Healthy Hints for a Happy Holiday

The holiday season brings chaos and schedule changes. Life can become quite hectic and, as a result, your diet changes, your sleeping changes and you feel like you just can't get everything done. Before long, you are depressed and snapping at people because you are overtired and your energy is sapped because you are not eating well. Making sure you stay physically and mentally well during the holidays takes some conscious planning. But it is doable.

Here is a well-rounded approach to consider:

Watch Your Diet

When you are out shopping, you tend to grab fast food, which is usually salty and greasy. The salt may raise your blood pressure, and you know what grease does to your cholesterol. Eat a good breakfast before you leave the house and keep the fast food to a minimum. Wait until you come home to eat if you can. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you can put on significant weight if you aren't careful. There will be plenty of good food at home to gain the weight on. So, try to not let junkie fast food become a holiday staple.

Keep the salt and grease in mind when you cook at home too. People can season their food themselves. Put the salt on the table -- not in the food.

When a recipe calls for sugar, you might try using just a little less. It's not a good idea to replace sugar with artificial sweetener because they often don't work well in cooking. But if you have diabetics in your family, remember to cook separately for them if you are adding sugar. Diabetic cookbooks have great recipes that everyone can enjoy.

Exercise Properly

Running around the mall and the grocery just doesn't give you the same workout you get at the gym. And you may find yourself spending hours cooking at home. To stay in the holiday spirit, you may be playing Christmas carols and singing in the kitchen. Nice spirit, but it's little exercise. Just change the music! Find a CD that has Christmas carols or holiday music with a beat and disco as you cook. You'll find yourself dancing around the kitchen and time will fly. Dancing is great exercise; the cooking will get done, and you'll have fun doing it all.

Get Your Rest

Not getting enough rest will make you feel run down, and you will have less patience with everyone and everything. Pushing yourself to get things done adds stress and anxiety. So make a plan and slow down. Prepare what you can in advance. Make a lot of lists. The more you write down, the less you have to remember. Gift lists, shopping lists and things that need to be done around the house all can be on lists. It is far less mentally taxing to have things on a list then to try to remember everything. Don't think you can get by with a few hours of sleep. You will feel tired, be less patient and be more likely to have conflicts with friends and family. Go to bed. Tomorrow is another day.

Tend to Your Mental Health

Not everyone is happy during the holidays. Though the folks in the mall may look happy, the truth is that depression is rampant and serious for many people during the holidays. If you are alone, it's a good time to volunteer or find some other way to be with people.

Ask around and you will find others who will be alone also. Arrange to be together. If you are invited to go to the home of a coworker, take advantage of the hospitality without feeling as though you are intruding. People like to entertain during the holidays, and you never know whom you may meet. Get out of the house as much as you can. And keep in mind that the season will pass and things will get back to their old routine soon. If your depression gets very bad, see your doctor. The newer antidepressants only take a few days to begin working. You can stop taking them when the holidays are over. They are not addictive, and they will lift your spirit during rough times.

It's so easy to forget to take care of yourself during the holidays. But keeping your health and well-being an essential on your list will make the holidays happier for you and everyone around you.