It’s Christmas! Gifts, gatherings, business meals… A wonderful time of year that most of us like because, despite its commercial aspect, it brings reunions, excellent company, pleasures, and longings. On certain dates, we feel closer to family and friends.
Christmas brings excesses, routine changes, and sleep and rest problems, so sustaining healthy habits might be challenging, right?
These “obligations” can disrupt our daily routine and harm our physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
We offer these 5 ideas to help you avoid excesses and preserve healthy behaviors over the holidays.
Plan and organize your Christmas tasks
Christmas may be stressful because of appointments, shopping, and preparations. So many “things to do” plus daily duties can be difficult and raise anxiety.
To minimize “stress,” consider envisioning crucial milestones and dates in your own calendar. This way, we can view these 4 or 6 weeks at a glance and understand there aren’t as many “things to accomplish” and divide them better. Ex: Wednesdays from 6 to 9 p.m.: present shopping; Saturday, 23: distant cousins.
This approach of arranging and organizing work gives us a true view of the tasks to be done, beyond wasting all day thinking, “I have to do many things…”
Creating your own calendar lets you identify the most essential milestones and tasks. You may use colors to categorize things and understand that not everything is equal and deserves the same attention.
And remember to relax. Any activity centered on you—sports, reading, movies—will help you disengage.
Alcohol at Christmas: Consume alcohol responsibly
Alcohol is unhealthy (there is no doubt about that). On certain occasions, appointments and “social” encounters rise in number and frequency, and so does alcohol intake; we get carried away by the wonderful mood and delight and drink more, sometimes without realizing it.
Avoid drinking on an empty stomach and limit high-proof drinks. Wine and beer are fantastic options, but we can have fun with zero-alcohol drinks as well.
Not mixing different sorts and grades of spirits may also be hazardous to our health and well-being.
If you drink, don’t drive or do sophisticated or risky duties. You’ll harm yourself and others.
Food at Christmas: Choose fresh and varied products
You know that Christmas lunches and dinners are the centre of these celebrations, as everything revolves around the table. One of life’s greatest joys may be enjoyed healthily.
Grandma’s pudding is irresistible. How to skip the chance to cook your parents’ canapés? Yes, these treats are tempting, but remember two things.
First, avoid overeating and pick meals with the freshest food, less intricate preparations, and a decent dosage of vegetables instead of fat-rich sauces like mayonnaise or fried foods as garnishes.
Second, limit sweets. Nougat, marzipan, churros, doughnuts, chocolates, cakes. At Christmas, there are many temptations for individuals with a sweet appetite. You must enjoy these delicacies, but remember that most of your additional pounds might come from desserts and sweets. After a big meal, don’t gorge on them. As usual, moderation is healthful.
Medications at Christmas: only when they are essential
Christmas excesses cause physical or emotional distress that we often self-medicate (or medicate others for), which is irresponsible and can aggravate the condition.
Ibuprofen for headaches and paracetamol for muscular pain may be right or wrong. It’s not something we consider daily, but it varies on age, physical condition, other prescriptions, need, etc.
At Christmas, we shouldn’t self-medicate. Why not visit our expert pharmacist at our nearby pharmacy?
The pharmacist is up-to-date on drugs and health and can propose one active component or another. If you have questions about your health during Christmas, consult a pharmacist. He’ll help.
Miracle diets and intense post-Christmas exercise
Starting the new year healthy is a popular aspiration. We vow to join a gym, lose weight, quit smoking, etc. All of this is intended to shed the holiday pounds.
In moderation, please. Moderate exercise boosts body and mood. Eating well improves our quality of life. These behaviors must be maintained for the body and mind to benefit.
We can’t trust that a month on a rigorous diet and 2 hours in the gym every day can enhance our health quickly.
Intense exercise and Spartan diets might cause more harm than good since the body is not adapted to stress. Miracle diets contain dietary deficits that impair our health. Moderate exercise and correct dietary habits are the greatest ways to be healthy and happy.