Here are some simple tips for a slightly less unhealthy festive season this year!
1. Sit Less! This year in particular has been a Year of Sitting Dangerously – too much sitting stiffens up your hip and knee and ankle joints, and lowers your metabolic rate which makes it more likely to gain weight. So – find opportunities to stand more (eg when you are on the phone), and simply to move more. What does it matter if you left something upstairs? – trotting up the stairs with a bit of bounce [if you can] will get your circulation going with more vigour.
Aim for a minimum of a half-hour walk at least once a day – and make the most of the daylight, even at this darkest time of the year in our Northern Hemisphere.
Put some groovy music on and get people dancing! 😊
2. Drink more! Water that is 😊
Obviously there is going to be plenty of liquid festive cheer sloshing around – if you’re drinking white wine maybe add some sparkling water to lengthen it and make it into a spritzer [or what my German aunt used to call a Schorle] and have a glass of water to hand as well.
If you’re driving, or not wanting alcoholic drinks, find ways to have less sweet options:
– if you’ve gone for a fruit juice, again add some sparkling water to dilute it
– sparkling water with a slice of lemon or lime or ginger
– maybe half and half of tonic water (the Fevertree Natural one is a good less unhealthy choice!) with sparkling water – less sweet and more refreshing I find.
– some of the Yogi herbal teas smell like German Christmas biscuits 😊 eg Relax, or Throat Comfort: – very soothing if you’ve been straining your voice with unaccustomed social talking.
3. Eat more! – vegetables that is 😊 Have some fresh and raw green food certainly with your lunch and supper, and maybe even breakfast as well. I like to keep some asparagus tips handy in the fridge, and have one before most meals.
Or make some green sauce, salsa, smoothie, chunkie – whether you’ve whizzed it up in a blender for a smoother texture, or a food processor for something needing a bit more chew.
Eg start with half a cucumber and half an apple, whizz those up first with a little lemon juice to get a liquid base, and then maybe add a chopped up and de-seeded green pepper, a stick or two of celery, some fresh herbs such as basil (very calming), parsley, rocket, watercress. [Those bags of mixed watercress spinach and rocket come in very handy here.] Maybe a couple of radishes, some peeled fresh root ginger, a sliver of fresh chili if you’re feeling daring, a handful of kale leaf, a leaf or two of fennel – whatever green takes your fancy really. Samphire adds a delightful salty tang. Sometimes I add some sauerkraut, and maybe some tahini. And going away from the all-plant base, I might even add some anchovies.
This green concoction makes a really healthy breakfast, or lunch on the move – or simply a delicious sauce. It goes well with salmon for example, and is a great and easy way to get plenty of goodness into you.
In general, aim for at least half your dinner plate to be non-starchy vegetables, quarter protein, and only a quarter for carbs, roasted parnips anyone?
4. Stretch more! Not only sit less but stretch more. Here are some simple moves that you can do standing (preferably) or sitting
– Reach for the sky. Raise your arms above your head. Then stretch further up with one arm and hold that pleasant stretch for a few seconds, and then relax it down (tho still above your head) and reach up with the other arm. Repeat a few times – really feel your ribs lifting. Fabulous.
– Still with your arms above your head, clasp your hands together and, stretching upwards, draw your halo! 😊 it can be at a rakish angle if you like . . . 😊
– Then still with your arms reaching up and your hands clasped above your head, gently twist – this gives you a lovely stretch through your torso.
All the sitting we tend to do at this time of year does rather tend to collapse us forward into a slump: very ageing – these simple stretches help to antidote that tendency.
5. Get more sunlight! 😊
If you can do these stretches outside, that will give you an extra health benefit – even on a cloudy day, our skin will be able to make some Vitamin D from the background daylight.
As you may have heard, Vitamin D is super helpful for your immune system, your brain and your lungs. And, during Winter Time, from the end of October to the end of March, it’s really worthwhile taking a supplement of Vitamin D3.
An offer for my patients: I can get you good quality supplements at trade price, let me know if you’re interested.
Bonus Tip:
Christmas is a wonderful time for all the savoury foods on offer.
If you’re trying to keep your sugar intake down, but still fancy a bit of sweetness, try this:
Bake a sweet potato, peel it and mash it – you get a better texture if you do this in a food processor. Add in some cinnamon and some cocoa powder [or carob powder], with a pinch of sea salt. You could freeze this as some healthy ice-cream, tho it will need a few minutes at room temperature before serving, or simply keep a bowl of it in the fridge as a chocolate mousse for a healthy dessert. You could thicken it up with some ground almonds, and make small balls of it, a bit like healthy truffles 😊. These will need to be kept in the fridge. Slightly addictive in my experience. Enjoy!
Photograph of Christmas place setting by TerriC from Pixabay.