We are fast approaching the holiday season and by now, you’ve likely been faced with Christmas cookies, chocolate trays, cakes, and more alcohol and late nights then you are used to.
‘How can I eat and stay healthy during the holidays’? Is the question I get asked most frequently at this time.
Here is how.
It is actually pretty simple. Try these 5 Top Tips for yourself, starting this coming week and the next. I would love to hear how it works to keep you on the fit n healthy track.
Believe me, when I share these top tips with you, while they seem simple, they actually work like gangbusters to save you from the inevitable guilt, grief, and possible major setbacks post-holiday season if you don’t follow a strategy like this to get and stay healthy.
How to eat and stay healthy over the holidays – 5 Top Tips
1) Start the day with 1 liter of filtered water BEFORE you have your breakfast.
This simple tip will stop false hunger cues in their tracks setting the stage for a more pleasurable day enjoying better energy and wiser food choices.
2) Schedule in a morning walk or exercise regime to do the first part of every day.
Doing so will keep you focused on YOUR health and fitness before anything gets in the way. Strive for 20+ minutes. That’s all you need. Bonus points for going a little longer, but STAY CONSISTENT! That is the KEY to this health tip.
3) Have a protein-rich breakfast.
When you fuel your body with ample amounts of protein, you send a signal to your body to keep blood sugar stable, hormones happy, and muscles strong and lean. It is also the #1 strategy to stop sugar cravings in their tracks allowing you to be in full control over your food choices. Instead of the other way around.
4) Feed well and fast well.
Choose to have your meals within a feeding window. Women are best to feed within a 10 hr window and men an 8 hr window. For example, if you stop eating dinner by 8 pm think about starting breakfast at 10 am or even later if you are a woman and 12 noon if you are a man. Water and herbal tea with or without stevia after dinner is fine. Water and black coffee preferably through a french press in the morning are great too. The idea is to avoid snacking after dinner and before breakfast.
5) Get good sleep.
I can’t stress this enough. Getting a good solid night’s sleep is paramount to your ability to eat and feel healthy over the holidays. Just think about it, when you get a crappy nights sleep, what do you crave? Sugar, chocolate, cookies during the day. then in the evening – alcohol which leads to late-night snacking. Right? A recipe for disaster.
To get your best sleep, plan ahead with a morning walk outside (research shows just 20 minutes of a walk outside before 10 am sets the stage for a deep sleep at night -sunglasses off for the full health benefits). Also, 1 hour before bedtime, keep your eyes away from any screens, like cell phones, TVs, computers, ipads and the like. They are all known to emit blue light which destroys your melatonin and ability to sleep through the night.
I hope you found these 5 Top Tips helpful to eat and stay healthy over the holidays.
If you like this information and want more, make sure you check out my Personalized Nutritional Plans and get one for yourself. I offer one on one, in person, by phone, Skype or Facetime.
Why wait for the New Year to get and stay healthy? Why not start now?
Learn what you get in your Personalized Nutritional Plan.