The Holiday Season is such a magical and fun time of year, but also a time filled with more-than-usual indulgent meals and outings.
Indulging without guilt is so incredibly important for mental wellness, but over-indulging over a period of time can leave us feeling sluggish, lethargic, bloated and generally unwell.
The following tips to stay balanced over the Holiday Season apply to any time of the year, but are especially helpful when there are more frequent social events with indulgent food and drinks.
Remember to stay hydrated
Carry a water bottle with you so that you are reminded to sip on water throughout the day. Drinking water and staying hydrated has the added benefits of regulating your hunger and maintaining a more ‘Merry’ mood (ie limiting dehydration headaches and irritability). When you arrive at an event make a commitment to start with water.
Serve food onto a plate
Grazing tables, platters and buffets can present an opportunity for mindless eating. Bring a little mindfulness with you to events by serving food from a buffet or grazing table onto a plate before eating. You will have a better understanding of how much you are eating and the types of food you are eating than if you were to graze directly from the table.
Bring a healthy sharing platter/plate
Bringing a healthy sharing platter or dish to an event not only helps out the host, but it provides a delicious and nourishing option for yourself AND the other guests. If you are not sure what to bring to an event, check out the recipes in NOURISHING CHRISTMAS, a completely nourishing Christmas recipe guide. I also love these healthy Christmas Salad Recipes (there’s 32 of them!!). So many great ideas.
Plan your day mindfully
If you know you have an event later in the day, plan a nourishing and nutrient-dense breakfast and lunch. Not only will you head into the evening feeling nourished and energised, but you will likely feel less ravenous and truly enjoy indulgent food.
One Hour Reset
The One Hour Reset tool deserves its own article. In essence the One Hour Reset tool is a way to minimise feelings of guilt, frustration or compensatory behaviours after an indulgent meal. If you have a meal or evening that is more indulgent than usual, take notice of the time and allow yourself an hour before continuing on with your nourishing day or evening routine. By allowing yourself time to enjoy indulging and then moving on soon after you are reducing opportunity to ‘throw in the towel’ or ‘start Monday’ and continue to eat indulgent foods until that time. This is a kind and gentle way to practice self-acceptance and move on without guilt or feeling as though you need to compensate or restrict to ‘make up’ for an indulgent meal.
Regardless of how you choose to eat over the Holiday Season, accept yourself as you are and learn and grow as you go. You are worthy of nourishment and joy and you are worthy of indulgent meals without guilt.
PS. NOURISHING CHRISTMAS is now available for download!
Nourishing Christmas is your Christmas recipe guide, filled with specially curated Christmas recipes for those who are out to impress but don’t have hours of time.
Nourishing Christmas includes starters, mains, desserts, ‘special’ meals/drinks and a section just for kids this Christmas. It also contains the essential tools you need to overcome guilt.
The guide is available for a LIMITED TIME (until 24 December 2017 to be exact) so grab your copy today for your most nourishing Christmas yet!
The guide IS NOW HALF PRICE until Christmas Eve!
Chat to you on Instagram @her.nourished xxx
Your one hour rest tool is a great way to press the reset button on an indulgent meal and still enjoy it! Great post