Remember to put yourself on the Christmas list – “SELF GIFTING” is key!
A RESOLUTION OF SELF CARE AND OPTIMAL HEALTH is encouraged and recommended. It’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the season and forget yourself in the process. It’s the season to be creative, don’t limit yourself from feeling good, push your healthy limits even in the smallest of ways. Share compassion, kindness and understanding with yourself first, so that you can sparkle and share your gift with others.
Healthy living is all about looking for opportunities for joy and well-being, while also understanding where we may feel or encounter barriers to that. With the stress of shopping and crowds, the back-to-back diet-busting parties, it’s understandable how the holidays can easily feel not so wonderful at times.
I’ve put together a little guide with some Healthy Stress-Busting Tips to help anyone get through the holiday season and into the new year. I have also included a few fun recipes for you and your family to enjoy. Hope you find these little reminders helpful.
1. Enjoy Holiday Treats with the 80/20 Rule
It’s all about balance and enjoying life! ???????? You can have a Christmas cookie and not ruin your otherwise healthy lifestyle. It’s not worth stressing about the negative impact of enjoying a small to moderate amount of the not-so-healthy holiday food and drink. As long as that’s not your primary diet, you can enjoy special seasonal traditions in moderation, guilt-free.
I think following the 80/20 rule: 80% of the time, maintain a healthy diet of whole foods, rich in fresh vegetables and fruit, whole grains and ethically raised organic animal products. And 20% of the time, enjoy yourself!
This tip is also predicated on the assumption that the 20% “fun foods” you’re consuming are things you’re consciously choosing because you enjoy them. The key thing to remember about treats is that they should be enjoyable. (In other words, you’re not just eating Christmas cookies because they’re there… you’re intentionally choosing to eat treats you truly enjoy and look forward to.)
2. Enjoy Alcohol in Moderation
Even though alcohol is not necessarily “healthy”, it’s also not necessarily “bad” either, if consumed in moderation, and if it’s reasonable for your body and lifestyle.
Note: Of course, if you have a health condition or take medication that would not mix well with alcohol, or if you have a history of addiction, moderation is too much, and you should refrain from alcohol per your doctor’s recommendation.
If you do drink alcohol, a few tips for maintaining “healthier” alcohol consumption over the holidays:
- Don’t feel the need to drink just to drink—though we may feel peer pressure at holiday parties or other events at which it’s common to drink, it’s totally okay to save it for beverages you actually enjoy, or times you actually feel like drinking.
- A glass of water after each alcoholic beverage is a good practice to stay hydrated, help your body process the alcohol you’ve consumed, and avoid hangovers.
- “Moderation” is defined as up to 1 drink per day for women and up to 2 drinks per day for men. (This recommendation refers to the amount consumed on any single day and is not intended as an average over several days.)
- Take days off! Be careful not to get into the habit of drinking daily—always good to give your liver a healthy rest. This will also make the days you do imbibe more special and enjoyable.
3. Take a Daily Probiotic
To help with the combined effect of holiday travel, stress and dietary changes (perhaps more sweets or alcohol than you typically consume), it’s a good idea to prep your body and boosts gut health by taking a daily probiotic supplement, if you don’t already. This helps keep your gut microbiome (your immune system’s first line of defence!) healthy and defends off any unwelcome bugs that may come your way. Take a shelf-stable easy to travel with probiotic if you are traveling over the holidays. New Roots, Natural Factors, Udo’s, Progressive, and Genestra all have good self sable probiotics
4. Keep Your Body Moving
It’s cold outside, we’re busy, our schedule is off, and maybe we’re feeling sluggish from cookies and eggnog… but it’s always important to keep your body moving in some way, every day.
Perhaps this isn’t the season to begin training rigorously for a marathon, but small, simple efforts like taking a walk or doing bodyweight exercises or a quick yoga session on your yoga app can do wonders for your mood, your energy levels, and your general feeling of well-being during a season that typically includes some extra eating.
5. Limit Tech Use
Constant cell phone buzzes and email alerts keep us in a perpetual fight-or-flight mode due to bursts of adrenaline. Not only is this exhausting, but it contributes to mounting stress levels, especially in women. What better time to turn your gadgets off than during a holiday get-together? Enjoy spending time with your family and friends without worry.
6. Streamline Meal Prep
With all the extra holiday “stuff” going on, you can help yourself maintain that 80% healthy diet by streamlining meal prep with these five easy ways to simplify your meals. Having a clear plan and all (or some) of your ingredients prepared ahead of time can help with any “uh-oh, what’s for dinner?” moments that pop up during the busy holiday season.
7. Cleaning an Opportunity, Not a Chore
Stressed that you have to clean your house before hosting a holiday dinner, or relatives come to visit? A clean, well-organized home actually has several physical and mental health benefits, so think of cleaning not as a chore, but as an opportunity to improve wellness in that way.
It can also be helpful to plan time to clean and organize your home post-holiday—one way that homes get cluttered is that we bring more and more “stuff” into them but don’t get rid of the same amount. It can be a helpful practice to clean and organize after receiving holiday gifts, to be sure you’re only holding on to items that you use or that spark joy. And Don’t be afraid to ask for help, many hands help to get things done and everyone can feel a sense of accomplishment and teamwork. (And, of course, be sure to use non toxic cleaning supplies while you’re at it.
8. Be Mindful of Social Media
Though it’s the Season of Giving, it can also be the season of comparison and feeling “less than.” Be mindful of your social media usage and recognize if it starts to become a negative influence on you. If you have a pattern of use that ends up making you feel inferior or left out, know that that’s not the intended purpose of social media, and it might be a good time to take a break and re-center.
9. Practice Healthy Conflict Resolution
If your holiday celebrations include spending time with someone with whom you don’t necessarily love being around (it happens!), you can create some more peace of mind by being prepared to set boundaries and handle any conflict that arises in a healthy manner. Conflict happens in relationships of all types, and that’s not an inherently bad thing—it’s simply a sign that there’s an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. So, the conflict itself isn’t a terrible thing, it’s the way we engage with and resolve it that can either be done in a healthy or not-so-healthy way.
10. Have Your Natural Cold Remedies Ready
The holiday season is a pretty popular time to come down with a case of the common cold. Often that’s because of the amount of mingling we do with friends and family, and travel to other parts of the country/world that have different strains of the common cold we haven’t personally developed resistance to yet. Some of that risk should be mitigated with reduced gatherings due to COVID-19. But, it’s always a good idea to have your natural cold remedies on hand and ready to go, should you need them over the holiday season. I’ve included an easy holiday immune boosting tea HERE.
11. Think Positive
The holidays may drive you to your breaking point, but don’t focus on the bad. Negative thinking can trigger your body’s stress response, just as a real threat does. Remember, it’s time to celebrate with your family and friends (even if they do stress you out!). An optimistic outlook will help you cope with challenges that come your way.
12. Keep a Gratitude Journal
I am a big fan of practicing gratitude for its many mental and physical health benefits—and stress relief is definitely one of those. The practice of keeping a daily gratitude journal and listing things you’re grateful for each morning and/or evening can have a profound impact on overall stress levels (and can help you sleep better too!)
13. Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness (or mindfulness meditation) is sometimes thought of as a solution for stress—if you’re stressed, pull up your Headspace app and meditate for 10 minutes. While this is certainly a lovely thing to do during stressful times, mindfulness actually works even better as a preventive tool.
A regular mindfulness practice (even just five minutes every morning and evening) when you’re not already stressed can do wonders in keeping your stress levels down and improving your resilience when stressful times do come around.
14. Have Fun and Forget Perfection
Stop obsessing overdoing it all. The world is not going to end if the house is a little cluttered or dinner is on the table a few minutes late or if you forgot to get a Christmas Gift for someone. Focus your energy on the moment and give yourself some grace. All work and no play makes anyone stressed out eventually! With this fast paced holiday season upon us, we can sometimes forget to have fun and enjoy ourselves too. Whether it’s playing with your dog or reserving time in your schedule to watch your favourite TV show with your favourite person, make sure you’re taking time each day to have fun too.