December 16, 2011

10 Easy Steps to fight the Holiday flu , lbs, and blues.


1. Portion Control
Just because it's delicious doesn't mean you have to pile on the calories.  Try to stick to your normal portion size.  Did you know that the size of your closed fist is the size your meal should be? 


2. Home Made
  Instead of picking up desserts at your local market, make them from stretch.  When you make your food from scratch you are able to tweak or substitute your recipes. 


 For example a recipe for chocolate chip cookies called for  2 cups of all purpose flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 egg, 1 cup of margarine, 1 table spoon of vanilla, and a bag of baking chocolate.  


A healthier version of this could be an organic and  range free egg or egg substitute,  1/2 a cup of natural organic butter, 1/2 a cup of organic coconut oil, Gluten free all purpose "flour"  (or whole wheat flour or unbleached all purpose flour),  1 cup of agave or honey or organic granulated sugar (instead of processed white sugar).  The substitute for the chocolate could be organic dark chocolate.

3. Always use a plate

Using a plate even for snacks allows your mind to see what your eating as food and not just a light snack.  Most holiday snacks are high in calories and fat so a few cookies  or  a slice of cake should be considered a meal as far as calories go. Once your mind is aware how much your eating it might be easier for it to tell you "I AM FULL!"

4. Nutrition
holiday season is also flu season so nutrition is super important.  Fill up on nutritious food before getting to the desert table.  Protein, nutritious veggies and fruits should be first.  

5. Listen to your body. 
Enjoy your meal chew throughly!  You might find that you don't want your entire plate of food if you slow down and listen to your body. 


6. Move
 Don't wait for the new year.  It's often harder to go on a "diet" after pigging out and laying about!   There is no reason to wait.  Make it a new family tradition to go on walks after dinner. If it's too cold out try indoor games that help you and your family move! :)  Just dance would be perfect! 


7. Holistic.
You maybe think it's hard to eat holistically but its a pretty simple concept... The idea of WHOLE. For example instead of peeling your potatoes when making mashed potatoes keep the skin!   The skin has a lot of minerals and fiber! When your eating a whole potato your eating it's whole nutrition :) See it's pretty simple!




8. WATER
I used to end up in the E.R around Jan every year from extreme dehydration.  Remember to drink water.  Water will help you stay hydrated and healthy.  Water helps keep your skin gorgeous and hydrated.  If your suffering for ashy or itchy skin you might be dehydrated and no matter what lotion you use you will continue to have this problem. Water is the cure :) 


9) Vitamins
During winter most of us lack a lot of the vitamins we get during the summer (Specifically Vitamin D.)
A human gets the vitamins D needed in 5 minutes by just driving or sitting next to a window.... If you are feeling blue or tired you might want to look into vitamins d or multi vitamin supplements.  Vitamins are very important during holiday seasons with  stress and flu suppressing out immune system. 


10) De-stress
Stress can suppress your immune system leaving you vulnerable to common cold or the flu.  Stress can also cause extra fat to accumulate around the stomach.  Ways to de-stress naturally: Massage, aroma therapy, exercise, warm baths,  and meditation.  I use lavender oil, warm baths and music (Kelly Sweet, Frank Sinatra, Classic Christmas songs, Medication music). 

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