Can the holidays be healthy? Yes, and even more fun

Cheers!

With the holiday season upon us, it may seem like the worst time to focus on your nutrition.

But consider that it’s actually a fantastic time.

Ha! Puhlease, you may think.

Parties, cookie baking and peppermint lattes await. Who wants to think about eating healthy foods?

Stick with me a minute as I break this down…

Our brains spend a lot of time on autopilot. They’re just not thinking about the choices we truly have.

It is a fact that the winter holidays have arrived. But does your brain also assume — or take as a fact — that the coming month must necessarily unfold into a blurried binge of rushing, stress, cookies, spending, caffeine, parties, wine and more stress?

Do hangovers, overeating and exhaustion seem inevitable? They are not.

You know this, of course, but maybe you’d forgotten as you tend to a growing holiday to-do list. Yes, you actually get to choose what the holidays look like for you and your health. I can help.

Prioritizing health means looking beyond the mere moments in which sugar, caffeine and booze can make you feel soooo good, and remember how tired, run down and cranky or bummed out you may feel for hours or days after overindulging.

Prioritizing health does not mean ditching the fun. They can happily co-exist.

For example, you could skip the Friday holiday party that feels like an obligation (movie night instead?), and more wholeheartedly enjoy the Saturday holiday party you can’t wait to attend.

You can hydrate well each day and eat plenty of protein at meals, both of which help sustain energy (vs. stopping for another coffee or soda) to get you through shopping for gifts or end-of-year work deadlines.

The result is feeling better. And if you feel better, might you enjoy the holidays more? (And perhaps your loved ones would enjoy you more?)  

It feels uncomfortable at first, to rewrite your script. You have rituals, traditions to keep up. We all do. And traditions can feel really good.

But perhaps not all of them. So, before you just coast into each gathering or event as if the plan was written in stone, ask yourself what you want to do.

Ask your loved ones how important a given tradition is to them, and decide together what you keep, let go or maybe just skip this year because the calendar is too full. It’s OK. We don’t need to put so much pressure on ourselves.

In my nutrition and lifestyle program, I can help you:

• Find time for quick and nutritious meals that help balance your blood sugar (and that supports good energy, mood and sleep)

• Learn which foods and nutrients can help you tackle sugar cravings

• Navigate holiday gatherings so you have a great time and treat yourself, but still wake up feeling good the next day

• Make gradual dietary changes, coupled with mindset and habit work, so that your healthy changes are doable and lasting (that’s always my goal!)

• Work on ways to improve your sleep, stress and movement

Nurturing your health may be the best and most lasting gift you can give yourself this holiday go-round. It doesn’t require a drastic overhaul or grueling hard work or long stretches of time to get going. It’s only choosing to start.

I promise that the January version of you, who hits the ground running instead of digging out of a hole, will thank the December you who made gratifying choices for health.