My Top 2 Tips For Well-Being Over The Holidays

Happy Holiday Season!

The month of December can be a mixed bag of chips, right?

Lots of joyful cheer, gatherings, celebrations, gift giving....

And also additional stress, busyness, and too much on our plates, both literally & figuratively.

It's a time of year when focusing on your well-being can easily be set to the side in so many ways as you prioritize the very busy holidays and consume more sugary & rich foods than you normally do.

All of this can lead to us not feeling great, stressed, low energy, bloated, etc.

The good news is that if you simply bring some intentional focus to your well-being during this season, you can feel a lot better & enjoy the season so much more.

My 2 Top Tips For Well-Being In The Holiday Season:

1) Balance Out All The Sweet & Rich Foods With Healthy Whole Foods. By this, I mean really focus on extra healthy foods when you are not partaking in rich holiday meals & sweets.

There's likely no avoiding all of the holiday cookies, candy, and extra-rich foods. Packages & gifts sent containing sweets, holiday parties, dinners, & cocktails....it can feel challenging this month to stay on track with eating in a way that makes you feel good & keeps your energy up.

I've always been a fan of the 80/20 rule, meaning if you eat really well 80% of the time, don't worry so much about the other 20%. Total restriction never works well & can often backfire leading to you wanting to binge on everything you were restricting yourself from.

There's no reason we can't enjoy some holiday treats, but often that can lead to a mindset of 'screw it - I'm gonna just eat all the things - I'll do better come January.' This isn't a great approach either.

This doesn't need to be an all-or-nothing situation. You can support yourself in keeping some balance here with a little intention around it.

Rather than trying to restrict yourself or just going all-in with holiday foods, focus on balancing out the extra sweet & rich foods you may be eating with really healthy foods.

If you know that you are going to a holiday party in the evening and will likely indulge a bit, focus on eating extra healthy foods for breakfast & lunch. You'll feel a lot better if you had a smoothie & a salad that day before indulging.

Focus on whole foods & get as many extra vegetables & greens in your diet as you can.

2) Focus On Stress Management & Self-Care.

Many people feel a lot of extra stress around the holidays. The stress can stem from feeling extra pressure around events & responsibilities, buying gifts, financial stress, family dynamics, etc.

Many people have a lot of extra stress & emotions around family dynamics. People who have had trauma in their family, lost loved ones that they no longer get to celebrate the holidays with, or have relationship struggles with family members.

The pressures of extra responsibilities & a full calendar can feel overwhelming in a season when we are really meant to rest more.

It can be easy to get caught in the whirl of the season, and maybe not even recognize how much your stress level has increased.

Check-in with yourself - what's your level of stress?

If you don't feel overly stressed, but know that close to the holiday, you usually feel it come on, can you get ahead of the game a bit & prevent that?

Here are some of my favorites:

• Meditation & breathing exercises
• Long baths
• Massage
• Exercise
• Walks outside - time in nature
• Time disconnected from electronics & screens
• Make sleep a priority
• Talking out worries with someone you know & trust to listen & hold space for you
• Schedule downtime for yourself. You have likely scheduled other holiday things and made them a priority. If you feel like you need some downtime, schedule that too & make it a priority.

Do you know what helps to alleviate your stress?

Lean into what you know works for you.

Wishing you a happy & healthy holiday season!

With Love,

Shelly