There are a lot of people that go through the holidays and are perfectly fine.

There are also a lot of people who struggle during this time of year. So we wanted to give some tips on how to successfully navigate through the holiday season.

So, when January rolls around, you can say that you had a great holiday season. You don’t feel guilty and have to set a New Year's resolution because you felt like you did so bad during the holiday season and you have to do better.

So here are 6 tips to help you successfully navigate during the holiday season.

 

6 Tips To Survive The Holiday Season

 

Tip #1 – Pick Your Spots

If you have a lot of holiday functions and parties to attend there's just going to be so much temptation. You don't think you will be able to control yourself & have the discipline not to overindulge.

If you don't have to attend them all, go to the most important functions. Then skip those functions & parties that you can. This way you avoid all of the temptations & guilt you will have afterward.

Another thing you can do is to eat healthier at most of the functions you attend. If you have to go to five or six functions, maybe four of them, you do the best you can.

You eat more greens, you stay away from sugary foods. You eat as clean as you can. And then for one or two functions, you indulge a little bit.

It's okay to have a little bit of the not-so-good things, but when you overindulge, then all sense of discipline and control kind of goes out the window.

So pick your spots. Don't attend all of the parties if you don’t have to. If you have to attend them all, have a game plan of eating as healthy as you can at most of them and then indulge a little bit at one or two of the parties. Have a little bit of those things that maybe you wouldn't eat most of the time or you shouldn't.

It's okay to indulge a little bit, but for most of the holiday parties that you're going to attend you eat as clean as possible.  By doing this you are well ahead of having a very successful holiday season. One that you don't walk away from feeling guilty.

 

Tip #2 – Incorporate or Sustain Healthy Habits

You can still incorporate healthy habits no matter how large or small. Don't wait till the new year to make a resolution or try to find the perfect time to start a health regimen.

You want to start implementing something new. There's no perfect scenario in terms of when to improve your health. You just want to take responsibility for it and you want to start incorporating these habits now.

So, whether it's drinking more water, performing some form of physical exercise, joining a gym, or walking.

You do a workout program on demand or online.

You begin to meditate more frequently because emotional eating stems from stress and you want to combat this.

You want to start incorporating healthy habits NOW. And if you already have some healthy habits established, don't throw them away just because you feel like you're falling off.

Really fight hard to sustain these healthy habits because it's all about a lifestyle. It's not about finding the right time, the time is now to be healthy.

It's about taking small actionable steps and those small steps will begin to add up to healthy habits.

 

Tip number #3 – Step Up Your Holiday Recipes

I had a client reach out to me because she was hosting a holiday dinner that year.

It was her turn to prepare food, but there were some dietary restrictions with some of her guests.

She was a little overwhelmed. Unsure of what to make so that everyone will have a great meal.  I suggested that she take a dish that she already knew how to make and swap out the harmful ingredients for healthier ones.

This is what we do with a lot of our clients. We also recommend them to our private health community. We have recipes in the recipe library where we incorporate really good quality ingredients. So whether it's dessert, breakfast, lunch or dinner.  Your body & taste buds will be happy.:)

This was really helpful for our client It helped by taking her overwhelm away and it will help you as well.

So, either learn new recipes or the recipes that you already know how to make, step it up by swapping out the harmful ingredients for healthier ones.

If you don't know how to cook, get a nice cookbook or search online for food blogs and just start making some of the recipes. You can also join our private health community and check out our food library.

Just start learning how to make healthier foods that still taste delicious, especially during this time of year.

 

Tip #4 – Redefine What This Time Of Year Means To You

If at the end of the holiday season, you don't feel good.

You feel like you have to get back on track or you want to do better during this time of year. Redefining what the holiday season means to you may help.

There is so much going on during this time of year. We have been talking mostly about food, but A lot of times people fall into the clutches of holiday shopping as well.

I used to work in a mall during my high school & college years. I will never forget working there during the holiday season. Some people love it, but to me, it was so stressful. It is one of the reasons I don’t like busy shopping malls to this day.

I know the businesses love this time of year but it was just so crazy during those times.  People were more aggressive, packed parking lots, and long lines. It just wasn't my cup of tea.

I tend to try to shop online or just stay away from crowds altogether because the holiday season is really about connecting with family and loved ones. It's about reflecting on your past year. It's about community and helping those in need. It's not supposed to be about stress or getting the most gifts for your family friends & loved ones.

Maybe redefining what this time of year means can help you with that. Getting away from focusing on the food & gift aspect and finding some other things that you can channel your energies into.

 

Tip #5 – Don’t Be So Hard On Yourself

If we played out loud the thoughts that we said to ourselves, we would probably be embarrassed. It would be things that we wouldn't say to our worst enemy. We really need to stop being so hard on ourselves.

You may slip a little during this time of year if you're doing a program or you are on a health regimen. Even though you may slip a little, that's okay because you can always get back on track the next day.

Success does not happen in a straight line, there's going to be resistance, there’s going to be obstacles, you're going to have doubts and fears and frustration, and you may even feel overwhelmed.

And you know what? That's okay.

All of these challenges are here because there will need to be some growth on your part if you want to reach your health goals.

New discipline & habits need to be developed. The resistance that you're going to face is to help you grow into the person you need to become in order to reach your health goals.

So when you reach your health goals, it'll be so much sweeter. You will feel empowered because you put in the necessary work to reach your health goals.

 

Tip #6 – Reboot Yourself

This is a very common thing that most people do.

I'm not saying this from the standpoint of letting yourself go and then just regrouping in January, because honestly that never really works. A lot of people struggle when they do this.

Detox programs have really become mainstream. There is are some pro & cons to this.

We are definitely advocates of detoxing when done properly.

Letting yourself totally go by overindulging then doing a detox to get back on track is not something we are not an advocate of. This is not a cycle that we would want anyone to follow.

Detoxing is a part of living a holistic lifestyle. It's something that is done a seasonal basis for the most part with the intention of strengthening & rebalancing your body.  So going into the winter after the holiday season doing some type of winter detox would be helpful in rebooting your body, strengthening your immune system during the winter season.

Another thing you can do to reboot your system or reboot yourself is to work with a health professional. It's one thing to say you want to be healthy but that's such a general term.

Everyone's health journey is different. There's no one diet, there's no one detox, there's no one way for everyone to get healthy. There are certain common underlying factors of course, but everyone's health journey should be designed to address your health challenges and imbalances that you may be experiencing.

When you work with a qualified health professional, they can help to give you clarity on what's going on with your body and what you need to do in order to reach your health goals.

When you work with a qualified health professional on a one-on-one basis, you will receive accountability and support along the way to help you to reach your health goals. This is what we incorporate at our wellness center.

We have what we call check-in visits where we meet with you every two weeks, once a month, or every week. It all depends on the amount of support and accountability that you need.

Working with a qualified health professional is going to help you get clear on what you need to do and give you the steps necessary along with the accountability & support for you to reach your health goals.

 

So, these are my six tips on how to survive the holidays.

Remember, this time of year is really about connecting, it's about gratitude, helping & serving others. Reflecting on the past year and thinking about what you want to accomplish in the next year.

Try to put a positive spin on this time of year. Don't get sucked into the whole hustle and bustle of the holiday shopping.  Really try to take it down and assess what's going on in your life.

Because at the end of the day, it's really about living our best lives.  It's about being happy, fulfilled, grateful and whole. How does this look for you?  What steps do you need to take to get there?

Make sure to enjoy your holiday season, but there is no need to go through the holiday season only to reach the other side with guilt, shame, and feeling like you're not enough because it's really not about that.

So, enjoy yourself, and indulge in some of those things, but don't make it a habit.

Incorporate healthy lifestyle habits. Redefine what this time of year means for you. Reflect on how your year went. What were the pros and cons? What can you do better? What do you want to do going forward in the new year?

This is what this time of year is about and also serving others.

 

One on One Help

If you are looking to improve your health with a natural approach then a Health Assessment will be a great first step. With our Health Assessment you will get a clear understanding of why you are experiencing your health challenges and a customized natural approach to address them.

Here is a testimonial from a past client:

I first came to LSH in Nov 2018 after years of debilitating health problems. I had an initial consultation with Jamal who taught me about the importance of the gut as the “second brain” and gave me more insight on what was going on with my body. Soon after I started a program with him to completely change my diet and lifestyle. It was a difficult transition but a necessary one. I was also seeing medical doctors simultaneously had a number of procedures and tests. Jamal was able to integrate this new information and diagnoses into the plan that we had together. I have improved considerably, and while I still have a long way to go, the lessons I learned throughout the process with Jamal will serve me through my entire life. The vibe of the center and the other employees are also so welcoming and wonderful. And the podcast online has lots of great info. Definitely recommend.

Mook Bangalore