Leading a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be complicated. To gain optimal wellness, implement healthy lifestyle changes into your daily routine that are sustainable.
Happy New Year! I can’t believe it is 2020! We’ve made it through the holiday season. For many of us our calendars have been full of gatherings with family and friends, celebrations, and making memories. But the holiday season is also a time filled with sweets and treats on a daily basis, booked with holiday parties, and an abundance of holiday meals. On top of that we often forgo our regular healthy exercise and sleep routines because we have so many other obligations over the holidays.
The diet industry overemphasizes holiday weight gain and can make us feel bad for indulging and enjoying foods we get only once a year. We are all bound to indulge (holidays, parties, vacations), and if we beat ourselves up about it, that takes all the fun away. January comes and people overreact to ‘holiday weight gain’ with unsustainable diet and workout plans.
The problem is people often go to extreme measures, eliminating food groups, going on detoxes, or taking weight loss pills to quickly undo the ‘damage’. Restricting calories or popping pills offer quick results that are unrealistic to maintain. Instead people go back and forth between excess and deprivation- slowing down their metabolism, and making it harder to manage a healthy body composition. Instead of these drastic measures, consider a few smart lifestyle changes that you can actually stick with year round.
Don’t skip meals
While your immediate reaction after overindulging may be to skip meals, don’t deprive yourself. More often than not, these behaviors are likely to cause you to overeat and make bad food choices once you reach a point of extreme hunger. An even worse consequence of skipping meals is it can significantly slow down your metabolism. The smarter choice is to have a smaller balanced meal with protein, healthy fats, and fiber rich foods. By choosing to go back to your normal (healthy) diet, it will keep your hunger at bay and get you back on track.
Focus on what you can eat
People often focus on all the foods they should avoid after the holidays. Depriving yourself only leads to cravings. Instead, focus on what you can add to your diet to make it healthier. One goal could be to increase the amount of vegetables at lunch and dinner, or to try a new grain each month. Chances are adding these fiber rich foods will keep you feeling full and satisfied.
Be Mindful
Mindfulness refers to the practice of being aware and in the moment. Unfortunately, when it is time to eat food we are often multitasking, preoccupied by thoughts, or distracted by technology. Mindful eating is being attentive of what, why, and how you eat. Mindful eating can help increase awareness of hunger and fullness cues before and during each meal. Listening to your body cues leads to eating reasonable quantities and helps you get back to regular eating patterns.
Being mindful during meal/snack time can also help you fully enjoy the food and the experience of eating it. Mindful eating includes thinking about food in a non-judgmental way. When you allow foods that may have been ‘off limits’, you free your mind of feeling guilt or regret after a meal. I encourage you to practice evaluating how hungry or full you feel, avoid multitasking, and focus on the flavor/texture of food so you enjoy each bite.
Incorporate a rainbow of color
Every fruit and vegetable offers a different combination of nutrients. Eating a variety of colors is an easy way to get a range of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals our bodies need to thrive. Fruits and vegetables are also filled with fiber which will help cut down on portions and keep you feeling full.
Get moving
I encourage you to find an exercise that works best for you and excites you. Running, swimming, biking, walking, dancing, yoga, chasing your kids on the playground, gardening, house chores etc. You don’t have to work up a sweat for an exercise to be effective and beneficial. It is about moving your body more. A huge benefit of exercise, aside from the physical, are the ‘feel good’ hormones released and the stress relief. Exercise because you love your body, not because you are punishing yourself for what you ate last night. Exercise will boost your energy, mood, and overall wellness. Once you find an exercise you enjoy you will want to keep doing it as part of your routine.
Drink plenty of water
Stay hydrated. Your body needs water to function properly. Water regulates your body temperature, boosts your immune system, and is important for the essential functions of our cells and organs. Drinking plenty of water can help you feel full so you don’t mistake thirst for hunger.
Resume your healthy habits
The sooner you get back into your normal routine the better. Resume making grocery lists for the week, meal prepping, workout classes, meditating, or whatever else you used to do before the chaos of the holiday season came. Routines should fall back into place after a week or two. You can even consider adding to your healthy habits by incorporating the lifestyle changes suggested above!
Check out some of my favorite recipes to try:
Lemon Garlic Marinated Chicken
What are some healthy lifestyle changes you hope to start incorporating? What else would you add to this list? Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments below.
