Tips and tricks to a healthy lifestyle during the silly season
While there’s a lot going around on the silly season, not many are talking about the practicalways to actually make a difference. The sheer length of the holidays can be daunting sometimes,making it even harder to get back into a routine once the long break is over.Ultimately, it's about understanding what truly makes you happy. While letting yourself gocompletely can be pleasurable at the moment, when Monday kicks in, you’re bound to regret it.As a collective people don’t deal with stress really well. That’s where alcohol comes in. It mayseem heavenly at the time to knock yourself out with a couple of drinks but that takes a toll onyour happiness later. It’s the alcohol, the social connection, the liveliness of things, peopletalking – all that makes you crave connection, and alcohol just happens to be a social lubricantfor that.“For guys especially, if you remove yourself from social situations with alcohol you end up notseeing your friends anymore,” says Sean Carroll, rebuild health and fitness owner and certifiedcoach.Starting your mornings right can make a huge difference, especially if you’re aware that youhave something important coming up that day. Soak up some sun, clean your bed, have a healthyporridge or smoothie for breakfast, do a bit of training, or anything that makes you feel better. Itmay sound like a lot but the satisfaction you feel with yourself after treating your body well isworth it. “Just do something in a day that your future self is going to thank you for,” says JamesBatey, rebuild health and fitness owner and coach.Now, when it comes to alcohol, changing what you’re drinking can make a difference more thanyou’d think. Rather than drinking craft beers, you could have a gin and tonic because there arelesser calories. This way, at least for your first 5-6 drinks you have some sort of calorie control.So, when you get to the past 10 pm point of dialing it up, you can have mixers but then at leastyou’ve mitigated that potential calorie intake by a little bit. “Of course, it’s not the perfectscenario either but it’s a lot better than starting the day with a dozen craft beers,” says Sean.Many a time it’s about the environment you’re in. People like to blend in. You can be just ashappy having some alcohol in your hand when you’re out with friends. There’s no need to go allout with it to have a good time. That way your body and health won’t take a toll while you feelsatisfied with your social engagements.Even during Christmas time when tables are replete with roasted turkeys and souffles, it’spossible to eat healthily. You can choose leaner cuts of meat, remove any visible fats and avoidred or processed cuts. It's crucial to eat high-nutrient foods throughout these holiday months so you feel energised. Given that there are plenty of hearty meals around this time, you can makesure there's protein and limited calories in some, if not all of the meals. To balance things out,you can control a couple of aspects. When you have a big weekend coming up with parties anddinners, go all out then but make sure that your week is a bit more stable. That way you’re notlosing out on anything.Another little trick to cut down on calories during the holiday season is to eat on smaller plates.You can’t possibly fit a lot of food into a smaller plate and it’s unlikely you’re going to get upmultiple times and take second servings. That way you’ll feel you’ve had a lot when you actuallyhaven’t.
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