Traveling, Eating, & Celebrating: Sustaining Balance
A guide to get you through the holiday festivities.
Thanksgiving is over, but the fiesta certainly is not. This is the time where holiday parties, gift exchanges that turn into holiday parties, and extended vacations tend to get the better of us.
The Influencers say “the holidays only add up to 4–5 days” of celebration, but then this makes you feel worse about yourself since your close-knit friends have a NYE getaway planned, your work has a holiday party, your parents have a nice dinner with some extended family, and your hubby made rezzies at that hot restaurant you have been dying to try.
What is a hard working professional to do in this scenario? I will let you in on a few secrets:
- You can prepare yourself ahead of time if you want to avoid overeating the palatable foods typically available around the holidays.
- You can still fit in movement throughout your day.
- It is totally fine if you gain a couple pounds.
While preparing ahead of time is not what everyone wants to hear, there really is only minimal preparation. Typically, what I recommend for someone socially bound to several events is to focus on satiety and blood sugar management.
Focus on your protein intake at events.
Whether you are at dinner or a party, eat more of the protein option available. This gives you satiety that prevents you from reaching for more mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Plus, the higher protein in your diet helps you nourish your muscles, tendons, brain, and bones because your body is comprised of proteins. The enzymes that help you absorb nutrients are, in fact, proteins.
While technically animal protein has the most optimal amino acid profile, you can still enjoy plant-based proteins like lentils, beans, tempeh, and tofu. I will recommend, however, that due to the amino acid profile of plant-based proteins, aim to eat even more protein for optimal absorption.
Lastly, try to eat your veggies and protein before you eat your starchier side options. This also slows the blood sugar spike.
Bring apple cider vinegar with you to parties.
While you can bring the jar with you (not that I recommend that), bring along the ACV capsules instead. The acetic acid is what prevents such a large spike in your blood sugar after something carbohydrate-rich, and these spikes are what cause moodiness, fatigue, hyperglycemia, and hanger.
Have a veggie starter.
This one is probably one of my favorites because you feel so accomplished eating vegetables that you feel even better eating your delectable pasta. Plus, the gut health benefits of getting in your prebiotic fiber will help with your cravings because it feeds the good bacteria in your microbiome. Some of my favorite veggie starters are:
- Roasted broccoli with olive oil drizzled on top with some salt and pepper sprinkled in
- Sautéed asparagus seasoned with olive or avocado oil, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper
Many parties and restaurants offer vegetable options in addition to our holiday favorites, so if you can’t make anything, just reach for the vegetable platter before you grab your fancy hors d’oeuvre.
Remember: movement is medicine.
As for movement, you just have to fit it in when you can. No, this does not mean you have to spend hours at the gym. You can get a great workout in 30 minutes or less! Check out the graphics below for some awesome workouts programmed by CPT, Strength & Conditioning Coach, and Jiu Jitsu athlete, Anthony Craparo.
I personally do these 30-minute workouts, and I have never felt stronger! Of course, there is a level of effort you need to put forth if you want to gain muscle or lose fat.
While these workouts are wonderfully efficient, do the extra bit to stay active throughout the day because your workouts are the smallest portion of your daily activity. Think about it: 30 minutes out of the entire 24 hours available is spent working out, so you should probably get moving whenever possible. Here are some of my favorite go-tos:
- Walk your dog
- Take a Zoom or Teams meeting on a walk
- Take the stairs
- Pace while you are on the phone
- Jump for 15 seconds randomly throughout the day (with or without a jump rope)
- Do a 5-minute dance party
- Ride your bike
- Park further from the entrance
Lastly, I am going to touch on this last bit. It is totally fine if you gain a couple pounds during the holidays! Humans have been celebrating for millennia.
Our bodies fluctuate throughout the day, week, month, and year. Sometimes this means that you’re heavier during some parts of the year and lighter during others.
Gaining a little extra weight does not mean you’re the most disgusting person alive. If it happens, know that this holiday season was a part of your life where you nourished your soul and livelihood a little extra than usual.
What matters is that you generally make mindful choices throughout the day, which is certainly more sustainable.
At the end of the day, you do not need to constantly be on a diet.
Your health is a spectrum of mental, physical, spiritual, social, and professional quality. Do not beat yourself up if you choose social health a bit more than usual. Your heart and soul are probably LOVING it, and they count just as much.