Keep the “Healthy” In Your Holidays

It can be very challenging to stick with your healthy lifestyle during the holidays. Common reasons for getting off track include too much food and wine, and too little exercise and sleep—and then there’s the stress factor. If you’re not careful, you can lose much of the ground you gained this year in a few short weeks.

Here are some strategies to help you keep some semblance of a healthy lifestyle during the upcoming months of holidays.

First, limit your alcohol intake. Alcohol adds calories and sugars in the form of carbohydrates, and it interferes with quality sleep. In addition, the metabolic effect of alcohol extends past the hours that you’ve been consuming it. Studies have shown that when you drink alcohol, your body’s insulin secretion for other carbs is abnormal and allows for a hyperglycemic, insulin-resistant state.

Alcohol also lowers our inhibitions, which can influence our behaviors and make it easier to give in to unhealthy choices; essentially, the alcohol effect says, “Never mind, we’ll worry about this another time.”

Limit the high-fat and high-sugar holiday foods to special treat times. Allow yourself to eat the treat food in moderation one or two days a week, but try to stick to your healthy diet the other days.

It’s also difficult to maintain your exercise routine due to the events and activities that take up more of your time during the holidays. Try to continue to exercise at least two days per week, minimum, even if you curtail the amount of time and type of exercise you do. Look for ways to manage stress, too—be mindful that the effect of stress on your metabolism is that it encourages you to eat comfort food, and it also impairs your insulin secretion.

Enjoy the holidays, but make a commitment to yourself in advance to keeping some of your good habits in place. You’ll feel better and have an easier time getting back to your healthy lifestyle come January

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