I cannot believe that is was already last year when I wrote about eating mindfully during the festive season. I also shared some of my tips for a December holiday. Alas, there is always more to say on this topic as seems to be a stressful topic for many. The ideal scenario over the December holidays is that one can be relaxed around food, but also still maintain a sense of balance- keeping healthy, fit and strong. Well, isn’t that what we strive for during the year anyway.

Whether you are on holiday, eating most of your meals at hotels or restaurants or at home around all the festive food, there are certainly a few things you can do to balance the weight of the holiday indulgence scale.

Stay Hydrated

Water is important to keep your basic bodily functions running. Water is needed for all the chemical reactions which take place in your body. Whether you are sweltering in the heat or shivering in the cold, you still need enough water.

Water is also extremely important in promoting gut health as well as preventing constipation- we all know how bloated and irregular we can get after eating different foods or taking a long flight.

Start off every morning with 1-2 glasses of water.

Keep a bottle of water with you and make sure you stay hydrated throughout the day. Not a fan of water? Add some fresh fruit slices, herbs or vegetables into your bottle overnight. If you find all the rich food and alcohol is giving you indigestion this holiday, add 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to your water at night before you go to bed.

Don’t ‘starve’ yourself so you can ‘binge’ later

Skipping all your meals so you can go out and eat whatever you want later? I hear you… the logic of ‘saving’ calories for later. This mentality, however, is not bringing about a healthy sense of balance. In addition, by skipping all your meals so that you can ‘save up ‘for later, can backfire when your blood sugar drops and you seriously overeat in one sitting, resulting in huge insulin spikes and fat storage. No one wants to be hangry on holiday.

Now I’m not saying you must eat 3 meals a day and 3 snacks, as this does not work for everyone and there is loads of incredible evidence when it comes intermittent fasting.  

Having a lighter more nourishing meal when you know the next one is going to be a big one is how one can bring about balance in their eating. Listen to your body.  This will also prevent you from arriving ravenous to your event or meal, which will naturally contribute to regulation of calorie intake.

Ditch the ‘I’ve blown it’ mentality

“I have eaten so badly today, there is no point, I may as well go balls to the walls and ill deal with it in January”. Sound familiar? Well, let me tell you that this kind of thinking will be carried with you throughout the year if you don’t stop the cycle at some point.

So you had a piece of cake and a burger and chips all in one day!! How could you… be human. The victory in this scenario is your attitude afterwards. You haven’t ‘blown’ it, and you most certainly done need to punish yourself with starvation and 5 hours of intense training. It comes down to the same thing- doing things that will make you feel both happy and good.

So enjoy your cake, burger and chips mindfully and the next meal eat or day eat something whole-some and nourishing after getting out and enjoying the movement that you enjoy.

Portion Control

We always land up talking about portion control, but it is really important. Scan through your meal options when you go out or have a festive event and try assess how hungry you are. Often this can be hard if you not used to doing so and we somehow tend to overestimate our hunger levels.

Try and dish up one plate, with a variety of food choices, baring in mind the appropriate portion sizes. It is the holidays, so you may have food items that you don’t usually have on your plate and that is ok. Be sure to dish up controlled portions of your delicious food choices, sit down and enjoy.

Once you start feeling 80% full, you are done. Set your plate aside (even with food still on it) and enjoy yourself.

Just keep moving

Often, when we feel as if we have eaten our way through our holiday and that our suitcases aren’t the only ones who are overweight, we come home and get pleasantly surprised. One of the main reasons for this as we are often way more active on holiday, especially if we are exploring a new city or are holidaying in an area that’s safe and inviting to walk around.

Exercise and keeping active on holiday makes us feel energized and fit. It promotes vascular health by increasing circulation, allows for detoxification activities to take place, frees up our brain from the yearly worries and stress and keeps our bowel moving.

Our daily exercise routine as well as the daily movement we build up, often is the key balancing factor when it comes to eating out of our norm and maintaining a health wait.

Plus, the extra vitamin D we get from spending some extra time outdoors is always an added essential bonus.

After all, ‘tis the season to be jolly’, so let’s try and enjoy ourselves while still feeling great!

Nourish yourself to the sunrise.

Written with love ,
Sunrise by HM

Nourished yet? Comment on what I should write about next? 

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