The Wellness Coach guide to surviving a Newry Christmas

It’s beginning to look like a lot like Christmas, mince pies everywhere, traffic jams, shops luring you into bigger sized trousers with Roses and Quality Streets sitting dazzling at you in pretty little bowls at every turn.

The sound of Jingle Bells and The Pogues are echoed only by coughs and sneezes, December 25th is upon us once again.

However, this year, panic not, your Wellness Coach welcomes you to your Survival Guide to Christmas.

I promise not to lecture but to inspire you with some practical tips to help see you through the festive season a little more sane and possibly even a few pounds lighter, imagine that!

1. Over Indulge, yes really!

Eat in abundance, tell the truth, you were going to anyway right? The secret? Make sure you’re feasting on the good stuff. Many of us will consume 2 days worth of calories on December 25th, that’s a lot of food!

Why not pile up on nutritious and delicious foods, pack your body full of vitality, give it all those vitamins it needs and have glowing skin, energy, and avoid the blood sugar drops that lead you to crack open the Matchsticks.

Wellness Coach tip: If you want to indulge, go back for seconds, sure, go for the carrot sticks and cute hummus dips, make the most of those seasonal brazil nuts in their shells, have the Christmas cake loaded with nutritious dried fruits, feast on turkey and fruit salad, melon and vegetable soup.

2. Stick with routine

I often say to clients, have your body working FOR you instead of AGAINST you. It makes life so much easier, energy is high, cravings are diminished, and over eating is controlled by damage limitation.

Where possible stick to 3 meals on Christmas day to keep blood sugar levels in check. The selection box for breakfast may be a tradition, but so are those 10 extra January lbs that you still have yet to shift from last year. By eating 3 meals, you’re less likely to graze, clocking up those calories without even realising you’ve eaten!

Wellness Coach tip: Start a new Christmas tradition with a healthy breakfast feast, try mouth watering fruit salads, experiment with eggs, make tasty toasted muesli or push the boat out with smoked salmon on wholegrain toast.

3. Drink plenty of water

Our bodies are made up of two thirds water. Every cell, every tissue, every organ and every process in your body requires water to some degree to function at it’s best. With many of us spending the entire day indoors in central heating and drinking more alcohol than usual, our bodies lose moisture, we de-hydrate our systems and feel tired.

Thirst is often masked with hunger and with so many tempting foods on offer, again it can be easy to overeat.

Wellness Coach tip: At meals put a jug of water on the table, you’ll be surprised at how many people will thank you. After meals have a digestive aid in the form of a herbal tea. Peppermint tea is fantastic for digestion and can help stop that bloated feeling. Herbal teas also count toward your fluid intake for the day.

4. Get outdoors

The human body was designed to move. Get outdoors and top up Vitamin D levels, so important to boost mood and help build strong bones. Work up an appetite with a brisk walk before or after dinner.

Stomach and digestion problems are often the most common complaint over Christmas, when we over-load our systems with food it has to work so much harder, hence the tiredness as blood flow is directed to this process. Give your body a hand by being active, helping to move foods along and relieve stomach pains.

Wellness Coach tip: For acid reflux problems – avoid eating too quickly, eat smaller meals as consuming a large meal puts too much pressure on your stomach, remain upright for 45minutes after eating, drink ginger, peppermint or fennel tea to soothe.

5. Hangover cure!

Unfortunately no such thing exists, if you drink to excess your body is overloaded with toxins. Your liver is placed under a lot of stress and while it can rejuvenate itself, a helping hand will make sure you’re not off your feet for too long.

Dehydration is the main symptom, that pounding headache, well that’s your brain having lost a lot of water and pulling away from your skull. The sick feeling, well that’s your stomach yelling at you and trying to get rid of liquids which are disagreeing and upsetting your system.

Wellness Coach tips: For every alcoholic drink, have one glass of water, take milk thistle and drink dandelion coffee to help the liver detoxify, the day after go for foods full of B Vitamins such as eggs and wholegrains for energy, Vitamin C such as citrus fruits and kiwis to help de-toxify your body and bananas and coconut water full of potassium to restore electrolyte balance.

These tips are aids to help you enjoy a very Merry and healthy Christmas, use them where you can and enjoy the festive season. I’ll be back in the new year with lots of tips to help kick start you back to full health for 2014!

Lisa is a Nutritionist at The Wellness Coach, find her on Facebook at The Wellness Coach or click HERE. Visit her website here: www.thewellnesscoach.ie

Contact Lisa today for more information or a tailored nutrition plan. T: 07730577822/E: lisa@thewellnesscoach.ie

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Posted by Newry Times News on Dec 23 2013. Filed under Community, Features, Lifestyle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry