Don’t Let Guilt Be A Part of Your Holiday

The holiday period is a time when people get together and enjoy festive feasts…in excess. I recently touched on how to make important swaps to support your health as much as possible to avoid overdoing it and how to continue to support your health goals over the holidays. Remember this: Healthy food can be more satisfying and delicious than regular run of the mill, calorie-heavy meals and dishes.

So when the family dinners come up, it is important to consume healthy where possible, but guess what? It’s also okay to relax a little during the holidays and enjoy indulgences too.  Feeling guilty after a holiday splurge is a pointless, destructive exercise that only works on making you feel worse, which can often lead you into more unhealthy choices. When people feel bad they are more likely to use food emotionally and make poor choices, which only further sabotages their health goals. Negative self-talk and dialogue will only aggravate unhealthy habits, lack of motivation, poor mood, frustration and low self-esteem.

As a practitioner and a Reboot coach I hate to see clients put themselves down and berate themselves for not being perfect (but who is?). Negative emotions have a grave influence on your health and happiness, so for anyone that beats themselves up after eating the wrong thing, it is vital for your health and well-being to STOP! This can be difficult if you have been beating yourself up for years but it’s important to start practicing love for yourself — all your perfections and imperfections — and to start showing yourself the same respect and kindness you would show to your best friend, kids or partner.

Tips to Think Happy Thoughts About Yourself

Treat Yourself With Nutrition First, Sweets Second

My normal go-to advice over any holiday period to any of my clients is to relax, enjoy yourself and concentrate on fun activities, while also enjoying the downtime to unwind, self-nurture and enjoy plenty of healthy nutrient-dense foods, with a few fun indulgences where desired. If a client really goes awry then it’s all about how to move forward.

Kindness And Self-love Are Paramount For Health

In my experience, as a Nutritionist of many years, the most successful people on a long-term basis are the ones that give themselves the right support, the right attitude and those who don’t judge themselves too harshly. These are also the people that don’t give up on themselves or their health goals. Moving forward with a positive outlook with excitement past any setback is your best step forward. So for this holiday, be kind and forgiving and enjoy yourself with all the love and support that you can offer.

A health journey is exactly that! A journey!

Be mindful, respect yourself and most of all love yourself for all your attempts and positive steps forward.

What to Do If You Do Overindulge

If you do overindulge and enjoy the holiday festivities a little too much, then it’s great to have a post-holiday plan that is healthy and positive. A Reboot post-Christmas and New Year can be a great step forward to reset your system after an indulgent holiday season. The weeks leading up to Christmas and all the festivities over Christmas and New Year with too many high-calorie meals, snacks and drinks can derail you from your health objectives and Rebooting can be a great way to restart 2016 on a very exciting healthy note!

For 2016 we are starting off the year with many fantastic Guided Reboots and a fun free 5-Day Juice Challenge with Joe!