5 Mindful Holiday Health Tips

5 Mindful Holiday Health Tips

With the holidays rapidly approaching, being mindful of healthy habits often gets lost in the busy seasonal preparations with family and friends in town. Home-cooked family meals are frequently accompanied by the delicious smells of baking that fill homes this time of year, so it’s no wonder that the holiday season often goes hand in hand with overindulgence. This year, try using these mindful health tips for a holiday season that you can enjoy while still upholding your favorite family traditions.

Swap Traditional Sugars for SweetLeaf® Alternatives

Trade out the sugar in your favorite holiday sugar cookie or other baked good recipe for a sugar-free option. With excess added dietary sugars linked to health problems, SweetLeaf® offers a delicious, plant-based alternative to these sugars. SweetLeaf® Better Than Sugar is a perfect substitute for your favorite recipes at a 1:1 conversion ratio. You will keep the family sugar cookie tradition intact but also limit the amount of traditional sugar you and your family (and a certain few reindeer) consume during the holiday season. 

Get At Least 8 Hours of Sleep

Often, tiredness leads to overindulgence since your body needs more energy. This can lead to consuming more calories in a day than are actually necessary in order for the body to perform normal tasks and functions. If you’re curious about the other health benefits of a good night’s sleep check out this list.

Make a Plan for Your Meals

We suggest following a cookbook or a recipe so you are more aware of what is going into the dishes you make. The recipes section of the SweetLeaf® website offers a host of low-sugar and sugar-free beverages, appetizers, sides, entrees and desserts to help you and your family have a wonderful and easy holiday season that is both healthy and tasty. Bonus – it comes with a conversion guide to help you remove all the guesswork from your holiday baking fun!
Get At Least 8 Hours of Sleep

Stay Mindful As You Eat

Eat slowly, chew mindfully and put all distractions aside so that you can pay attention to your body as you eat. Your body will clue you in to when it is full if you learn to eat intuitively and without distractions. Eating mindfully means that you don’t have to replace everything with a healthy option this year. You can still enjoy your favorite holiday foods if you can consume them in moderation and just make sure that you’re also eating a serving of nutritious fruits, vegetables or protein in addition to that piece of pie or helping of extra buttery mashed potatoes and its surrounding gravy moat.

Change It Up

Instead of reaching for that well-deserved cookie or sugary beverage, try to take a walk around the block (and maybe take the cookie with you). Give yourself a change of pace and a change of scenery. Getting a breath of fresh air can help keep you from that ever present treat-your-self tendency that accompanies the stress of the holiday season. Walking also has wonderful health benefits, such as improved cardiovascular health, mood and sleep. For a full list of the benefits, check out the full article here.

 

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