Help Your Health Survive the Holidays

As the holiday season approaches, some people tend to throw their health goals to the curb and wait to pick them back up after the New Year. Live Better is challenging you to focus on your health right through the holiday season. Whether your personal health goal is about weight loss, heart health or managing your diabetes, here are a few tips to help your health survive the holidays.

Take control. Set realistic goals and be aware of your actions throughout the holidays. Maintaining your weight throughout the holiday season is more realistic than losing weight. Try to balance out any holiday overeating with smaller, healthier meals in the days before and after events.

Be aware of your food and beverage intake at social gatherings. The key is to enjoy yourself, but avoid overeating. When you are faced with the overabundance of food during the holidays, make your calories count. Don’t fil you your plate just to fill it up. If you need help with this in particular, ask yourself these two questions before you put food on your plate at a gathering:

• Does this food provide good nutrition?
• Does this food bring me joy?

If you cannot answer yes to at least one of those questions, then it is best to leave that item off your plate. Remember, it’s important not to waste calories on something you don’t love eating, or food that is not going to give your body good nutrition.

Remember your beverage choices count. Some beverages can add a tremendous amount of calories (and carbohydrates) to your daily intake.

Be active. Don’t forget to make time for exercise during the holidays. Schedules get very hectic this time of year, but routine exercise is important for reducing stress, preventing weight gain, and maintaining cardiac-aerobic fitness. Make sure to pencil in “time to exercise” into your schedule. Every little bit counts, even a brisk 1-15 minute walk is better than no exercise at all.