Healthy Holiday in the Midst of a Crazy Year
Let’s be honest this has been the craziest year of your life! Whether you were locked up in your house, working crazy hours or made a huge life change, something in your life was not “normal”. You know you miss the smiling face across the store or the grumpy old man trucking through the grocery aisles. All of that has been blocked by a piece of cloth over our faces. And for all you huggers (me included) out there that haven’t given people a hug in months due to distancing standards there is hope out there. Maybe you started a brand new business in the middle of the pandemic because you realized you weren’t happy or that your life had more purpose. I am right there with you.
I am not here to tell you my feelings on the world right now but believe that there are things you can do to keep yourself healthy physically and mentally. This holiday season is also not going to be what it normally would be. But I don’t think restrictions and fear should stop us from living life. I believe that it should make us pivot. I want to give you some tips for living healthy and whole this holiday season.
1) Video calls - I know that being on a video call is not the same as being physically in the same room with someone but it can give you an opportunity to connect with your people. My extended family lives in all different states and we usually all travel back to Pennsylvania to be with our parents and grandma during Christmas. But this year, we are doing Zoom calls, which is usually insane when we all try to get on together but it gives my grandma a chance to see what her great-grandchildren got for Christmas. It creates some really great memories and the social interaction will increase your serotonin levels (make you happy).
2) Create a new tradition - Try something new this holiday season. My 3 year old loves to help me in the kitchen so this year we will be baking a cake to celebrate the birth of Jesus (the reason for this season). Maybe go for a family hike since you know you won’t be running around from house to house this year. Or play board games as a family. Or sit by the fire and talk about what you are truly thankful for this year.
3) Practice gratitude - Being thankful has been proven to be good for emotional well-being and reduction in the body's fight-or-flight mode. The holidays are stressful for a multitude of reasons. Anything that you can do to minimize that stress is worth it. Being grateful has also been shown to increase one’s self-control, ultimately helping reduce binge buying, binge eating, drinking, and smoking (all things associated with holidays).
4) Limit sugar - Sugar has so many negative effects on our body including decreasing your immune system. Look I get how hard it is to cut sugar out of your life...it is an addiction. I came from a family that did Sunday dinner every week at my grandma’s and there were cookies, cake, or pies every week. There are so many ways to modify those family recipes to make them healthy. Just reach out to me and we can work on those modifications.
5) Drink water - More water will boost your energy, curb your appetite, and allow your body to better digest all the food we eat during the holidays.
6) Move your body - Moving your body for 30 minutes a day boosts your metabolism and energy levels, cuts cravings (cough sugar cough), and boosts your immune system. If you want an even bigger boost get outside to get some fresh air.
7) Get your vitamins - Eat whole food and not processed food. During the winter months, you should be more focused on eating squashes, soups, and warm foods. Make sure to include spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, cloves, garlic, cayenne, and mustard. Bone broth is my favorite thing to increase in the winter months to boost my immune system due to all its rich nutrients. During the winter months, it is hard to get enough Vitamin D due to decreased sun exposure so a supplementation becomes essential.
8) Visit your chiropractor - When your sympathetic nervous system is ramped up due to misalignment of your vertebrae, the compression on your nervous system slows down your immune response. The chiropractic adjustment removes the misalignment of the spine to allow your nervous system to properly function to allow the body to better adapt to the environment.
This is not an all-inclusive list of things to keep you healthy but these are things to help kick start you into a healthier season. These two weeks are the best time to set yourself up to have a great start to a new year.
Remember 2020 was crazy but it was also the best year. It made us all refocus on what is truly important to us and for some, it even got rid of some fear that was holding them back.
God bless and Merry Christmas.
