How to Be Healthy & Happy Through the Holidays

For many people, the holidays can be an extremely stressful time. Busy schedules, overeating, financial pressures and the colder weather can all deplete our energy and our body’s immune system to the point where we get sick or just feel miserable despite all the fun festivities available to us.

To help you and your family stay healthy through the holiday season, here is a list of healthy tips so you can enjoy this time of year:

1) Just Say No – the most common complaint I hear during the holidays is: “There’s just so much going on, I can’t keep up!” If you’re like most people, the Holidays fill with neighbor’s gift exchanges, work parties, kid’s school performances, hosting relatives, going to visit relatives, etc. While all of these individual activities might be wonderful on their own, all of them together makes for a pretty hectic schedule and after a few weeks of it, nothing seems to be fun anymore.

Saying ‘No’ to certain gatherings might at first seem impossible, but it’s the healthy thing to do to keep you sane throughout this busy month. Pick the events, parties, gatherings that you really want to go to, not just feel you have to go to, and RSVP ‘No’ to the rest.

2) Eat a small, healthy meal before you go to the Holiday party – at every dinner party, the host wants to provide lots of decadent foods to treat their guests to the very best. If you show up to dinner starving, you’ll eat much more of the fatty, sugary indulgences offered causing you to feel sluggish and uncomfortable. Especially if your calendar is full of these types of dinner gatherings, this is where lots of those extra holiday pounds are put on. You don’t have to refuse what your host offers. Politely eat small portions of what’s served, fully enjoy all the tastes and smells there, just in moderation.

3) Drink lots of water – winter time is particularly dry time of year so upping your water intake (or at the very least, maintaining it) is important to keep your body functioning optimally. Don’t fall into the trap of replacing your glass of water with all of the sweetened apple ciders,  alcoholic mulled wines and fatty egg nogs.

Drinking lots of water will help your body flush out system and detoxify all of the “not so good” food ingredients you may be taking in. It also helps your immune system stay fluid so your white blood cells are mobile in your lymphatic system to keep colds and flus away.

4) Keep moving – with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, running from parties to performances to get-togethers pushes your usual exercise routine out of your calendar. Don’t let this happen to you this year. Keep your workouts a priority. It will help you burn off those extra calories you’ve eaten, burn off the stress that may be building inside of you as well as burn off bacteria and viruses that may be waiting to take advantage of a weakened immune system.

5) Remember what the Holidays are all about – starting with Thanksgiving Day all the way to New Year’s Day, the Holiday Season is all about celebration and appreciation of all that we have, reflection on the past year, envisioning the year ahead, sharing with, giving to and receiving from our family and friends. This time has been so commercialized and it has become all too easy to get caught up in purchases, appearances and obligations.

When you find yourself out of breath and overstressed, take a moment and take a breath and remember that which brings you love and happiness will keep you healthy and all that doesn’t…leave it behind.

If you have other tips that work for you and your family to be healthy and happy through the holidays, share them here so others can benefit from them as well. Thank you for doing so.