Fall back in love with self-care and healthy eating during the holidays with these health tips.

Eating and Self-Care Tips for Healthy Holidays.

Today I’m going to share my favorite eating and self-care tips for a healthy holiday season. 

This holiday season is so drastically different than what could’ve ever imagined. We’ve had an interesting year with COVID-19, social distancing, and plenty of other stressful things. When you add the holidays into the mix extra stress and pounds could also pile on. If you’re wanting to avoid holiday weight gain and fatigue then this information is for you!

We’re home for the holidays and that could mean sitting around more, falling into unhealthy patterns, and overeating.

This holiday season focus on self-care

It’s time to reset, recharge, and reinvent your health and not just live through these crazy times, but thrive through them. 

I am a firm believer that the most important love that you can have is the love that you have for yourself. It is important for you to honor your body and treat it right. Having a healthy body and a positive mindset is the foundation for you to build and grow supportive relationships with grace and vitality. It’s important to be kind and compassionate with yourself and learn to listen and trust your instincts and feelings.

One of my favorite quotes is “You cannot pour from an empty cup”. Fill your cup up again with these 3 tips for healthy holidays.

Tip #1 – Eat to support your blood sugar levels

Many clients ask me what to eat to lose weight naturally, enhance energy, support hormones, improve mental clarity, and elevate mood. The key is to eat the right amount of food at the right times throughout the day to support your blood sugar levels. Sugar levels are ranges of concentrations of blood glucose levels (aka sugar) that occur in the blood.

During the holidays you’re most likely outside of your daily routine, however, maintaining a consistent eating schedule can help to avoid skipping meals and overeating later in the day. When you eat this way you should be able to have more energy and be a fat-burning machine.  You have heard the term “hangry” right? Let’s avoid that. Trust me, your family and friends will be happy and you’ll feel so much better.

Begin incorporating these fundamental guidelines into your daily regime. Try eating this way for one week. Monitor and observe the differences in your body. I encourage you to mold these into healthy eating habits outside of the holidays and create a nourishing lifestyle.

Tip #2 – Practice Stress-Relieving Techniques

Yes, the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year and notoriously stressful. Are you waking up in the middle of the night with your endless tasks and worries troubling your mind? Your adrenals may need support. Stress requires a response that is controlled by the adrenal glands and the secretion of the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is released as a response to stress from your adrenal glands. Do you remember those commercials that showed abdominal weight gain and contributed it to cortisol? They were right – excess cortisol can lead to excess weight. You can read more about adrenal health and the connection to stress here.

To de-stress and simmer your cortisol levels down you can try stress-relieving techniques like deep breathing, connecting with nature, meditation, journaling, or taking a bubble bath. Find ways to nurture yourself with activities that you enjoy and find time for relaxation. This can help balance your life in a positive and fulfilling way. Become mindful of how your thoughts affect your behavior and feelings.

Even if you can’t physically be around your family and friends this year we live in a magical technology era. I encourage you to reach out with a call, video chat, or even write an old-fashioned letter or card and send it to your loved ones. Staying connected with the people in your life that you care about can make you feel less isolated and more joyful.

Move your body and relax your mind. Join my yoga and meditation classes on YouTube.

Tip #3 – Strive for High-Quality Sleep

How’s your sleep? Receiving quality sleep on an ongoing basis is extremely healing and beneficial to your health. High-quality sleep can help to reduce stress, improve mood, enhance energy, speed up weight loss, enhance the immune system, and support heart health. That all sounds like good stuff, right? But, how are you sleeping?

Sleep deprivation is linked to weight gain, lack of motivation, irritability, reduced immunity, and increased risk of diabetes and heart disease. The more sleep you lose the more food your body will crave. Two hormones in your body regulate hunger and fullness. Ghrelin stimulates your appetite and leptin signal your brain that you are full. When you don’t get the sleep you need your ghrelin (hunger) levels go up and stimulate your appetite. Then your leptin (appetite) levels go down and you want to keep eating.

Try out these sleep tips on the regular and be on your way to a blissful night of sleep during the holidays and every other night. Enjoy!

2021 New Year Resolution

What is your New Year Resolution for 2021? Do you make yearly resolutions? If I learned one thing from this year is that it’s a challenging time to plan ahead. Instead of making a resolution for the entire 2021, you might want to try creating daily goals. This will help you keep life’s demands from becoming overwhelming. Bite-size goals, just like fun-sized candy, but healthier, right?!

Final Takeaways

Let’s Talk Healthy Holidays, Leave a Comment