Re-frame Holiday Stress with 7 Ways To Stay Healthy

Too Blessed To Be Stressed

 

This beautiful phrase arrived in my inbox from Sakara, a plant-based company that I love. What a great re-frame, don’t you think?

How are you feeling this holiday season? Would a re-frame help? I also love the quote “Let Gratitude Interrupt Anxiety“.

Of course, in addition to our mental outlook, it also matters hugely how we take care of our body during the holiday season. Here are my 7 favorite EASY ways to stay healthy during the holidays — and throughout the whole year.

 

7 Easy Ways to Stay Healthy + Feel Great During the Holidays

 

1. Morning Lemon Water with Cayenne

This super easy ritual is especially great during the holiday season to keep your digestive system moving, clear toxins out of the body, give you extra Vit C (lemon + cayenne) and keep your metabolism burning (cayenne).

Recipe: 1/4 of lemon + 1-2 Dashes of cayenne + 1/4 cup of warm water.

Make it Easy

 

• Pre-squeeze 2 lemons and store in a glass container in the fridge (good for 4-5 mornings).
• Set a reminder alert on your phone to remember (or put a note on your bathroom mirror) until it becomes a habit — it’s easy to forget initially!

 

2. Replace 1 meal per day with a Protein-Rich + Healthy Fat Smoothie

You may want this to be your breakfast as it’s an easy way to make sure you’re getting enough protein in the morning — what we eat for breakfast determines what we will eat or the rest of the day.

High protein + healthy fat breakfasts satiate and stabilize blood sugar (helping you eat less during the day), while high carb breakfasts increase cravings and crash blood sugar (making you want to eat MORE during the day).

Personally, I prefer eating a vegan protein bar (whole food, organic, and completely natural of course) for breakfast with my nut milk Chai Tea and piece of fruit (one of my sacred rituals).

I save my smoothie for lunch or dinner as it’s an easy and healthy meal when I’m on the run. And I LOVE my smoothies…

Make it Easy

 

• Pre-make your smoothie in the morning or the night before, and store in the fridge. Have a lunch bag with icepacks in the freezer ready to go when you fly out the door. I love my smoothies COLD.

My favorite on-the-go recipe:

• 1/2 cup nut or coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 Scoops of USANA’s Nutrimeal FREE (one of the smoothie choices in our 2021 SexyFit® Nutrition Challenge) OR
• 1-2 scoops of healthy vegan protein powder
• 1 tablespoon of flax seed (becomes chewy after 30 min – so you feel like you’re eating your smoothie)
• 1 tablespoon Maca (for natural energy + hormone balance)
• 1 scoop of Barleans Greens (Chocolate Silk)

 

3. Keep Your Exercise Routine going

My rule, even during the holidays, is to never let more than 2 days go by without exercising or moving in some way – dance, weights, yoga, running or walking.

Even if during the holiday season you do 1/2 the time you would normally (i.e. 15 min jog instead of 30), just MOVING will help keep you healthy, you’ll eat less, and keep your mindset positive and vibration high.

Make it Easy

 

• Schedule it — and keep your appointment with yourself. You will ALWAYS feel better after, even if you don’t feel like doing it initially. Promise yourself you’ll exercise for at least 15 min — and after that, if you want to stop, you can (usually you won’t want to).
• Involve friends and family so that you “catch two kittens with one basket” — exercise AND connection (what we really want during the holiday season). Call a girlfriend and go to a yoga class, or go for a walk with your mom after a family dinner.
• Come to one of my online SoulFit Dance Classes going on through the holidays — bring your whole family — kids, teens + parents love it!  This keeps you accountable and is usually welcomed and appreciated by friends and family.

 

4. Eat Slowly

Chew every mouthful twice as long as you normally would. And then breathe, wait, talk – before you take your next bite. This will keep you mindful of when you’re full (and then put down the fork 😃) and will prevent you from overeating.

There is this little “click” in the body that you will feel when you’re full — but if you’re inhaling your food, you’ll miss it.

On our last Soul Craft Health Retreat, I was reminded of a few things I hadn’t been doing — and one of them was eating mindfully and slowly. So this is something that I’m practicing again too.

Make it Easy

 

• Focus on people during the meal, instead of food. It’s connection we crave deep down, not that 2nd piece of pie. When you’re focusing on people, food takes a backseat — every single time.
• Notice feelings that come up during a meal that makes you want to overeat — try to just notice, allow, and breathe through them – use chewing slowly as your “medicine” instead of over-eating. It takes a bit of practice to do this – so go easy on yourself.
• When eating on your own, don’t do anything else (answer emails, watch an educational video) — just enjoy savoring your food and chewing slowly. You’ll eat less, digest better AND you’ll feel like you’ve had a true break.  Another one of my practices :)

 

5. Get Out Into Nature

If we would all go out in nature at least once a day, I think it would solve so much of the angst in the world! And…even if you live in a bustling city, there is always a sunrise, sunset, moon, star, grass, tree, plant somewhere to find. Getting out in nature is an absolute life-saver for me.

If I’m feeling stressed, tired, or confused, I just go outside. Suddenly, everything seems more manageable, makes sense, and becomes more joyful.

My favorite EASY ways: Morning Chai Tea Latte outside on our lawn chairs, watching for the moon and stars at night, doing my New Moon Intentions outside, or walking barefoot on grass.

Make it Easy

 

• Try this for the rest of December: Go out in nature for 5-10 min — and see how you feel at the end of the month. Like meditation, doing this will create and expand time – you’ll instantly feel more resourceful and grounded.
• Do with friends and family — another way to solve two things at the same time — connection for yourself and with others.

 

6. Drink More Water

This one is SO simple, but one of the things that can improve our health SO easily. There is a great book called, “You’re not Sick, You’re Thirsty”. And it’s so true — just drinking more water naturally helps everything in our body.

Make it Easy

 

• Have a water bottle with you at all times (preferably glass or BPA free plastic). Sip throughout the day – this is key, and makes it EASY. Have your water bottle in your car, when you’re shopping (especially when you’re shopping as malls and shops are very dehydrating), at work on your desk, when you’re with friends – and sip throughout the day.
• YES! Herbal, non-caffeinated or green tea does count toward your water intake! I drink our hot, loose-leaf Cacao Mint and Coconut Oolong tea in my Sacred Lotus Love Tea Tumbler* throughout the day — keeps me warm in the winter and hydrated.

*We LOVE you purchasing from our online Sacred Lotus Love e-commerce store, but we currently only ship within the USA. We also sell on Amazon, who can ship to 180+ countries.

 

7. Remember your Nutritional Supplements + Proflavanol C100

High-quality supplements are important ALL year, but especially during the holiday season, winter…and anytime our immune system is impacted by stress, routine changes, and travel.

I’ve trusted my health to USANA Health Sciences* for 20+ years now, and use and recommend their supplements to all my clients, coaches, family and friends and integrate them in all my programs.

My favorites for just about everyone – a high quality Multi-Vitamin (Cellsentials), fish oil (Biomega), Vit D and grape-seed extract (Proflavanol C100). And extra Proflanvanol C100 during the winter months :)

Make it Easy

 

• Create a USANA MyHealthPak so that you don’t have to mess with bottles. I LOVE my MHP — 2 packets a day with everything in the right dosage and convenient for home or travel. Besides the above, I also love Hepasil DTX (liver health), Coquinone 30 (heart health + energy), Pure Rest (melatonin for sleep), and Procosa (Tumeric for joint health).
• Like your new lemon water practice, put a note on your bedroom mirror and fridge to remind you to take your nutritional supplements with breakfast and dinner. Just like healthy eating, exercise and self-care, supplements work when you take them consistently – and after 1-2 weeks you’ll have a new healthy habit that you won’t forget.

*For more information and to order any of the products above, click on any of my links above or here to create your own free account to get 10% off retail (for one time orders) or 20% off retail (for ongoing orders). You can edit your cart as desired, and still get the same discount using my distributor link.

 

I hope all the above are things that you can easily integrate not only during the holiday season, but every day. If you have ANY questions, please comment below as I would love to help in any way.

Have the best, most joyful holiday season enjoying your friendships and family – and our last month of the year.

Over to You

• What are your favorite ways to stay healthy during the holidays?
• What are some of your favorite mantras that help you stay grounded and thankful?

Share in the comments below – the best insights happen in the comments when we share our ideas and strategies. I personally read every single comment and and always respond – I love to hear.

Lots of love,

Carmen xo

 

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