Staying Healthy through the Holidays

Candice Deforest, a recent Nutritional Therapy Consultant graduate, was energized so much by her new knowledge that she wrote up this article on staying healthy throughout the holidays, enjoy!

Between holiday travel, potlucks, and happy hours, this time of year it can be challenging to navigate the many decisions to stay healthy through the holidays. From now until January 1st, it seems like there is always an excuse to indulge in cocktails, dine out or sacrifice sleep for late night parties. 

While it’s important to enjoy yourself and participate in holiday traditions, staying healthy and feeling your best is all about balance. First of all, go into the holiday season with your goals in mind -- maybe it’s sticking to a workout routine, eating 100% gluten free or avoiding too many glasses of wine.

If you plan ahead of time and actively choose what you want to achieve, you can put some of your decisions on auto-pilot and avoid decision fatigue. Studies show that after a long session of decision making, your threshold has been reached and you’re much more likely to make poor or irrational decisions as a result.

This means that if you’ve said no to five slices of cake in a week, you might lose your willpower on the sixth ask and eat the whole cake. Alright maybe not really, but you see where this is going.

Finding balance will ensure you stay healthy through the holidays without overdoing it and setting your goals back.

Here are a few tips staying healthy through the holidays this year.

• Contribute a healthy dish to a potluck.

It’s inevitable there will be work parties and  gatherings with friends and family filled with delicious food and plenty of unhealthy options. If you’re not one of the many people hosting a get together this holiday season, offer to contribute a side dish, salad or dessert (like crowd pleasing Banditos) when invited. This ensures there is something healthy on the table that you feel comfortable eating, especially if you have dietary restrictions or follow a paleo lifestyle.

 

• Make working out a priority.

Pack workout clothes when you travel and keep a few travel workouts handy as a backup to your regular fitness routine. Even if your schedule is jam packed and you only have time to squeeze in a 15 minute sweat sesh, make it happen! Don’t let yourself use your travel schedule as an excuse for you not to feel your best. Check out travel workouts from PaleOMG and Fed + Fit for inspiration.

 

• Stay hydrated.

When you’re eating sugary or salty foods and enjoying an extra cocktail or two, drinking extra water may not be top of mind. As a general rule of thumb though, everyone should aim for half of their bodyweight in ounces of water each day with an additional 8-12 ounces for every serving of coffee, alcohol, tea or fruit juice. Keeping your body hydrated will keep you feeling and looking great and help you avoid any unpleasant side effects of dehydration such as headaches, joint pain or fatigue.

 

• Keep sleep on track.

With travel it can be easy to get your sleep schedule thrown off, so commit to making it a priority. Consider investing in a wearable device like a FitBit to track your sleep and set reminders for when it’s time to go to bed. If you’re someone who regularly goes to bed by 9 or 10pm, it’s inevitable that plans will keep you out later than usual but keeping your body well rested, especially when traveling, will be one of your top defenses against catching a cold.

 

• Have fun!

If you plan ahead and know when you want to indulge in something (maybe it’s Grandma’s Christmas cookies), then do it without guilt. The holidays can also be a stressful time whether it’s fitting in various commitments or getting caught up in the crowds at the mall, so it’s important to take a step back and enjoy it. The years seem to go by faster as we age and the holidays are such a fun time to make new happy memories, so make the most of it this year.

If you'd like to read more by Candice, check out her blog over at Whole Health Hacks.

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