The celebration of Christmas is synonymous with gathering with beloved family and relatives while eating a variety of delicious Christmas dishes, which is a long-awaited moment. This moment sometimes actually makes you not pay attention to your health. Make sure you keep practicing healthy living tips when celebrating this holy Christmas.
At Christmas, most people forget to take care of their health. All food served is eaten without thinking about the number of calories, fat content and the danger to the body. Christmas is usually synonymous with sweet foods, therefore do not consume too much or excessive.
Uncontrolled weight gain can lead to various complications such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes and so on. In addition, unhealthy eating patterns such as eating large portions, eating too many sugary foods and drinks, consuming excess alcohol and consuming less fiber are also factors in the incidence of post-Christmas disease.
Here are lifestyle tips to help you stay healthy during the Christmas celebrations:
- Choose a low-fat option
When preparing food, use low-fat foods such as fish, nuts, fruits, lean beef and so on.
- Choose healthy drinks
Sweet drinks cannot be avoided during Christmas celebrations, ranging from fruit ice, syrup, soda and so on. Drinking too many drinks with high sugar content is not good for health. It's better to just choose plain water, but if you want to taste sweet drinks of course that's fine, but there must be a limit to consuming it.
- Stay active
Christmas is the right time to gather and mingle with family at home. However, do not miss your exercise time even though you are on vacation. You can get up early to walk or cycle around the house.
- Get enough rest
Spending time chatting and playing late into the night with the family is a common thing during celebrations or holidays. This can cause the body's resistance to decrease because the body lacks rest. Therefore, make sure you always sleep at least 6-9 hours every day.
- Fill the dining table with fruits
Instead of putting pastries, sweet buns, donuts, candy, or syrup, fill your dinner table with fruit. Thus, fruit will always be an option to be a healthy snack and high in fiber.
- Washing hands
Hands are one part of the body that is a gathering place for germs. The tradition of celebrating Christmas makes you meet and shake hands with many people. As a precaution so as not to spread or contract germs when shaking hands, don't forget to wash your hands before and after shaking hands with running water and using soap.
- Don't stress
For some people, the holiday season can be very stressful. Stress increases stress hormones like cortisol which in turn causes a person to crave sweet and fatty foods. Instead of turning to food, it's better to do yoga or massage to relieve stress.
Although there are several things that must be considered to maintain your health while celebrating Christmas, you don't need to be too rigid. The most important thing is that you can control the intake of what goes into your body. Don't let your and your family's holy Christmas celebration turn into a nightmare due to not taking care of your health.
Referense :
https://guardian.ng/features/health/top-ten-tips-to-have-a-healthier-christmas/
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/12-tips-for-holiday-eating
https://www.ymcamidtn.org/health-and-fitness/articles/10-healthy-lifestyle-tips-holiday-season
Picture source:
https://www.usu.edu/today/story/healthy-eating-for-a-happy-holiday