When you think holidays, feelings of togetherness, happiness and general warmth come to mind. Well, those feelings are supposed to come to mind. But, to most of us, the holidays also come with stress, fatigue and lack of needed exercise. Below are tips to help you get through the rest of the holiday season - without pulling your hair out.
Let’s face it - the holidays are a stressful, crazy time filled with shopping, travel, parties and other atypical events. But even though you’re busy, try to keep up with your exercise routine. Opt to shop online or plan to go to local craft and artisan fairs for holiday shopping, so you’ll get it done faster and more efficiently. In terms of party nights, fit in a quick workout at home instead of schlepping to the gym - you’ll immediately shave off some time. If traveling, ask if you can take the family dog on run, see if your mom wants to go on a power walk, or play outside with the kids.
Trying to do everything this season will stress you out, so if you have to sacrifice going to a couple of functions to keep your sanity, allow yourself to do so.
Holiday parties are notorious diet-ruiners, and the expression “you can’t have your cake and eat it, too” applies all too perfectly here. So before you even set foot out of our house to go to that party, decide whether you’re going to snack or drink. If not, you’ll end up consuming thousands - yes, thousands - of unwanted calories between cocktails, cookies and hors d'oeuvre.
There are plenty of blogs dedicated to healthy desserts, so why not put one to use? One of our favorite recipes comes from Chocolate Covered Katie (of course) and is called Fudge Babies. They meet everything on the checklist: paleo, gluten-free and can be made vegan. Plus they’re fudgy, delicious and healthy. All you do is take all the ingredients, throw them together in a food processor and blend until you get a moist, crumbly mixture. Then roll them into little balls and voila!
All you need is
1 cup walnuts
1 and 1/3 cups pitted dates
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
pinch salt
Holiday stress weakens your immune system. Prevent illness by adding vitamins C and D to your regimen and carry a water bottle with you everywhere you can.
6. Sleep!
Lack of sufficient sleep can cause weight gain, irritability and hinders productivity - all things that are especially awful aroud the “most wonderful time of the year.” So make sure you’re getting those 8 ½ hours each night; your body will thank you.
