How to stick with a healthy-er lifestyle in the festive season...while still having a great time!
Hey beautiful!
And Welcome back to another Health and Wellness blog post for people who love life and love to eat!
This one’s probably a bit late considering that India’s festive season starts in September with Ganesh Chaturthi, then Navratri, then Diwali - holy cow!
We have a lot of festivals!
But anyhow, considering Christmas, we are absolutely on time!
I love love love Christmas, always have!
So, when 15th November comes close, I’m like - “Deck the halls!”.
With that comes, Christmas cookies, mint hot chocolate, plum cakes, christmas mocktails...just absolute heaven...am I right?
This year though, I am prioritizing health, without missing out on all of these things that I love and I would love for you to take this journey with me!
So,
Here’s how we’re gonna roll this festive season:
1. Experiment
...with the Healthier side:
We all have our favourite foods and go-to festival foods that almost become like a ritual or tradition for us.
Eg. Mathiya and Cholafali on Diwali or Mint Hot chocolate for Christmas.
And they are what make our life more interesting, more colourful and so much more flavourful!
And, if you’re here with me, there’s a good chance that you love that!
So, here’s what I’m saying:
Don’t completely remove all of the fun of life...you really don’t have to.
But just pick some of those things that you love to have everyday during the holiday time and experiment with healthier alternatives to some of the ingredients.
The internet is a vast place. I’m sure you’ll get the options if you look for them!
That is definitely what we are going to do this festive season!
So, I’ll be sharing some of my favourite recipes here.
If you’re not yet on my email list, I’ll mail you with some absolutely amazing festive recipes and updates, not more than once a week or once every two weeks. So, get on it here so we can connect!
(P.S. the link opens to a morning rituals freebie that you will love and will get you in my inbox! So excited <3)
2. Eat for *Satisfaction*
If you’re someone who loves food, you know what I’m talking about when I say that we don’t always eat because we are hungry and we are also guilty of stuffing food into our mouth just because it tastes good even though we know that we are full.
This happens a lot more in fast eaters, because we don’t realize that we are actually full and satisfied before we have eaten a lot more than we needed to.
But, I’ll spare you the ‘why mindful eating’ lecture.
Here’s what you are going to do:
You are going to enjoy all the foods that you love.
(of course, try and experiment with healthier alternatives, but still...)
You are going to eat for *satisfaction*, for savouring the taste and you are going to actually be present with the food you are eating.
This will give that feeling of contentment and give you more pleasure in “eating” and will save you from overeating as an added bonus!
You are going to enjoy all the foods that you love. You are going to eat for *satisfaction*, for savouring the taste and you are going to actually be present with the food you are eating.
3. Active celebrations:
It’s really easy to just sit on your couch, eating ice cream and watching netflix the entire season...and sometimes you need that. But since you are here, you do want to choose a healthier path while still enjoying the festivities, right?
So then, actually enjoy the festivities.
Go for shopping with your family.
Go for evening walks with friends and family.
Play games - board games, yes...but outdoor games!
Go explore the city, if you have holidays.
You get the idea, right?
Volunteer for more active movement.
Make the intention of Active celebrations!
4. Speaking of intentions...Infuse Intention
We have the tendency to get caught up in thinking about the future, holiday stresses or something else. And we miss the chance to be present in the celebrations and little moments of joy.
There’s a good reason I'm bringing this up now.
This is intrinsically linked to Mental wellness, connection and happiness, but also when you are more present and your intention is clear, you are able to maintain it in your everyday life.
Eg.
If you maintain a clear intention of prioritizing your health while still having fun, you’ll remember to do little things that are aligned with your intention.
So, be mindful of your intention - Infuse intention.
5. Create a non-negotiable lower limit:
This one is my absolute favourite and I stand by it. This should’ve really just been the first point, but well…
You know this if you’ve read the “Simple Ways to add movement in your Day - A semi-lazy beginner’s guide”.
It’s such an important thing, I can't stress enough!
And since it's the festive season, you can make the non-negotiable as small as you want, like maybe a 5 min stretch before bed or even as simple as a minimum of 6 hrs of sleep or a 10 min post-dinner walk.
So, yeah!
These are some of the most effective ways in which you can prioritize your health this holiday season while enjoying all of the celebrations and festivities.
And we have one and a half months left so you can pick one or two and start with them, then add in the next once you’re in the groove.
Share it with someone you want to implement this with and also, because that way you have the link for reference for the next year’s festivities!
Let me know which one you’re starting with - via email or dms...and I’ll keep you accountable!