Ultimate Guide to Have a Healthy Holiday Season.

This guide is going to cover all the main problems that stand in your way of having a healthy holiday and feeling your best! Every year, you might struggle with this time of year, because it slows down your goals or you feel crabby from all the stress. 

This is the article for you if you want to learn how to handle the holidays with ease.

We will be covering how to handle sugar cravings, how to feel your best, and how to handle all the awkward food restriction and diet conversations!

How to Handle Sugar Cravings (and not eat all the cookies)

Sugar cravings can be difficult to handle over the holiday season. Starting around Halloween, dessert seems to be everywhere! Yet, sugar doesn’t have to take over your mind and stop you from feeling your best. Here is how you can master sugar this season.

How to Avoid the Binge.

If you struggle with overeating on sugar – here are 2 options I suggest:

1. Enjoy a small portion at parties and celebrations only.
2. Abstain from sugar completely and just enjoy one glass of wine. (or nothing sweet)

Meet yourself where you are and enjoy the holidays! Get to know yourself and decide what you need. Even though it is hard, minimizing sugar completely may be the best option for right now. Yet, this doesn’t mean you avoid sugar every Christmas for the rest of your life. This is a season of healing that you need now. This is YOUR mental health and sanity right now. Do what you need. <3

Why Do You Binge?

One reason is the belief of lack. You love the holiday season because you get to have your favorite Christmas cookies that you only make this time of year. So you eat as many as you can because you feel like this is your only chance. Yet, the truth is you can make and eat your special Christmas cookies WHENEVER the heck you want. When you feel you are in a state of abundance, you don’t need to eat it all.  Instead, you can see that avoiding the cookies is a choice because you feel better.  Therefore, work on your mindset to see that you are choosing to avoid sugar for your mental health and the Christmas cookies will always be there.

A second reason that we binge is that we aren’t eating enough food. Unfortunately, this is a VERY common reason due to diet culture. We are trained to eat less and work out more. Even if you don’t always feel hungry, you should aim to eat 3 good sized meals every day. Food is fuel and you need it to keep your blood sugar stable and your body nourished. This will help you not fall into a pile of cookies. Overeating is a sign of hunger, so listen in to those cues and eat more food!

How to Eliminate Daily Sugar Cravings:

If you crave sugar and eat it daily. I recommend working towards eliminating the habit. When you do something daily, you start doing it without thinking. And a sugar habit is exactly what you don’t want. If you have a sugar addiction, it will be harder to change over the holidays.  Cut yourself some slack if it sounds impossible right now. Instead, focus on the goal of eating 3 full-sized meals every day. Eating enough real food is critical because you will be too full to overeat on sugar. And you want 7-8 hours of sleep because when you are tired, it is easy to reach towards sugar.

Other tips you can try to limit sugar cravings:

1. Drink Sparkling Waters. This gives you something to sip on and the bubbly makes it feel like a special occasion. It can help to have something to keep your mouth busy so you don’t find yourself engaging in mindless eating.

2. Don’t Skip Meals.  Even the day of a big feast, don’t starve until dinner. This always ends up with overeating. And you will feel awful. There will be more than enough. And this will keep you from feeling moody due to low blood sugar.

3. Don’t Keep Desserts at Home. It is way too tempting and easy to eat all the cookies and pie when they are easily accessible. Sweets are quick fuel! (and tasty) Instead, enjoy desserts only when you are out at a nice restaurant or a holiday party. Bring extra desserts to the office to share! Make it easy to avoid and you will set yourself up for success.

4. Make a Healthier Treat. Give yourself an easy win and make healthier treats and bring those to parties. That way you can have something that will taste good and won’t give you a giant sugar crash.  Sugar is still sugar. But in my opinion, there is a big difference in how you feel when you use high-quality ingredients and natural sugar.

If you want to learn more about mastering your sugar cravings once and for all, read my previous articles here and here.

How to Feel your Best (Without Going Crazy!)

Staying up late, drinking too much alcohol, hosting parties, eating too much food, and high stress can all pile up during the season and make you feel meh. Here is what I recommend you do to avoid that.

1. Keep your Health Commitments. – Don’t throw everything out the window just because it is the holiday season. Stick to your goals and day to day habits that you follow year-round.
2. Create a Game Plan for Parties – Decide beforehand if you choose to avoid dessert or if you want 1 piece. You know your body and what you need. Don’t let anyone make you feel bad.
3. Bring a Healthy Side Dish to Share. – I love bringing new and healthy side dishes to parties. Not are people usually interested in trying new and healthy foods, you will have something you can eat!
4. Go for the Protein. – Not only is protein filling, but it is also typically a safe bet at parties. Protein is just meat, it usually won’t be covered in gluten, dairy, or other processed chemicals.
5. Get enough Sleep. – When you are tired, you eat more food and sugar. Don’t sacrifice your sleep for all the crazy going on.
6. Take Time for Meditation. Meditation might sound like it won’t make much of a difference. But don’t knock it until you try it! We live in non-stop stimulation and stopping for 10 minutes can help clear the brain and release anxiety.
7. Set Time for Yourself and Your Goals. Personally, not working on my goals gives me anxiety. During any season, I make sure to make time for myself because I know how it feels to leave myself for last. This is my life and it is up to me to make time and prioritize myself. If I don’t, no one else will.

These are 7 of the key things that will help you feel your best during this season. And remember to enjoy the season because it should be a fun time of the year! <3

How to Handle All the Diet Questions.

Many people may be confused about your new food choices. It might feel exhausting to answer all these questions. But you will make it through!! Here is what you can plan to prepare for all the questions.

• Be Confident in your Choices.

Be bold in what you are doing. You don’t need to explain all the details if you want. Just a simple “I feel better when I avoid XYX” and people will move on.

• Don’t Let People Guilt You.

If someone is guilting you into eating something you don’t want, that is their own insecurity coming through. You don’t need to be rude, but you don’t need to cave from their pressures. Being aware that this can happen will help you stay strong.

• Say “Thank You” and Deflect the Conversation.

The less you engage the easier it will be to change topics if you want to move on. If people make comments like “you are so thin you need to eat more”, respond with “thank you” and change the subject. Most people will get the picture. If they continue to bug you, you can directly tell them you don’t appreciate comments about your body and that your weight has nothing to do with your food choices.

I know these tips will help you make it through any holiday party. If you have more questions about how to handle specific situations or a personal story, share below!

Wishing you the best happy holiday season! xox