Wow - hard to believe the holiday season is upon us already! And as wonderful as this time is, it is not without its stressors, particularly when you consider our current COVID circumstances. The time and energy required to prepare for the holidays and manage our daily commitments can often leave us running on empty Furthermore, the timing coincides with the cold and flu season, which this year has a unique set of physical and mental stressers in the form of COVID 19. To help you meet these challenges head on, we are sharing our top three tips for a healthy holiday season.

1. Daily Movement – Be it a structured HIIT workout, a restorative yoga class or a relaxing nature walk, engaging in a daily movement practice may be the most important initiative we take to maintain our health throughout the holiday season. So, try not to treat it as a hall pass. Instead embrace the opportunity to seek new means of staying active. While there is an endless array of virtual fitness options in our COVID climate, our practice does not have to involve structured training. The benefits of moderate activity for general health and immunity have been well documented in the scientific literature. Moreover, the simple act of getting outside for a brisk walk encourages the release of feel good hormones that deeply impact our feelings of wellbeing. So, try to establish good habits leading up to the holidays. Choose activities the whole family can enjoy (e.g. tobogganing, skiing, skating…), consider our 20x20 Challenge… Plan ahead and hold each other accountable.

2. Eat Real Food – As simple as this may seem, it can be difficult to overcome the flood of dietary dogma that bombards our senses and obscures our instincts. Food is not a means to an end as the diet industry would have us believe. It is meant to be enjoyed. It is one of our greatest gifts as it brings people together, nourishes our physical and emotional bodies, and has the potential to bring us tremendous joy. We need not complicate things! By choosing whole, unadulterated foods MOST of the time we free ourselves from calorie counting, ingredients lists, nutrient profiles and all other diet industry hypocrisy. We are no longer confined to lifeless, unpalatable meal plans. Instead, we are free to eat the foods we enjoy in the knowledge that our choices are contributing to our health and wellbeing.

So, this holiday season, compile a bank of real food recipes that ignite your senses. Surrender your prejudices and focus on the foods you enjoy. Make it rich! Make it flavourful! Make it fun! Finally, get the kids involved! Have them choose a recipe and teach them how to prepare it. When young children get involved in the process, they are far more likely to try new things and eat foods they may tend to avoid. What greater gift can we give them this holiday season than teaching them to embrace real food?!?

3. Manage your Mindset: Perhaps the most challenging undertaking throughout the holiday season is remaining positive. When you consider our COVID circumstances, the cold weather, decreased daylight hours, packed grocery stores…, managing our mindset can easily feel overwhelming. Yet there are simple measures we can take to support the process.

·  Practice gratitude – this is a tough one. Kids are home, sports have been shut down, the family is on top of one another… I get it. I am living it! Try to condition yourself to embrace it. See it as an opportunity to spend quality time together.

·  Breathe – one of the great clichés. But, if wellness experts the world over are saying it…? Besides, we are now breathing through masks for extended periods of time. Studies have demonstrated a much higher CO2 content in this recycled air. So, beyond its ability to promote restfulness, deep breathing helps restore respiratory balance and greatly improves our health.  

·  Meditate – this does not have to involve sitting in lotus posture and chanting for lengthy periods. Meditation refers to the simple act of calming our minds, observing our thoughts, and gradually releasing our emotional attachment to them. Easier said than done - I know! So, be gentle with yourself. Learn to laugh at your monkey mind as this will release any negative emotions that surround them. Consider a guided meditation app. I use InsightTimer.

·  Socialize – I understand that this has become increasingly difficult and contentious. But, we must find safe ways to interact. Consider virtual dinners, outdoor social distancing, mailing loved ones a letter... The benefits of physical and emotional intimacy and our lack thereof is weighing heavily on our wellbeing. So, find safe ways to connect!

Now more than ever it is crucial that we take measures to nurture and fortify ourselves throughout the holiday season. Nourishing ourselves with nutrient dense real food, clean air, daily exercise, mindfulness, and positivity will prime our immune systems and prepare our bodies for the upcoming flu/Covid season. Equally, we must remain flexible. Give yourself permission to enjoy that glass of wine, desert, extra serving of stuffing… in absence of judgement or self-recrimination. You have not fallen off the proverbial “wagon”. You simply made a conscious choice to treat yourself. Enjoy it and don’t judge yourself for it!  Then, when you wake up the next day, or perhaps even a few days later…, get back at it.

Best wishes for a Healthy and Happy Holidays from us at claire boxall fitness!

Please feel free to share your holiday strategies with our community in the comments below - we are all better for your input!