How to Stay Healthy Over the Festive Season

The end of the year is a very fun season. With Halloween, Thanks Giving, Christmas, New Years! The months are full of social events and family memory making experiences. So how do you keep the pounds off this Christmas?

Well, it is not easy… but you can do it. Look for support and stay true to your goals and keep working at them.

Here are our top 10 tips to keep you on the straight and narrow with your goals!

Snacks

Snacks can be your best friend or your worst enemy when it comes to staying healthy. A little nibble here and a little nibble there will soon add up to a whole bowl. Eat mindfully, if you want to snack then do however, savor it and enjoy it.

A great idea is to pack your own snacks especially if you are traveling from place to place. Snacks such as nuts and seeds can be a great thing to eat in between meals.

Salads and greens

When eating meals out always opt for a salad. Greens are so good for your body and your health. Often over the festive times salads do get missed, however there are some great Winter based salads that you can include in your diet.

A small side note: Please be aware of salad dressings. Some of these are incredibly unhealthy. A great idea is to go for salads without dressings and add dressings that you are 100% confident in.

Home made vs brought

If you are having some treats over the festive seasons, then try to stay with home made baking and cooking as much as possible. Store made baking often have a lot of preservatives in them to lengthen shelf life. Some of these products may also contain chemicals or MSG.

Home baking is a lovely treat because you know what is in the ingredients. Perhaps offer to bring baking to the event and bring along a natural desert that is beneficial to the body.

Limit not eliminate

Be kind to yourself. It is important that you enjoy your social events. This may mean having one or two things that you may usually avoid. Just remember to limit and to have some, not everything. Limited rather than eliminating is much more effective (unless you have unmovable will power).

When you are in a social setting it does begin to feel uncomfortable saying ‘no thank you’ every time you are offered a snack as the tray is offered around. If you feel this social pressure, take your time to suss out the best option of choice for your body and enjoy it.

Remember you don’t have to eat something off of every tray being offered though.

Alcoholic drink alternatives

It is hard during social occasions when everyone else has an alcoholic beverage in their hand, to stand there with an ugly glass of water. There are now some very healthy alternatives to alcoholic beverages that can help you feel like you are part of the social party.

One in particular that we like is to add sparkling water (not soda walking) with a couple of slices of lemon to a wine glass. The glass and the bubbles lets you feel like you are not depriving yourself, which is very important.

Related:12 Keto Cocktails you need to try!

Regular meals – stay in routine

Staying in routine is very important. When you slip out of routine, your stomach may get hungry and hungry is never helpful when you are surrounded in temptation! Eat at your usual time of day and this will allow you to avoid over eating or devouring everything sugar based in sight!

Host your own meal

When you host your own festive gathering, you can control menu. This is a very smart way of avoiding temptation altogether.

This is also a great way of exploring new, healthier options with friends and family. This doesn’t mean you and your guest miss out on anything, you can just give them a healthy spin on their traditional choices.

For example, you can make a range of home-made chocolates with all natural products and flavor them in different ways (nuts, essential oils, berries, etc.) and then enjoy exploring the different flavors with your loved ones.

Drink water

Stay hydrated! Take a water bottle with you and drink lots of water each day. Water is so important to your body as it helps to flush out toxins.

Keep your fluids up. A good trick is to have a glass of water in between meals as this will help you with staying away from the chip bowl.

You can experiment with different fruits and vegetables in your water too, having a festive jug of iced water with berries, lemons/limes, or cucumber might be a nice way to encourage others to join your re-hydration habit too.

Keep your exercise routine

Keep up your normal routine as much as possible. Social walks are a good idea (if possible) wrap up warm and head on out there! Exercise will help you regulate your health over this busy season. If you live it a warmer climate this can be a lot easier, enjoy this time walking (or jogging) with loved ones.

Think positive thoughts

The way you think about yourself and the messages you tell yourself and very powerful. This can be for good or for bad. Please don’t be hard on yourself if you eat something you feel you shouldn’t have, or if you slightly eat too much. Be kind to yourself.

Enjoy your festive season spending time with your loved ones. This is a very special time of year when you can reflect on the year that has been and set goals for the year ahead. Time is precious, so remember to live in the moment and take in each moment. Spread the health message, heck give the gift of health this year!