Staying Healthy During The Holiday Season
The holidays are full of family, friends, great food, and great memories. But they aren’t always compatible with a health and wellness lifestyle. It tends to happen like clockwork, the holiday season rolls around and we start to become a little lax on the eating and lifestyle habits we upheld the rest of the year.
In addition to that, all the festive parties you might attend and the stress the holidays usually bring typically results in a hit to our overall well being from November to New Year’s. However it doesn’t have to be that way and there are even a few tricks and tips that make maintaining a healthy lifestyle year-round possible.
Tips for staying healthy
So, how do you survive this holiday season with your sanity, and health, intact? By being aware, conscious, and caring towards your needs. This goes for anything from self-care to conscious eating. Because even though your usual schedule is out of control, that doesn’t mean your own personal balance and wellness need to be.
The following are a few tips to help you stay healthy and happy during the holiday season, and even tips to help you with your wellness goals all year long.
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Slow your pace
This actually is a great place to start, both in your eating habits and your life. In your daily life, take the time each day to just breathe, be still, and find the calm in the chaos that the holiday season often brings.
In your eating routines, take the time to slow down and enjoy the food. Practicing mindful eating is also a great way to make sure you’re taking the time needed to thoroughly enjoy your food. The holidays can be a busy time, but that doesn’t mean you can’t intentionally slow things down and enjoy the moments you are in. Allow yourself time to breathe, and your body and mind will thank you.
Homemade instead of processed
Homemade everything can be difficult when you have a lot going on, but it can also ensure that you’re eating much healthier. Processed, canned and premade foods are full of excess salt and sugar that you can avoid by making the dishes yourself.
By making your own homemade cream of mushroom soup, you can drastically reduce your sodium intake for that meal. The same can be said for other dishes like making your own cranberry sauce from scratch to reduce your sugar intake. Both take only moments to stir in a pot before letting them simmer. Making the food from scratch will also make you much more aware of what you’re eating and when, giving you more control and awareness in the long run.
Take time for yourself
The holidays are full of family and friends, and while this can be a great thing, it can also be draining and stressful. Whether you’re staying with family over the holidays or just attending a large number of events, remember to take time every day for yourself.
You can do this by either going for a walk, meditating once a day, or even just by going to the store. Taking time for yourself is essential, and shouldn’t be taken for granted even with the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Even if it’s just for 30 minutes, everyone needs time to recharge.
Give memories
Often times our culture gets caught up in the material aspect of things, but this creates a society of ‘more’ instead of one of gratefulness or reflection. But sometimes giving the gift of memories is more meaningful than a material gift, especially during the times we’re currently in.
However, this doesn’t mean you have to now go and return all the presents you just bought. But it’s important to realize and believe that it’s healthy and helpful for both you and your family to you focus on experiences, memories, and kindness this holiday season rather than the items you may receive.
Beware of the holiday hangover
Hangover doesn’t always need to mean alcohol, though that is an unhealthy by product of the season you might also want to avoid. Hangover in this context is referring to not tiring yourself out so much over the holidays that you are weary, burnt-out, or emotionally hungover once the new year begins.
This year has felt like one giant emotional hangover for some of us, so why not enter the new year in a healthy, balanced way. This means listening to our bodies, our needs, and our wellness, and maybe even saying ‘no’ every once in a while. Make smart choices with both your physical and mental health in mind.
Stick to your regular sleep schedule
This can be particularly challenging with the increase in parties and family in town, and the late nights that holidays often bring with them. But sticking to your sleep schedule will improve your quality of sleep both now and after the holidays, so it’s important to try and keep it constant.
Irregular sleep schedules can lead to not just poor sleep quality, but also fatigue and poor eating habits. Sleep is one of the ways we recharge our body and mind, and with the long draining days that accompany the holidays, sleep is more important than ever. So try going to bed and waking up as close to the same time as you usually do.
Keep temptations at bay
If there is a certain holiday food you know that you won’t be able to resist, and will most likely lead to a vicious binge cycle of regret and shame, then it’s probably best for you to simply keep it away. Though that’s not to say that you should deprive yourself of something if you really want it.
But some food is simply too damaging, and too tempting, to keep in the house, especially during the holidays when some of your balance and control might be wavering. If you are staying at your family’s or a friend’s house and have no control over what is kept in the house, just try to keep the tempting food out of sight. Because if you aren’t near it, it’s less likely that you’ll eat it.
Stay hydrated
Water is such an essential part to overall health, but often during the holidays, we forget that our body needs over eight glasses of water a day. And the holiday punch, sodas, or wines floating around those holiday parties doesn’t make it any easier.
In order to ensure that your body is getting the stuff it needs, and not just the stuff you want, is imperative to keeping a healthy and well working system this holiday. And if staying hydrated seems to be a struggle for you, try using a water-app on your phone. This can help remind you with little friendly nudges to drink more water throughout your busy holiday season day.
It’s all about moderation
Moderation will be your saving grace during the holiday season. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying an indulgent, festive dinner, just make sure that your meals surrounding it are healthy and nutrient-dense.
It’s also important to remember to eat before the holiday dinner too, so that you aren’t going into the meal starving. Try by having at least 4-6 ounces of protein before the holiday dinner and at least 24 ounces of water. This will help to make your moderation during the holiday dinner much easier.
Keep a healthy mindset
Possibly the biggest tip that can be given is that it isn’t all or nothing. Black and white thinking, all or nothing thinking, will only hurt you this holiday season. So keeping a healthy mindset will help to keep you happy and healthy.
If you have a binge meal, feeling guilty and overcompensating for it the next week is not healthy. If you are too busy and feeling drained, beating yourself up over the scheduling isn’t healthy. And if you don’t hit the gym or put time aside for yourself for a whole week, it isn’t the end of the world.
Be kind to yourself this holiday season, be caring towards yourself and others, and understand that your wellness is a journey. And if there are some bumps or potholes along the way, that’s okay.
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Eating well and staying healthy can be difficult over the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. By maintaining your physical and mental health with some of the easy tips previously mentioned, you’ll be able to have a happy and healthy holiday season that is full with health and wellness.
Extra healthy holiday season tips
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Exercise is still important even during the holiday season. Try to take a walk with your family if you’re staying with them, or even take your cousins, nieces or nephews outside to play for an hour or so.
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Prioritize the food put on your plate. If you don’t have control over what foods you’re going to be around, then be intentional about what you put on your plate and prioritize what your body needs and not what it wants.
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Listen to your body. Get rid of the automatic things you do, and instead be present and be conscious. Really ask yourself if you actually want another plate of food or if you actually want that glass of eggnog.
