Basically, healthy holidays is an oxymoron. Who wants to eat salad when you’re surrounded by hot cocoa, santa cookies, candy canes and awesome feasts? Pretty much no one however, there are ways around the 2 extremes, gorging or depriving. Here are some tips to reach a happy medium over the next few weeks of holiday feeding and drinking frenzy!
- Let yourself enjoy the dang treats! – Look, you don’t have to eat the whole tray of cookies or a ginormous piece of pie to get the most out the holidays. AND you don’t have to “just say no” either. Allow yourself to have a cookie or 2, have a piece of pie and curl up with that hot cocoa by the fire. If you aren’t stuffing your face all day every day for the next 2 weeks, you’re ok. In fact, deprivation may cause you more stress in which case your body will produce more cortisol, a hormone that will actually cause you to gain weight. Those few bites of a holiday treat will not kill you and they certainly won’t be the complete demise to your waistline.
- Routine is key – Just because you’re on vacation, doesn’t mean that you should completely neglect your exercise routine. Sure, maybe you don’t work out hard core for an hour but if you can squeeze in a brisk walk around the neighborhood to check out the pretty lights, just getting moving can really help you keep yourself in check and not fall off the wagon entirely.
- Ho, ho, hydrate – Always have your BPA free or glass water bottle full and handy. Drinking water all day long will keep you full, hydrated and satisfied, helping you curb the junk food cravings.
- Sneak in the good stuff – Even if you are cooking up a crazy holiday feast, always sneak in veggies and whole foods whereevr you can. the more pure, whole and organic your food, the less it affects your body chemistry and weight. Chop up yummy veggies like spinach, tomatoes and zucchini for pasta dishes; add sweet potatoes to your stuffing, make a giant salad full of delicious chopped veggies and legumes and fill up on that before the rich entree, etc. If you’re eating 75%- 85% awesome, if the remainder is holiday treats, you’re good to go!
- Let yourself enjoy a long winter’s nap – REST! This time of year, stress is a biggie that leads to illness, fatigue and even full on burn out. Give yourself the gift of rest and relaxation so that you can start the new year happy, healthy and recharged.You are more likely to enjoy the holidays (and deal with family) if you get plenty of sleep and time to relax.
- Give yourself (and others) the gift of slack – No one is superman or wonder woman, no matter how how we try. Whatever can be put off, if even for a day, allow yourself to let it go and let others have the chance to chillax too. This is the time of year to relax with family and friends and reflect on the year. Let go of problems you can’t solve and enjoy the season. Give yourself and others a break, the new year is right around the corner!
- Be a kid – Yeah, let your inner child do something fun and silly over the holidays. In this day and age, sometimes we need to stop being so serious and the holidays are the best time to have some fun. Wear that crazy sweater, make a snow angle, get in a snowball fight, bake with your family….Whatever your holiday persuasion, do it and enjoy!
While all of these are probably no-brainers, sometimes we all need to be reminded to slow down and take it all in. Enjoy the season!!
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Carolyn Scott-Hamilton celebrated her 10 years as a vegan as well as an entrepreneur in 2009. After college, Carolyn moved to Los Angeles from Miami in 1998. Shortly after arriving and becoming vegan, she studied holistic nutrition as well as dabbled in the culinary arts before she opened Ineventions, originally a pr & event firm, it is now a full film, TV and web production branch under the umbrella of her original business. With the access and addition of the new business arm, Carolyn was able to start realizing her dream of traveling and eating all over the world and so the Healthy Voyager was born in 2005.
Read more from VividLife.me bloggers:
Healthy Soups and Supers in San Diego by Carolyn Scott-Hamilton
Whether you are doing a tour of California for a little r and r or frequently travel San Diego for ComicCon, the southernmost metropolis of California, is a great place to visit. Beachy, relaxed and beautiful, healthy food is easy to find in this bayside border town. From my first San Diego postmany years ago until now, lots of great stuff has popped up so I’ve decided to go back and check out some of the new places in and around town.
Happy People Healthy Food by Adrienne Kelly-Durys
Can healthy food make you happy? Or, can happy people make the foods we eat healthier?When I think about these questions in relation to the upcoming holiday season,it seems obvious that eating steamed veggies over brown rice, although healthy, wouldn’t be as festive as a big holiday dinner with all the fixings. But what if that same big holiday dinner, with all the potatoes and gravy, when prepared with love and positive intention could be just as nourishing?
Written by Carolyn
The Healthy Voyager, aka Carolyn Scott-Hamilton, is the creator and host of The Healthy Voyager web series, site, and overall brand. An award winning healthy, special diet and green living and travel expert, holistic nutritionist, plant based vegan chef, best-selling cookbook author, media spokesperson, sought after speaker, consultant and television personality, Carolyn Scott-Hamilton is a respected figure in the world of healthy lifestyle and travel as well as special diet cooking and nutrition. The Healthy Voyager aims to help people live well, one veggie at a time! Learn more at
http://healthyvoyager.com/
