How to stay healthy during the holidays
Photo credit: Inspired Stock Shop
If you’re wondering how to stay healthy during the holidays with all the travel, parties and feasts (on top of all your biz responsibilities), here are some simple healthy holiday tips to help you out!
The month of December can be a slippery slope when it comes to your health and wellness.
Some people are disciplined enough to maintain their normal healthy routines all the way through the holidays.
I am not one of them.
I’m gonna eat Christmas cookies, miss some workouts, and eat like a fool at Christmas dinner (aka all the good food and probably too much of it).
And I’m okay with that. Because it’s Christmas and it only comes once a year and I want to live it up!
Are you with me??
Okay great! But like me, you still want to be mindful of your wellness and self care, and not let your healthy routine completely fall by the wayside over the holidays, right?
Because otherwise, January will roll around and you’ll be feeling sluggish, your energy and vibe will be low, and you’ll be struggling to get back into a healthy and productive routine.
And that’s no way to start the new year -- you’ve got big goals and dreams to make happen!
So I suggest adopting this mindset . . .
Accept that you might not follow your normal healthy routine during the holidays. And then look for ways to modify your health and wellness regimen so you’re still taking care of yourself, but just in a different way that works with everything you have going on during the holiday season.
This way you can still enjoy all the special things about the holidays without completely throwing in the towel when it comes to your health, wellness and self-care.
So here are my simple tips to help you stay healthy during the holidays.
11 tips on how to stay healthy during the holidays
1) Stay hydrated.
With so much going on during the holidays, it’s easy to get distracted and forget to drink enough water (even if you’re normally good about this). Plus, things like air travel and holiday cocktails can further dehydrate you.
But staying hydrated helps you stay healthy in so many ways -- it aids digestion, supports your body’s natural detoxification system, and keeps your energy up.
Get yourself a nice water bottle (I love this one!) and keep it with you all the time. Consider it a Christmas gift to yourself! It’ll make it easier to get your daily water intake if you always have it with you. Make sure it’s glass or stainless steel to avoid toxins.
If you’re traveling, keep a bottle (with a good cap!) in your travel bag. At the airport, you can carry the empty bottle through security and then fill it up once you get to the gate. You can use a water fountain, or most restaurants will let you fill it up for no charge. It’s cheaper than buying bottled water, you avoid the toxins in plastic, and it’s better for the environment. Triple win!
2) Go for walks.
It’s easy for exercise schedules to get disrupted with extra holiday responsibilities, tight deadlines in your business, festivities, travel, and time spent with family. If you find yourself missing your normal workouts, make it a point to get out for a walk everyday. I think it’s one of the most underrated forms of exercise, and it has the added benefit of getting you outside. Plus it’s something you can do (almost) anywhere.
3) Do short at-home workouts in place of your gym workouts.
Travel and hectic holiday schedules can also make it hard to get to the gym. If you’re a gym goer, this can make it hard to keep a consistent exercise routine.
When this happens, try replacing your gym workout with a shorter at-home workout. Even if it’s not up to your normal rigorous exercise standards, some physical activity is way better than none!
Another important benefit is that it keeps you in the HABIT of exercising. And if you’ve ever gotten out of the habit, then you know how hard it can be to get back on track!
4) Pack healthy snacks for travel.
Don’t fall victim to the pretzels and Biscoff cookies! Come prepared with healthy snacks for long plane and road trips.
A few of our favorites are raw nuts, pumpkin seeds, tangerines, hummus with veggies, and Lara bars (these are made with clean ingredients but still have a lot of natural sugar, so eat them sparingly!).
5) Don't forget to take your vitamins and supplements.
It’s easy to get off track with this during the holidays, but it’s such an easy way to support your health during the holidays. One way to remember is to set an alarm on your phone or watch. Be sure to pack your vitamins and supplements if you’re traveling!
6) Drink green or white tea.
Green and white tea are super healthy. They’re loaded with antioxidants and low in caffeine. And there’s just something so cozy and relaxing about treating yourself to a cup of hot tea. Drinking it daily (which I do all year round) is a really easy way to stay healthy during the holidays.
Just be sure to choose your tea carefully, because most commercial teas contain pesticides and unhealthy ingredients like “natural flavors,” and many tea bags are made with toxic ingredients. (1)
My favorite is jasmine green tea. It smells so good and doesn't taste "grassy" like a lot of green teas do. This is a good loose leaf jasmine green tea, or get it in (safe) tea bags to take with you when traveling.
When you make green tea, you want to be sure you don't get the water too hot -- it'll make the tea bitter and decreases its health benefits. The ideal temperature is 176 degrees Fahrenheit and it only needs to be steeped for a minute or two.
7) Keep a journal.
The holidays are wonderful, but they can sometimes bring up a lot of emotions and “stuff” for people. They can also add a lot of extra stress to your life. Journaling is a great outlet for any feelings, frustrations, or sadness that come up during the holidays.
if you’re not normally a journaler, try getting yourself a pretty notebook and colorful pen for inspiration (like this pretty one!).
8) Find creative ways to meditate.
Meditation is another wellness practice that can easily fall by the wayside during the holidays.
If you’re finding it hard to get motivated to meditate with all the chaos of the holidays, try some creative ways to practice mindfulness.
A few of my faves are going for a walk in nature, coloring in pretty coloring books (I love this one for inspiration and here's a festive one for Christmas!), and doing a gentle (and mindful) yoga workout (you'll find one of these workouts on my list of favorite at-home workouts!).
9) Go easy on the alcohol.
With all the parties and festivities during the holidays, it’s so easy to overdo it on the alcohol.
Too much alcohol can drain your energy, wreak havoc on your emotions, increase your anxiety, and it’s just bad for your health in general. And I don’t know about you, but it seems like every year that passes makes my body a little less tolerant of alcohol.
Here are a few things I’ve tried that help me limit my alcohol intake . . .
Set a limit of how many drinks you’ll have. I don’t always succeed at this, but I have a two drink limit. I mean honestly, who really needs more than two drinks?? (Not judging here, because there have been plenty of times I’ve had more than two drinks, but I for sure didn’t need them!)
Don’t let people refill your glass before it’s empty. This is a tip I learned the hard way. I know keeping everyone’s glasses full is the mark of a good host, but it’s really hard to keep track of how much you’re drinking if someone is always topping off your glass. And that makes it so easy to overdo it. Politely decline if someone tries to refill your glass before it’s empty. Once it’s empty, then you can consciously choose to have another glass if you’re so inclined. This way, you’re in control.
Brush your teeth when you’ve reached your drink limit (if you’ve set a drink limit for yourself). Nothing tastes worse than wine or a cocktail after brushing your teeth, so it’s an easy deterrent to having another drink! If you’re at someone else’s house or a restaurant, it’s easy to stash a little travel toothbrush and toothpaste in your bag.
Have fun “mocktails” instead of cocktails. For me, part of the fun of drinking a cocktail or glass of bubbly is that it feels festive and special, like a fun little treat. A mocktail won’t give you the buzz of an alcoholic drink, but it can provide that fun and festive feeling. There are tons of mocktail recipes to choose from. Or a super easy and fun bubbly drink is the Sparkling Coconut Water with Yuzu from Trader Joe’s. I love this stuff. Pour it in a champagne flute and it feels instantly fun and festive.
10) Commit to starting the day with a super clean & healthy meal.
If you’re like me and breakfast just isn’t that big a deal to you (unless it’s brunch, which is a completely different story!), then this is a good time to make sure you’re getting a big dose of healthy fats, veggies and proteins. And this way you know at least one of your meals that day is 100% healthy.
A few ideas for healthy breakfasts: green smoothies (add avocado for healthy fats), veggie omelettes, hard boiled eggs (you can make them ahead!) with a side of fresh fruit, an egg scramble with spinach or other veggies, raw nuts and seeds, overnight oatmeal (you can make a batch that will last you all week), chia seed pudding. Just be careful to watch your sugar intake on some of these.
11) Carve out some alone time for yourself.
This is especially important if you’re an introvert. All the socializing and time spent with family and friends is wonderful and really one of the best things about the holidays. But it can also really drain your energy if you don’t give yourself breaks to be alone and recharge.
12) Set realistic work expectations for the holidays.
If you’re a solopreneur like me, then the holidays can be extra stressful because it’s up to you to get all the things done in your business. It’s important to be realistic about how much time you’ll truly have for work during the holidays and how much you’ll be able to get done in that time. I really struggle with this. Make a plan for what you need to complete this month, including how and when you’ll do it. If you’re a service-based business, set realistic expectations with your clients about what you’ll be able to do for them during the holiday season. It’s not easy (at least not for me), but it’ll prevent a lot of work-related stress for you during the holidays.
I hope these tips help you stay healthy during the holidays and start your new year feeling great!
Please comment below with what you'll be doing to stay healthy & well this holiday season! And if you found this article helpful, please pin it for later so others can find it. Thanks!
References
(1) Do you know what's really in your tea
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