Stay Healthy Through the Holidays

Here comes the holidays again and there will be a lot of food. With all the food and time off from work we seem to put our health at risk. Everywhere you turn there is more and more food and most of it is not very healthy. Even though we know it's not good for us we eat all the wrong things anyway and a lot of them.

Another thing were faced with during the holidays is all the shopping. Nothing stresses people out more than last minute shopping.

I have come up with 11 tips on how to stay healthy through the holiday season.

1. Don't starve yourself all day just because you're going to have a big meal. It is better to eat meals like you normally do. When you stop eating for long periods of time your body shuts down. What I mean is it holds on to all the food when you do eat. In other words it stores it in your fat cells.

2. Don't just eat a lot all day either. It has been proven that having many small meals throughout the day is better than having 3 large ones.

3. Take it easy on the gravy because it is so high in saturated fat.

4. When you have small meals or snacks try some healthy food. Eat things like celery or carrots to curve your appetite. Another thing that works for some people is having a piece of gum.

5. Don't go overboard on the pie. Just because there is plenty doesn't mean you need to have 3 or 4 pieces.

6. When you eat things like ham cut off the fatty parts.

7. Don't eat for 3 to 4 hours before you go to sleep. Your body tends to store the food at night when it doesn't need it.

8. Try to do something active about a half an hour after you eat. I suggest going for a nice walk or doing the dishes. If you are like me you have a workout routine. You should get about 30 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. Don't exercise right after you eat because your stomach is a muscle. Because of this it cannot digest when you are using other muscles. This tends to give people a stomach ache.

9. Make a list of people you need to buy gifts for 2 to 3 months before Christmas. That way you can cross the names off as you buy them there presents.

10. Buy gifts for a couple of people every week. You don't have to get all your shopping done in one day.

11. Try not to serve alcohol at Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. We all have people in our family that drink just a little too much. By refraining from alcohol you are preventing unnecessary stress. Besides beer and mixed drinks tend to have a lot of empty calories.

I know it is hard to do these things during the holidays. With all the temptations in front of you it makes things very difficult. But be strong, have faith in yourself because you can resist.