Yippie! Christmas is almost here, and it is that time of the year where people love to share and receive gifts and goodies.
Sometimes these gifts and goodies include foods and drinks from families and friends, and it would be difficult not to indulge. Nonetheless, it essential that you watch what you eat or drink during the holiday.
Healthtian has thought of ways to stay healthier during Christmas, and we’d love to share them with you.
You can still have maximum fun this season, and at the same time, maintain a healthy diet that would affect your waistline or stomach.
Check out the 10 ways to stay healthier during Christmas.
1. Don’t just sit all-day
We know that during this festivity, TV stations would be showing Christmas-related movies, but this is no excuse to glue yourself to your seat all day. The spirit of Christmas doesn’t end there.
Going out for a walk at the park with the family is an excellent way to not only enjoy the holiday but to aid digestion after dinner. It is believed that the more activities one engages in, the better it is to keep the body healthy.
This means some outdoor activity like playing scrabble, chess, ludo, cycling, frisbees, football, or a stroll. You could simply take long walks while you enjoy watching other people celebrate Christmas.
2. Minimize your intake of alcohol
I know it’s Christmas already, and the thought of celebrating Christmas with crates of alcohol has crossed your mind on a few occasions.
A bottle of brandy with friends on Christmas Eve, beer to blend with your breakfast on Christmas morning, Hennessy and barbecue at night with the big boys; the list is practically endless.
Why don’t you pity your liver and watch your overall alcohol intake? It is best to minimize your alcohol intake during this holiday, so you don’t put your health at risk. You could try taking more of water, fruit juice, and lighter drinks that won’t complicate your health.
3. Watch your calorie intake
A recent student suggests that humans consume around 3,000 calories every Christmas dinner – that’s more than the recommended daily intake for an adult! Meals eaten during Christmas contributes to weight gain, heartburn, and indigestion, plus that could include lethargy throughout the day.
Rather than stuff yourself up with food unhealthily, focus on eating a normal-sized meal.
After that, take at least 20 minutes to break so as to determine if you really need to eat or not (it takes that long for our brain to signal that the belly is full). This helps you to monitor how much food you eat and also to control calories.
4. Don’t expose yourself to cold
It’s not uncommon to experience cold during the holiday; this makes it easy for us to catch the flu easily. Because many of us travel a lot, especially during this time, we expose ourselves – and others – to several cold viruses.
You can try to maintain a healthy immune system to minimize your risk of getting sick. Eating a balanced diet, reducing alcohol intake, getting proper sleep, and avoid smoking would increase your chances of fighting off cold viruses quickly.
5. Monitor your stress level
With the number of activities associated with Christmas, it’s very likely that people party every day. Everyone is usually in a jolly mood, and Christmas is just enough reason to want to party.
Others spend time cooking, shopping, cleaning, and the list goes on. You really would want to manage the things you do during the holiday, so you don’t increase your stress level.
People who stay in very noisy environments sometimes travel to a more quiet environment so as to enjoy the kind of Christmas they deserve and to also control their stress level. Remember, celebrating Christmas shouldn’t be enough reason to risk your health!
6. Eat plenty of fruits
Asides the health benefits of eating fruits, don’t you think introducing more fruits in your diet during Christmas might actually make you healthier? Tell me the truth, don’t most of us go through the holiday eating less of fruits?
It almost always doesn’t feature on the Christmas meal menu. With the late nights partying and rush of activities, it is more imperative than ever to increase your vitamins and minerals intake, to improve your health.
It would help a lot to include an ample amount of fruits to your shopping for Christmas. Fruits and vegetables need a chance to work their magic.
7. Do something remarkable for others
It’s almost hard to avoid all the delicious goodies flying around during Christmas, but it doesn’t have to be only about receiving, it’s about giving too.
You could try inviting friends over, get a neighbor’s kid a present, visit an elderly neighbor, or anything that appeals to you. The idea is to enjoy the feeling that comes with the warm spirit of Christmas.
8. Mind what you eat
This Christmas holiday is a time of plenty, and with chocolates, nuts, cheese straws, and mince pies wherever you look, it would be unfair to suggest that you don’t indulge in any treats or snacks over the festive period.
But rather than carelessly popping whatever you see into your mouth, it’s more than helpful to spend a quick moment thinking about whether you really need it or are just want to eat it because it is there.
It’s essential to control what chew on because, in the end, it all goes inside your body.
9. Stimulate your brain
Rather than fix all your attention and time on the TV, you could consider keeping your mind busy. You could have friends or neighbors over and play stimulating games like Soccer, chess, charades, monopoly, or adventure games.
It’s one of the most amazing ways to stay healthier during Christmas, because you not only improve on your interpersonal relationships, you also strengthen yourself mentally.
10. Mind how you cook
If Christmas for you involves cooking, then it might not interest you to know that, according to the Food Standards Agency, this holiday is one of the most common times for people to get food poisoning.
You can minimize the chances of this happening by not leaving food out all day.
Don’t overlook unless you are sure you’d be having guests. Typically, you can try to use leftovers as soon as possible, or you simply have them refrigerated.
Always try to properly manage all your resources during this period so you can completely enjoy your Christmas. Merry Christmas in advance, people! Ho ho ho!!!
