Christmas, as the song goes, truly is the most wonderful time of the year. It’s a time when we get together with friends and family to celebrate the festive period which means that there is usually an abundance of parties, food, drink and of course stress which can become a particular nightmare especially if you’re trying to stay healthy and avoid starting the New Year with a bit more weight and under the weather.
So here are some tips to help you not only enjoy the festive period, but stay healthy too.
1. Take time out!
Christmas shopping, wrapping, socialising, partying etc as much as they are enjoyable it can add to our stress levels too and that is never a good thing. We can’t avoid stress, but we can learn to manage it, so make sure you take time out for you during this busy period.
Find what works for you, whether that’s meditation, breath work, yoga, exercise, walking in nature, reading or enjoying a relaxing bath. The festive season can by busy and overwhelming so incorporate stress reducing activities to ensure that you enter the new year healthy and not exhausted!
2. Have Protein with Every Meal
Everyone knows that we tend to overindulge during Christmas, however by having protein with every meal, in particular breakfast, it will help to keep fuller you for longer, keep your blood sugar levels stable and hopefully stop you from overindulging in sugary snacks leading to that unwanted weight gain and sluggishness.
3. Pack in your Veggies!
Be sure to pile your plates high with lots of vegetables and lean, protein packed turkey. Vegetables are great for providing us with lots of nutrients and fibre to ensure we stay healthy. Cruciferous vegetables such as Brussel sprouts, broccoli, kale, cauliflower for example, are bursting with a compound called sulforaphane, which not only has cancer fighting properties, but is great for detoxifying our hormones and liver too. Also by filling your plate with lots of vegetables, there is less room for the festive favourites such as pigs in blankets which are easy tooverindulge in.
4. Don’t Arrive Hungry
If you are going to parties, make sure you eat beforehand. This means that you are less likely to overindulge in sugary festive foods such as mince pies. Not only that, but ensuring your tummy is full, will slow down alcohol entering your bloodstream which can lead to getting tipsy and the
dreaded hangover.
5. Hydrate!
Christmas is well known for consuming more alcohol than normal so its important that we stay hydrated. The hangover symptoms that usually results from consuming too much alcohol is usually because of dehydration, so to avoid this, make sure that you have a glass of water between every alcoholic drink. Also, alcohol is extremely calorific and can contribute to our clothes feeling a little bit tighter in the New Year, so by consuming water in between, means that you will likely reduce the amount you drink over the course of the evening.
6. Exercise
We all know the benefits of exercise however exercising during the festive period provides us with much needed me time, helping to reduce stress. It is also great for escaping the craziness of Christmas and will release those feel-good endorphins as well as helping us to work off the
festive goodies.
7. Prioritise Sleep
Sleep is the cornerstone of good health and it can elude us over the Christmas season due to parties and nights out. Now I’m not saying that you can’t socialise, but on the nights that you are staying in, make sure that you prioritise your sleep and aim for 7-9 hours per night. Sleep is crucial for our health as it can help to boost our immune system, combat the effects of stressand help us to lose weight too.
Christmas really is a wonderful time of the year, so overall have fun, indulge a little, but most of all enjoy the festive season.
