The holidays are a great opportunity to enjoy time with family and friends, celebrate life, to be grateful, and to reflect on what’s important. They are also a time to appreciate the gift of health. Here are some tips to support your efforts for optimal health and wellness this holiday season.

• Weight management- Don’t hide behind bulky winter clothes. By sticking to your healthy diet and exercise routine all year round, you’ll be much happier in the spring and summer that you did.

• Exercise daily- While it can be a little harder for some of us to stay motivated in the winter because of the darkness and cold, it is extremely important to remain active.  Exercise is essential to support your health and well being. Exercise helps us to stay fit, healthy, and creates a positive attitude.

• Eating well- As winter sets in, it can be tempting to start eating more comfort foods that are often high in fat, salt and sugar. Instead, find comfort in foods such as soups and stews that are full of healthy vegetables and are packed with vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy, strong and feeling good.

• Eliminate sugar- This can include the obvious kinds (cake, cookies and sweets), but also excessive amounts of bread, pasta, and rice. Excess sugars will not only cause weight gain but it will deplete your immune system and compromise the ability of your immune system to fight viruses and bacteria.

• Sleeping well- The average person needs 6-8 hours of sleep per night. If you’re not getting enough sleep, your body is extremely vulnerable to illness. Sleep is very much like fuel that recharges your batteries. You’ve got to do it to keep the machine running.

• Skin health- The cold weather can affect our skin and can cause dry, itchy, and irritated skin. Drinking plenty of water and using moisturizers daily can help to keep the skin moist and healthy.

• Stay hydrated- Don’t forget to keep drinking water! As the weather cools down and our thirst decreases it is easy to forget to drink enough water. You should drink about two litres or 8- 8oz glasses of water  each day.  Water is essential for our body to function.

• Wash your hands regularly. Keep the bacteria and viruses off your hands and out of your mouth and eyes. Keep a bottle of hand sanitizer close by for when you can’t get to soap and water.

• Decrease stress-  Some everyday stress helps us to meet challenging situations and helps us get stronger, but excessive amounts of stress may be linked to many negative effects. For instance, it lowers our resistance to fight off bugs, causes depression, makes us tired and makes it challenging to stay motivated.

• Enjoy the season- There are always gatherings and parties during the holidays with lots of different temptations.  Staying healthy doesn’t mean that you can’t indulge once in awhile.  Just make sure you are smart about it.  If you know you have a party to attend later in the week, be extra vigilant about your nutrition the rest of the week.  Don’t let one small indulgence make you fall off the nutrition wagon.   It is very easy for one small thing to spiral into a cycle of poor nutritional choices, it’s important to not let that happen. 

Wishing you a wonderful Holiday and a Happy New Year!