Food! What a loaded topic for this time of year.  We use food to celebrate, share, gather, soothe and so many other things.  Cover a few bases and you’ll be in a good state come the new year.

1.) Ratio of whole foods to “treats”.  Do your best to fill up on as many whole foods before indulging in the “not so healthy” foods.  This way, you can keep from over consuming the “treats”.  Stock up on fruits and veggies that you can find at Quality Greens.

2.) Time crunch.  Keep “quick and easy” foods on hand and ready for when the busy days of December take over your schedule.  Some easy ideas - have serving sized prepped apples, carrots, pea pods, simple bagged salads, bananas, oranges, berries, nuts, chia puddings and such are nice simple options to have on hand when you need to do many tasks but have no time to make a snack/food until later.  

3.) Hydration.  Lack of water can negatively affect our energy and cause us to crave sweet sugary snacks, coffee, and other stimulants.  Make sure to keep water intake to at least half your weight in ounces (ie. 130lb = 65 ounces).  With added beverages, like alcohol, pop, and coffee, which are dehydrating, you will need even more water to compensate.

4.) Energy and Sleep.  Being over tired can cause sugar cravings as your brain looks for stimulants to keep it alert.  Make sure to get a good amount of sleep during the busy Christmas season.  Also, related to lack of water, dehydration can cause us to feel tired.  Try going for a walk after dinner to help metabolism which help to improve sleep.

5.) Enjoy!  No matter what, do your best and don’t feel guilty.  Tomorrow is ALWAYS a new day, and a clean slate to start on any goal you set.  This is key to reducing the area of stress around not being perfect and just focus on doing your best.  

Pick one item to focus on each day, being mindful of that area will help you to have a goal to guide your decisions even on a small scale.