4 Tips for HEALTHY Holidays
what if healthy was a lifestyle rather than a ‘diet’?
What if instead of ‘falling off the wagon’, going on a diet in February or falling in a heap at the end of the holidays and ‘starting again’, you had a blueprint for navigating balance whatever the circumstances? What if living well and looking after yourself, was simply your lifestyle, rather than something that you never quite get to on your to do list?
Personally, I find the easiest way to navigate any semblance of balance over the holidays or any time in my life, has been to maintain a lifestyle, rather than follow a diet.
According to the World Health Organisation, ‘Health’ is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Therefore, a healthy you is so much more than the food you eat.
Below are my go-to’s for navigating a healthy lifestyle, ALL SUMMER LONG.
use your morning
We all know how easy it is to get caught up in all the fun over the holidays and forget all of your intentions from the night before. Using your morning, ensures that at the very least 30% of your day was done with intention, so what does this mean?
Hydrate
Get your greens in, (whether that’s a green juice, smoothie or eggs with a side of greens)
Take your vitamins + gut powders
Move your body
For bonus points, do some breathwork or meditation to support your nervous system.
make movement non-negotiable everyday
This doesn’t mean you have to run 10km or do a HIIT class, by making it non-negotiable it simply means you promise to do some form of exercise for yourself each day, it could be a yoga class, a quick 15min stretch or a walk around the block BUT by making it non-negotiable you’re already committed and it takes the option of ‘should I, shouldn’t I’, out of the equation. A little bit everyday is still everyday, it also makes it so much easier to stick to your exercise routine overall.
support your gut health
If you support your gut, your gut will support, everything else. For more detail on gut health read this article.
My 3 Top Tips for supporting your digestion + your gut.
Don’t drink water or any other liquid within 20mins of eating. If you must, take sips, not gulps.
Land in front of your food, take a few relaxing breaths before eating and really land in front of your meal, smell it, look at it. This all turns on your digestive enzymes before you even eat anything and is a really important part.
Give your digestive system a rest by leaving 3 hours between each meal in order for your food to be fully digested.
watch your self talk
One of the biggest ways we sabotage ourselves and our efforts is through negative self talk. You are not fat because you ate dessert, you did not fail because you didn’t go for a run, you did not fall off the wagon because you enjoyed doing all the things you normally reserve for the ‘shouldn’t list’.
Life is for living, celebrate with your friends and family, enjoy every moment of their company, have two servings of dessert or too much wine and remember, tomorrow is another day and if you have a healthy, balanced lifestyle, this is all just part of the fun.
Chastising yourself has been shown to send you down the rabbit hole of no return far more than resetting tomorrow and making it all part of your lifestyle.