The holidays are here finally! Who doesn’t love the delicious foods? Let’s face it, the holidays is a good season for your taste buds, yet your waistline will undergo that extra weight gain.
Holidays are a time to reflect on the past one year and re-strategize for the next year, however what makes the holiday memorable is family, friends and food. The holiday has back to back hangouts, several parties and can be a stressful time from trying to wrap up work schedules for the year to last minute shopping for gifts and food, leaving no room for self-care. Whichever category you fall in, staying healthy is almost difficult, as we indulge recklessly in food for comfort or fun whilst we tell ourselves staying fit can be postponed till New Year resolutions.
Even though this time can be overwhelming and stressful to be health conscious, being intentional is key to achieving a healthy holiday. Here are some tips you might want to look at as you prepare for the festive
Eat planned meal: there will be so many parties and events you will get invited to this period. From work to family and definitely churches, its best to not attend any party with an empty stomach as this increases the desire to overeat. Sticking to your routine time for eating and avoid mindless snacking. Eat one or two small dishes and resist the urge to taste all meals set out on the buffet.
Stay hydrated: Just like food, there will be variety of liquid options from alcohol to juices. Its best to drink water over other fluids as it helps you stay full, hydrated and doesn’t increase blood sugar. Water accounts for 60% of our body’s total weight and to maintain this ratio requires regular consumption of at least 6 glasses per day, or more depending on the holiday season. If you have to consume alcohol and other beverages, ensure the ratio with water is equal to prevent excessive indulgence.
Portion control: It is often assumed that holiday foods are time-bound, but that’s a myth! You can eat holiday meals anytime, that helps you be in control of how much you eat and stuff yourself less of no calorie diets. Remember to choose nutrient dense palate and eat moderately.
A rainbow plate: if you are attending a buffet event, ensure you pile your plates with different colours of food. Select a spoonful of salads before reaching out for carbs and protein, swap the fried food for grills and load up on roasted vegetables. These healthy choices help boost your immune system
Take a lot of sleep: Don’t get caught up in too much activities you forget to put your health first. Self-care requires adequate sleep for at least 9 hours per day. A sleep deprived person can gain weight, crave for unhealthy foods and have mood swings due to hormonal imbalance.
Exercise: It might appear impossible to include workout in the holidays but what better time to exercise. Despite the jam list of events, the holiday provides free time on your hands, use it wisely. Go for a walk or hike with a group of people, you can also make it fun by splitting a 30 minutes workout regime into two, 15mins each morning and at night to make it practicable. You don’t have to enroll at a gym, a fitness app or online fitness instructor on you tube offers a quick workout in the comfort of your environment.
The holidays are upon us; it is very easy to forget about healthy living and indulge yourself. However, you don’t have to. Health is wealth, so remain conscious of your health by keeping tabs on what you eat, e. However, you don’t have to. Health is wealth, so remain conscious of your health by keeping tabs on what you eat, exercising, and having lots of sleep
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