Originally Published 12 December 2014
Top 5 Tips To Stay Healthy Over The Holiday Season- by Kavisha Jega – Food and Wellness coach
Eat, drink, open presents, sleep, repeat. Pretty much sums up most of the holiday season! Don’t let Christmas and New Year celebrations throw you off course this year. Here are my top tips for staying healthy over this busy period.
Enjoy your favourite holiday treats in moderation.
I recommend taking a good look at your calendar and evaluating which events are worth a bit of a food splurge. You can use whatever criteria you want for this, from the quality of the food to its sentimental value, to the people you’ll be with. Two or three special events over the Christmas/ new year period is a reasonable target. If you’re celebrating multiple times a week make sure you choose the one event per week that is most worth it to you. Look forward to enjoying the events you have chosen guilt-free.
Eat healthy at all other meals, especially those at home.
Just because you blew out on dessert last night or had a few too many wines, doesn’t mean that you have to continue on with a greasy bacon and egg fry up for breakfast. Don’t take on the ‘it’s too late I’ve already blown it mentality’. Make an effort to always make yourself a nutritious breakfast over the holiday period. A green smoothie is a great way to make sure you’re getting your nutrition in, especially if you’ll be out for the rest of the day. Or if that sounds too hard, try adding a greens powder mixed with water to your morning routine. If you’re coming home after a big day out and still feel a little peckish, try a light meal of some steamed veggies with pesto rather than a block of cheese and some crackers!
Be prepared with healthy snacks.
Have healthy snacks available so you don’t find yourself finishing a whole packet of chips or picking at leftovers. Cut up some vegie sticks and have them in your fridge, buy a heap of fruit and fill up your fruit bowl at home, hard boil some eggs and make a batch of bliss balls and keep them in the fridge for a quick snack on the go. It’s also important to eat a healthy, satiating snack before you go to a party to stop you from eating everything in site. This is especially important if you know there will probably be pizza and a lot of booze. Alternatively create healthy versions of your favourite treats to bring along to gatherings and Christmas parties.
Start the day with exercise.
Getting exercise out of the way first thing in the morning will make sure that you get it done every day. Set yourself a routine over the holiday period and stick to it. It doesn’t have to be anything intensely crazy, something simple as a morning power walk, a ½ hour weights session, a 15 minute HIIT session or even some gentle yoga is good enough!
Don’t forget your everyday healthy habits.
– Make sure you are drinking 2 litres of water a day. It’s extremely important to stay hydrated, especially if you’re drinking alcohol. Try bringing a 1 litre carton of coconut water with you to your next gathering and alternate each alcoholic beverage with a glass of coconut water.
– Aim for 8 hours of sleep per night. Make sure you’re giving your body time to rest, detoxify and rejuvenate.Serve yourself salad and vegetable based dishes first and make sure veggies take up half of your plate. This will ensure you’re still meeting your daily fruit and veg requirements.
– Serve yourself salad and vegetable based dishes first and make sure veggies take up half of your plate. This will ensure you’re still meeting your daily fruit and veg requirements.
Head over to See + Local to read Kavisha’s Q&A with Twosixmag and her 26 things!
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How do you stay healthy over the holidays? Tell us your secret tips by leaving a comment below.
