Surviving the Festive Season - Our Top Tips & Tricks!
The holiday season is meant to be a time of enjoyment and pleasure, but can be especially stressful for those who are trying to stick to their health goals! Most of the festivities are based around sharing good food and epic meals with loved ones - which means pie, cake, and other delicious treats surround us at every turn. So how do we enjoy ourselves without feeling restricted or going overboard? Here are our top tips to help you navigate the festive season.
1. Prepare and bring along your own food!
Found a recipe for a healthier version of cookies, pie or stuffing? Prepare it and bring it along to your gatherings! This way everyone can enjoy your food, and you don’t need to feel guilty now that you have healthier options available to you.
2. Eat slowly and till you are satisfied, instead of stuffed
Family gatherings and huge parties can make it difficult to eat mindfully, which means we tend to overeat. Be aware of this and pay attention to how much you are putting on your plate. Give time for your digestive system to signal to your brain that you are full (approx 15-20mins). It may take more effort to listen to your body, but it will be worth it when you enjoy your food more and don’t feel stuffed or guilty the next day.
3. Continue to engage in simple workout exercises throughout the holiday season
Most people are great at being consistent with their workout routines throughout the year, but end up being derailed over the holiday season (due to all that good food and lack of time). This can mean losing the benefits and rewards of their hard work as a result of regular exercise from months before. Have you ever tried working out again after stopping for a while? The inertia is real!
The best way to avoid this is to be consistent – this doesn’t mean hour long workout sessions each day, but just simple 10 minutes exercises at home to keep up your stamina and muscle endurance. The key here is to get some full body movement each day. This way, you can keep up your metabolism, maintain muscle, and hold off fat gain.
Try compound body exercises such as lunges, push ups, planks, wall sits, squats, mountain climbers, burpees, tricep dips, etc. Choose 6 exercises, do 5 reps per exercise with no rest between, then rest for 1 min after each circuit. Repeat for a total of 2-4 circuits and there’s your minimalist home workout routine! Alternatively, search for a HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout video online (there are lots on YouTube) that you can perform at home.
4. Pick one meal to be consistent with
We like to focus on the principle of inclusion rather than exclusion – this means that incorporating more healthy foods into our diet will automatically crowd out the poorer foods. In practice, this can mean having one meal a day that meets our health needs – for us, this usually means breakfast (or any other meal you desire!) For example, starting our day with a green smoothie (chock full of antioxidants and vitamins – see our recipe here) or oats topped with fruit and chia seeds (healthy carbs, protein and fat) helps us to start the day right and keeps us full for longer. When we are filled up with good food, we simply have less space for unhealthier foods. Being consistent with one meal a day helps us to stay on track with our health goals and prevents us from overeating at festive dinners.
5. If you do fall off the wagon, simply get back on without judging yourself
Judging ourselves and feeling guilty can actually make it harder for us to get back on the wagon. It can perpetuate a cycle of restriction, deprivation, and bingeing, creating a yo-yo effect and an unhealthy relationship with food.
Once eating healthily has become a lifestyle, even if you do eat something unhealthy, no biggie! It's just an occasional part of enjoying life. Every next meal is an opportunity to get back on the wagon, eating fresh, whole foods like you always do.
Most importantly, enjoy the festive season with friends, family and loved ones!