How to thrive, not just survive, this festive season
By Dr Marissa Kelaher
Worried about how you'll stay healthy and well these holidays?
The festive season (and the celebrations and social events that come with it) is a time we tend to either love or dread!
While having time off work to relax and spend time with loved ones is often much awaited and needed, it can also be a challenge if you've been trying to get into healthier habits - as the change in routine and environment can throw things waaay off kilter .
Between work parties, family gatherings and social events, we can end up feeling far from our best by the end of the festive season, and wonder why we keep doing the same things year after year…
Buffets, catered events, and snack foods can also make nutrition and alcohol tricky over the holidays, especially if you've been on a roll with eating well and limiting the drinks, and are worried about all your hard work being derailed.
While it's healthy to celebrate, and enjoy special foods and small amounts of alcohol, drinking in excess and eating too many high calorie foods can also leave us feeling sluggish, tired, and bloated. Yet restrictive eating patterns are just as harmful too, and can flare up this time of year for various reasons. It can be a delicate balance to get it right!
But with a bit of planning, mindfulness, self compassion, and forward thinking, it's absolutely possible to keep on track with feeling great, healthy, and full of energy - without missing out on the fun and festivities, or feeling guilty and punishing yourself.
✔️Let’s use festive meals as both times for togetherness and maintaining good health.
✔️Let’s navigate through celebrations in a way that can leave us feeling better the next day, rather than worse.
✔️Let’s make the days of post holiday regret a thing of the past
✔️Let's think ahead and plan for how you'll manage this time - in order to thrive, rather than just survive!
TIP #1 - STAY HYDRATED
With hot weather it's easy to get a bit dry, and thirst can often be confused with hunger (as well as affecting our digestion, making everything slow down, and impacting on our attention, decision making, and overall feeling of well-being).
Keeping up with drinking water, and having a big glass of water at the start of a meal can help maintain hydration.
Many people can't wait for that after-work drink because they're both thirsty and hungry - to test this yourself, when you first arrive home or to a gathering, try to have a large glass of water and a handful of nuts and see if you still really want the glass of wine..
Alternating alcoholic drinks with sparkling water or flavoured water can also help significantly cut down on the amount of alcohol you drink (as well as keeping you hydrated and less likely to get a hangover), as this stimulates the stretch receptors in your stomach and also takes up time you might otherwise be downing the alcohol!
Keep in mind the guidelines for alcohol consumption too - a maximum of 2 standard drinks/day (10/week) for women and 3 standard drinks/day (15/week) for men. One standard drink is 100ml of wine (half a glass) - a lot less than what many people think!!
We cover alcohol, addiction, and how to manage it, in our Reboot course (as well as how to create changes that last!)
TIP #2 - EAT MINDFULLY
Often we overeat due to nervousness, social expectations, stress, or boredom - rather than actual hunger. As a result, its so important to tune into our bodies cues and try to eat for actual hunger and enjoyment of food whenever possible - as well as paying attention to when we actually feel full!!
And on the flip side, restrictive eating patterns can also rear their head over this time - so allowing yourself to enjoy good food and celebrate with tasty treats is vital.
The key is thinking about whether you're eating to savour and enjoy food, and fill your tummy, vs to suppress uncomfortable emotions, or out of habit or social pressures.
If you've got a string of social events to go to, try make conscious decisions about what you feed your body, and how much you actually need to eat to feel satisfied. And try to be intuitive with your body’s needs, and tune into your hunger and fullness cues.
This helps to steer us away from ‘restriction’ and ‘binge’ eating, as we focus on enjoying food and noticing how it makes it feel.
And lastly if you struggle with restrictive eating, remember it's actually ok to feel stuffed every now and again, food is meant to be enjoyed, and not a tool to be controlled!
If you'd like to learn more about mindful eating, check out our blog post here
TIP #3 - THINK AHEAD
Often foods over the festive season are rich sweet foods, as these are what we associate with celebration.
Food is meant to bring us joy and pleasure, and it’s absolutely OK to allow yourself to savour good food and drinks with your friends and family. But like everything, it's also good to aim for moderation rather than excess!
If your social calendar is packed with events, take some time to consider which events you want to enjoy the food and drinks that are available, and which events you might choose to limit alcohol or snacks.
For events that don’t have a sit-down meal and are likely to involve lots of snacks and finger foods, try not to arrive starving, as this can affect hunger cues and food choices meaning we can overeat then feel uncomfortable afterwards
Consider having a light meal at home before you go, or if you’re heading there straight from work, have some snacks such as nuts or fruit on hand to eat beforehand. It's also important not to turn this into a 'food police' mindset though, and create guilt and self judgement. Remember the aim is to feel well, rather than focusing on 'good' and 'bad' foods.
TIP #4 - FOCUS ON WHAT YOU INCLUDE, RATHER THAN WHAT YOU EXCLUDE, AND SAVOUR YOUR MEALS
This idea revolves around a positive eating philosophy - inclusion rather than restriction. Instead of looking at the food on the table and telling yourself what you SHOULDN'T be eating, instead start thinking about what you can ADD to your plate to help you feel well and nourish your body.
Load up on fresh veges, fruit, salads and whole plant foods first, and add the richer foods last.This means you'll be sure to be getting lots of lovely nutrient dense foods and 'eating the rainbow', as well as feeding your gut microbes, and eating a balanced variety of antioxidant rich foods.
If you're in charge of serving, try using the same principle and serving these foods first, and see what happens!
This can also be a great time to introduce a new healthy dish if you're attending shared meals - meaning you'll have food options you want to eat, and you might even get others on board too!!
Things like green smoothies can also be great to add nutrition into your day if there aren't a lot of fresh veges on offer, be creative and think of how you can include more colorful plants each day.
And when we focus on including lots of tasty nourishing foods, we enjoy them more and feel good about eating!
If you'd like to learn more about positive eating and enjoying food, while also eating for optimal well-being, please check out our Reboot or Nutrition courses.
TIP #5 - DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF
With nutrition, like with most things, the main benefits come from what you do most of the time, rather than the fine details- ie you don't have to eat perfectly ALL the time to be healthy.
This also applies to the holiday season, and is particularly important to remember if you struggle with restrictive eating or guilt around food. Often with nutrition the message can seem to be that you have to have a perfect diet 100% of the time, otherwise you've failed.
One less ‘healthy’ choice isn't going to ruin your health, it's what you do on a day to day matter that counts most.
And research shows healthy nutrition is actually far more about what we ADD to our diet than what we cut out. If you eat well for 90% of your diet, it's OK (and actually good) to have treats occasionally!
If you create guilt and pressure around food, it can actually trigger disordered eating patterns, and also means you're far more likely to binge on ‘banned ‘foods when eventually your willpower fails (does scoffing a whole bar of chocolate in secret sound familiar ?!)
Be kind to yourself, if you change your focus on what foods you include in your diet to nourish and look after your body, rather than foods to avoid, it makes eating far more enjoyable - as you can celebrate your successes and feel good about what you've done well, rather than beat yourself up for that extra serving of dessert ❤️
TIP #6- USE YOUR HUNGER HORMONES TO YOUR ADVANTAGE
If you've followed the suggestions above but are still feeling bloated and over full, it may be that you need to be aware of portion sizes, and how your hunger hormones are affecting you.
In the Western world, our 'normal' portion sizes have increased significantly over recent decades, meaning we are often conditioned to believe we need to eat far more food than what our body actually needs (especially if you’ve been bought up to ‘clear your plate!’).
Our hunger hormones are complex, and feeling full isn't just related to how much food we have in our tummy - it's also to do with how our brain perceives our meals.
Science clearly shows that if we believe we are eating more calories, this turns off our hunger cues - even if we actually aren't eating more!! Our brain really is powerful.
Some tips for this include:
✔️Serve smaller portions: our brain can interpret fullness based on the amount of food we’re served, and when our plate is empty, rather than the amount of food we've actually eaten.
✔️Wait before going back for seconds: If you start with a smaller portion, clear your plate, then wait about 20 minutes before going back for more, this gives your brain and hunger hormones the time to interpret whether you actually need more food, vs whether yo're full
✔️Use smaller plates: Research shows that if we use a small plate and fill it up, our brain actually perceives that we're eating more than if we serve the same amount of food on a larger plate. This means we can eat until we're full without overeating. Small plates fill up faster than large ones!
✔️Try to eat without distraction : Studies show we tend to be less in tune with our fullness signals if we eat in front of a screen, as we don't pay as much attention to our food. Plus we don't enjoy food as much, as we aren't focusing on how good it looks and tastes!
Try make turning off screens when you're eating a habit (ideally avoid reading while eating as well, as this can also affect fullness cues)
We also cover this in more depth in our Reboot and Nutrition courses.
TIP #7 - REMEMBER TO MOVE
Exercise can also be something we struggle with over the holiday season - either finding it hard to get moving due to a change in routine; or over exercising to try 'earn' or 'burn off' festive eating.
Movement is meant to make us feel great, be healthier and stronger, and be enjoyable, rather than be a chore or a punishment.
It's NOT meant to be a way to ‘make up’ for what you eat, as this creates an unhealthy mindset and association between food and exercise. You also don't need to hit the gym to get the health and mental wellbeing benefits of exercise.
Try changing your focus this holiday season towards moving to feel better, and as an opportunity to connect with your loved ones, have fun and spend time outside and in nature. Mix it up and try some different types of movement - it’s okay to take a break from your typical routine and be flexible with walks on the beach, swimming, backyard cricket, and playing with your kids.
The key is building some enjoyable movement into your day each day, to help you feel good, and stay healthy and active over the holidays! If life is busy and you struggle to find the time, scheduling it into your day (if this works for you) can be helpful, and keeping it as much of a priority as being social and relaxing.
TIP #8 - REMEMBER SELF CARE AND BOUNDARIES
The holiday season can be tricky at times, as the expectations of family and friends can create extra pressure on your time and day. This is particularly true if you tend to be the 'organiser' - the one who makes things happen and gets everyone together.
Different beliefs and attitudes towards food, activities, and alcohol can also be challenging, especially if you have relatives who like to let everyone else know their own opinion on what others should be doing, eating, drinking, and saying!!
While you may need to let your expectations relax slightly over this time for the sake of togetherness, it's also absolutely OK to make clear boundaries and stick to them for things that are really important to you - your opinion matters just as much as everyone else's!!
Bullying, putting people down, and commenting on others weight, food choices, or body shape is never OK, and you do not have to put up with this if it occurs, regardless of who does it… respecting your elders does not extend to abusive behaviour.
If you know you'll struggle with a particular situation or family member, take some time to think ahead about what you're happy to tolerate, vs what crosses your limit for this, and how you'll deal with situations if they arise.
Sometimes this can also be a great excuse to get out for a walk and some movement if things are getting a bit intense 😉
Prioritising self care is also part of this, as while being part of a family obviously involves pitching in and spending time creating food and celebrations, if you find your self getting off kilter and overwhelmed, it's OK to take time out for yourself.
Make your own wellbeing just as much as a priority as others - think of a few simple things that help you feel well, and try to build these into your days - as this can help keep you on track and looking after yourself.
Sleep is a part of this - making sure you're remembering to get enough zzzs can make the holidays much more enjoyable!!
We cover stress management and sleep in our Reboot course, as well as our sleep and stress focus courses - please check them out if you'd like to learn more!
TIP #8- USE YOUR HOLIDAYS AS A TIME OFF REFLECTION
And finally, on a bigger scale, the holidays can be a great time to step back, gain perspective on your life, and think about what you really want for the year ahead, and why you want this
A change from the day to day busyness of normal life can be enlightening to help you realise what's important to you, and what you can maybe let go
This year, rather than making new years resolutions (that in reality no one really sticks to), think about the small things you can start to do on a day to day basis that help you feel healthy and well, and make simple achievable plans for how you'll implement these into your life.
Research shows small sustainable steps are far more effective than dramatic ones, and are far more to last for the long term!
Life is journey and is constantly changing - and tuning into your inner thoughts and feelings can help you stay 'true' to yourself, and create real meaning in your life
Make your life one of purpose and one that matters - you won't ever regret it ❤️
So we hope that these tips have been helpful for you - and that you can use them to thrive, and not just survive this holiday season! If you’d like to learn more about how to optimise your health and wellbeing, we have Reboot and Focus courses to help you on your way, as well as our Lifestyle Lounge -all packed with useful info. We’d love to see you there ❤