your health
Start the New Year feeling better with a healthier living master plan
Christmas is a time for eating, drinking and being merry. And, while life is about enjoying ourselves and having fun, most of us probably overindulge when Santa’s in town and are left feeling physically and mentally worse off afterwards.
But there are lots of ways to reinvent the festive season without depriving ourselves or missing out, and it can be a really good way to start a new healthier living blueprint for the New Year and beyond. Christmas is a time for traditions and special occasions, which is great in many ways, but it can also mean we end up doing (and eating) the same old things that we might not even like. What can you do differently? Instead of lots of heavy, carb-based meals, could you swap in lighter versions: for example, instead of making a creamy curry with the turkey leftovers, could you cook a turkey stir-fry, with lots of nice veggies? Try doing a Christmas food audit when you’re meal planning too. That way you can ask people beforehand what they really enjoy, and you might well find they would like some healthier alternatives.
What can you do differently?
Similarly, we can control what comes into our home. We can feel obliged to keep a thoughtful present from someone, and often find ourselves with a surplus of selection boxes. A nice get-out clause can be telling people beforehand that you’re giving back to others this year, and would love people to give a little donation to charity, or a local food bank instead.
If you do little exercise during the holiday period, think about where can you fold in little pockets of movement to your day. Can you walk to the pub or restaurant, rather than drive or get a cab? Do you need to hop in the car to go and pick up a few extra bits? We also tend to abandon our gardens in the winter, but can you be out there connecting with nature, which countless studies have shown is so important for our mental health and general spirits?
It’s also important to recognise that loneliness is something a lot of people exp
