Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! And after Thanksgiving, both Christmas and New Years will be here and gone in the blink of an eye.
The Holiday Season & Social Eating
The Holidays as Heavy Hitters
The next couple months are heavy hitters with regard to physical, emotional, and social well-being! We consume high-calorie food, manage higher stress levels, and a lot of time is allocated to family, friends, and our community. With all this on your plate, we just want to ground you with a few nutrition-friendly health & wellness reminders.
Did you know, stress can trigger higher levels of cortisol? High levels of cortisol (often referred to as your stress hormone) can increase your appetite. Increased appetite, combined with an environment saturated with high fat and high sugar-filled foods, can lead to holiday weight gain! We are here to help you combat food-related stress.
Eating together tends to act like a social glue. It is easier to bond, relax, and communicate when comforting foods (like sweet potato casserole or homemade mac ‘n cheese!) are on the table. But if you’re not careful, one holiday meal can take up all your calories you’re supposed to eat in a single day!
Tips & Tricks
- Start your day with meditation. Meditation through yoga can boost your metabolism, but if sitting and meditating is more your style, there are plenty of benefits you can reap there, too! Regular meditation can decrease stress, increase your self-awareness, and help teach you to slow things down and enjoy what’s really important— in this case: healthy holiday celebrations with friends and family!
Pause before you eat to recognize if you are filling an emotional or physical hunger. Eating smart (plus moving more, sleeping enough, and managing your time) can significantly improve your attitude AND your health! See our Holiday Stress Meditation for extra fun. Focuses include:
Making time for yourself – put it ON your calendar.
Practice mindfulness and meditation.
Say no to invitations that don’t serve your mental health in a positive way.
Simplify life.
Keep the holiday spirit high by showing kindness and compassion for self and others!
- Eat a salad before your big holiday meal. If you eat a salad before your holiday meal, you are helping yourself out in a couple of ways. 1.) You’re making sure you are getting some vegetables in your belly, and 2.) you are filling up on nutritious food so there is less room for the heavy holiday dishes to follow! All in all, you’re really doing yourself a favor!
- Drink more water! It should go without saying, but read those benefits here.
- Determine an accountability partner within your social circle. If you share similar health and wellness goals, it might be easier for you and your accountability partner to keep each other in check during the holidays. Feel free to download a tracking app or write your meals and workouts down in a journal for you to share and compare. You could even create your own little version of a Maintain Don’t Gain buddy challenge!
Interested in wellness coaching? Your coach can also make a great accountability partner for the holidays!