How To Avoid A Holiday Crash

Holidays take it out of us - but they don’t have to!

Get more out of your time off with my three tips for a more relaxing holiday season.

Eat with Intention: How we eat matters as much as what we eat. For example, eating in a relaxed emotional state increases stomach acid production, which  contributes to your health in the following ways:

• Aids protein digestion
• Liberates digestive enzymes for the breakdown of fats, proteins, and sugars
• Enhances peristalsis, a series of wave-like muscle contractions that move food to different processing stations in the digestive tract and assist in the complex process of digestion.

Take time to eat your dinner. Play music during dinner and allow for about 5 songs to play through before you get up from the table. If you find yourself racing to clean your plate, try eating with your non-dominant hand or use chopsticks to slow your pace of consumption. 

Another tip is to incorporate intentional meditation into your dining schedule. Eat silently for five minutes, chewing intentionally,  honoring what it took to produce that meal, from the nutrient rich soil, to harvest, to how you picked out the food at your grocer, to how the food was prepared. 

We eat slower when we really taste and appreciate our food. 

Get Moving: I’m not suggesting that you attempt to cram intense, HIIT workouts in between Thanksgiving dinner and your long drive home, but do make sure that you’re getting up and moving.  Make the preparation of the meal a way to dance in your kitchen. I have been dancing during meal prep lately to some of my old favorites and it has been so joy-filled!  

Make a family event out of it and go for a walk before your biggest meal - enjoy those Fall colors and reap the circulatory and lymphatic benefits of brisk air. Plus, a good walk can jumpstart the metabolism, making it easier for the body to digest the heavier foods you may be eating. 

Reflect: Much like intentional eating, a good dose of reflection can slow and clarify our thinking process. Many of us say a family prayer before Thanksgiving dinner - but often, the reflection stops there. Bring grace to your holiday weekend by asking your guests to vocalize  where they found peace and grace filled moments even in these rigorous times.

A tradition I created for my kids was to have them select the three well-kept toys they cared the most about - and give them away to a child in need. I used this to teach them about the ripple effect: paying & giving it forward, creating change for someone who needs it more than you do. 

The act of communal reflection and sharing can spark a whole new attitude of togetherness - the real heart of Thanksgiving.

To The Tru Of You,