resistance rather than gym equipment. So they are lower intensity, but you do them more often (most days or even every day).

A suggested approach: do just 1-2 exercises per muscle group and 1–2 sets per exercise. Do this for up to 15 minutes at a time, in five to seven sessions a week.

Below is an example workout which can be completed as a circuit at home or the local park. Be sure to include a warm-up and cool-down either side of the workout.

If you already lift moderate to high loads at the gym, and still have access to equipment, you may prefer to try a low-volume and high-load approach.

This might mean you do just one session a week, and one set of exercises, but you keep the amount you lift the same.

Maintaining your wellbeing

Many of us exercise because it helps us de-stress and improves our mental health.

One 2025 study pooling the evidence shows people often report better wellbeing on days when they are active, and dips on days they are more sedentary.

Fitting exercise in during holidays can be tricky. But this period, which can mean more social events and fun as well as stress, tension, conflict – and for some people, loneliness – may be when you need it most.

Activities such as swimming, yoga or walking for 20–40 minutes can help to improve mood, anxiety and tension.

Exercising in a calming environment is also important for reducing stress. So if you can, find somewhere quiet or go outdoors in nature, whether solo or with family and friends.

Exercise can also be a chance to connect. Research shows for families with younger children, being active together can increase the feeling of involvement and closeness.

Consider family activities for the break such as bike riding, swimming at the pool or beach, Christmas light walking trials or “exergaming” (digital games that involve physical activity) such as Just Dance.

But it’s OK to take a break

Regular physical activity is important for health and wellbeing. But it’s possible to become fixated on fitness and for feelings of worry or withdrawal to creep in at the thought of working out less over the holiday period.

Don’t forget that taking a few weeks off can also be good for you. It allows the body and mind to have a break and recover both physically and mentally from a regular or strict exercise regime.

Sleep and downtime are vital for recovery. But you’re more likely to neglect these during busy periods, such as when you’re juggling deadlines and social events in the lead up to the holidays. And you’re more likely to be stressed and tired too.

Allowing yourself to reduce your exercise commitments, prioritise self-care, and allow more time to rest might be just what you need.

Seek guidance from your health-care provider and/or an exercise professional before undertaking a new exercise program.

Joanna Nicholas, Lecturer in Dance and Performance Science, Edith Cowan University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

A long-awaited expert update on the dietary changes needed to support both human and planetary health comes out clearly in favour of a plant-based approach.

The EAT-Lancet Commission says a shift towards its planetary health diet, released last week, could prevent 40,000 early deaths a day across the world and cut agricultural methane emissions by 15% by 2050.

The diet promotes more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes and nuts, with only modest amounts of meat, fish, poultry and dairy.

If you imagine a plate, half would be filled with vegetables and fruit (with more vegetables than fruit). Most of the remaining half would be whole grains and plant proteins. There’s room for small amounts of animal products and healthy fats, but very little added sugar. Notably, butter doesn’t get a mention.

The most contentious aspect is the commission’s recommendation on meat: just 14 grams per day of red meat and 29 grams per day of poultry – that’s roughly one small steak, one lamb chop, or two chicken drumsticks per week.

New Zealand’s traditional diet is a long way off this recommendation. But my recent study of teenage girls across the country suggests a shift is underway, with most embracing a predominantly plant-based diet.

How we know what’s best to eat

Many factors influence food choices – hunger, emotions, health, culture, media, taste, habits and family traditions.

Evidence-based dietary guidance, such as national food and nutrition guidelines, also plays a role.

In New Zealand, people may be familiar with the “5+ a day” message promoting fruit and vegetable consumption. That recommendation has since shifted to “7+ a day” as new evidence has emerged.

Over the past decade, nutritional guidelines have increasingly incorporated environmental sustainability, acknowledging that around 30% of global emissions come from growing, processing and transporting food.

The EAT-Lancet Commission took this sustainability focus further in its first release of the planetary health diet in 2019. It argued that by changing what we eat, reducing food waste and improving food production systems, we could feed a growing global population while minimising environmental damage.

Less meat is a win-win

This approach is a significant departure from traditional diets in Aotearoa New Zealand. The British-influenced “meat and three veg” (often with potatoes as one of the vegetables) and the Māori hāngi of pork, seafood, kumara and local greens don’t align neatly with the EAT-Lancet recommendations.

One criticism of the original report was its limited consideration of indigenous food systems. In my view, the minimal inclusion of starchy vegetables such as potatoes, cassava, kumara, maize and millet is hard to justify. These are staple foods – affordable, widely available and important sources of energy for many communities.

But most New Zealand adults consume nearly twice the recommended amount of protein. Reducing meat is therefore unlikely to lead to inadequate protein intakes.

Currently, about 40% of New Zealanders’ protein comes from animal sources (meat, dairy, fish). The remaining 60% comes from plants.

The belief that only animal proteins are of high quality – due to their amino acid profile and digestibility – is outdated. It’s a common misconception that some amino acid are only available through meat. Plants contain all essential amino acids, albeit in varying proportions.

For most adults, a diet with smaller amounts of meat would be a win-win: better for their health and better for the planet.

So, should New Zealand embrace the planetary health diet?

In many ways, we already are. My study of teenage girls found those following an omnivorous diet got 69% of their energy from plant-based foods (ranging from 43% to 92%), while vegetarians averaged 83% (ranging from 51% to 100%).

However, New Zealanders still consume more saturated fat than recommended and not enough dietary fibre. Shifting further toward the planetary health diet could help address these imbalances and reduce the risk of premature death from heart disease and cancer, our leading causes of mortality.

A diet for people and the planet

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the meat industry has been pushing back against the commission’s recommendations ever since the first release of the planetary health diet.

A recent report published by the Changing Markets Foundation identifies a network of influential pro-meat voices in industry, academia and governments actively working to discredit the commission’s findings.

Some nutrition academics have raised concerns about the relatively low quantity of meat and fish. Some experts argue the low amount of meat may not meet the nutritional needs of certain groups such as pregnant women and young children, who would benefit from the iron and zinc found in red meat because it is easier to absorb than from vegetable sources.

Adding to the complexity is the global obsession with protein – often associated with meat. While fat and carbohydrates have been vilified, protein enjoys a nutritional halo.

The updated guidelines place greater emphasis on environmental sustainability and, importantly, acknowledge the need to respect and empower diverse food cultures and uphold the universal human right to food.

As we face the twin challenges of climate change and rising rates of diet-related disease, I argue the planetary health diet offers a recipe for a healthier, more sustainable future.

It’s not about eliminating entire food groups or enforcing a one-size-fits-all approach. Rather, it’s about making thoughtful, evidence-based choices that nourish both people and the planet.

Sheila Skeaff, Professor of Human Nutrition, University of Otago

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.