Blog: Staying healthy during holidays
Festive season is a lot of fun. No doubt about that. But what goes awry in this period is our fitness routine and eating habits.
We tend to spend more time at home and socialize more which invariably leads to more eating and drinking and less movement. This has the direct impact of a few extra kilos piling on. The whole of new year and a few months post that is spent on shedding that and getting back to shape and routine.
How to stay on course and not go completely off track is something that needs careful planning, effort and a lot of mindfulness. Here are some pointers to help you stay on track.
Keep moving and stay active – Extra calorie intake is a given during holidays. So, the only work around is trying to burn off as much as possible by engaging in games or sports. It could be running, swimming, dancing, a game of football or tennis, boxing, yoga or dance. Something. Anything.
Be smart about what you eat 80% of the time – Don’t keep unrealistic targets like going totally off desserts or off fries. Ultimately you would cave in and then the binge eating and harm that follows would be worse. Target at following the pareto principle and avoiding high calorie food 80% of the time. Give yourself a 20% wriggling space. Eat what you crave for mindfully in that 20% of time
Control portion sizes – It is mostly when you serve yourself an excessive first helping that the whole session ends up being one of overeating. Serve yourself smaller portions, use smaller plates and internalize the fact that you don’t have to eat the entire dessert to feel good. A small portion or a scoop from a shared tub of ice-cream is good enough to make you feel good any not deprived.
Eat enough protein and fiber – What makes you binge eat? The frequent cravings and a permanent feeling of hunger. That issue can be significantly reduced if your protein and fiber intake is ample. These two components in your diet are what gives a sense of satiety. Also, very often we tend to mistake thirst for hunger. So, you could try having a glass or two of water when you have the feeling of hunger and eat only if you still feel hungry after that. Dehydration related niggles are something else that sneaks up on us because of the high sodium diet we tend to have during celebrations. Ample water consumption and keeping off aerated drinks is recommended to avoid dehydration.
Sleep well and reduce stress triggers – According to fitness experts one of the main causes for weight gain and ill health is excessive stress and poor sleep quality and poor sleep quantum. Hence it is just not the food eaten during festivities that causes harm, but it is also the changing lifestyle like late hours and stressful holiday planning.
Try to keep healthy options around – Very often we resort to eating high calorie food simply because no other healthy options are available around us. Storing and keeping at hand healthier options which are not calorie dense but nutrient dense would make us reach out to that cake or fries less frequently.
Taste desserts, not make meals of them or have a full course – Blueberry cheesecake is not going to really disappear from the face of the earth. So, there is no need to approach food with a ‘Fear of missing out’ attitude. If not this month, maybe next month or month after that when your fitness goals are achieved you can eat it. The relationship with food cannot be that of panic and fear. Food should be had slowly, calmly and well relished without a sense of anxiety.
Have more whole food and less processed food – When we have fruit juices and high carb meals, we just add extra calories, without any nutrients or benefits to the body. Processed food and drinks can be replaced in favor of whole fruits and whole foods which provide you with nutrients and take care of satiety as well.
Plan your meals and prepare well to handle temptations – Meal prep is really one of the best things you can do for yourself. Having a rough plan as to what you want to cook in a week and planning your groceries accordingly helps you keep your diet as much on track as possible. Even during holidays sticking to meal prep and being ready makes your eating pattern go less haywire
Don’t let a binge meal extend to a binge day or week nor starve similarly– There are unavoidable days and circumstances where you eat a big meal or binge eat. Sometimes you just enjoy that ice-cream so much you want to have an entire tub full. There are usually two consequences to it. One, a big wave of guilt followed by an entire week of extremely restrictive diet. Two, you would go on continuing with the binge for the whole day or even a week because you think “Anyway I have caved in, what’s the point of being careful now?” Both approaches are wrong. One meal has gone awry and that is it! It is not a gargantuan mistake that you committed. So, bounce back to eating mindfully from the next. Not letting a poor choice cascade to many poor choices is wisdom. Like in everything extremes are what is most harmful in the long run.
Habit formation is closely linked to personal development. Your habits have a huge impact on your personal and professional life and success. They are an important component in your success and how far you would go in life. The importance of being physically fit can benefit you professionally with an increase in positivity and productivity. This is equally applicable for your team of employees as well. If you are looking for any soft skill coaching or mentoring for your team or for yourself do write to us at harish@harishrao.world to know how we can help you with it. We understand the difference the right mentoring and training can make to a person’s progress and productivity. We would love to work with you on this or any other business coaching needs you may have!