A Nutritionists Guide to Christmas…

It’s more than just food!

The festive season is renowned for celebrations from Christmas parties, family get-togethers, and end of work events, fun, right? Absolutely, however along with the celebrations often comes with overindulging and a lack of sleep. The result of this can be bloating, skin breakouts, fatigue and generally feeling worn out and exhausted by the new year.

Here are some of my tips to surviving Christmas and starting the new decade feeling fresh, positive and like you are ready to rock the world.

It’s OK to Say No

For many of us (looking at you people pleasers!), this is a difficult thing to do and learning that a polite “no” does not require any further explanation can take time. Saying no is the key to keeping time for you and not over committing to social engagements during the festive season. Before saying yes, think about if the social event excites you? Go to those ones, ditch the rest!

Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate

The human body is around 60% water and without getting all “sciencey” that’s a pretty good indicator that water is, well, pretty important

• Aim for two litres of filtered water per day to keep your liver and kidneys happy, particularly if a couple of extra cocktails are enjoyed!
• Keep a stainless steel or glass water bottle with you throughout the day and sip consistently.
• An electrolyte drink prior to bed can aid in the loss of sodium and potassium from alcohol consumption. Keep in mind we lose many of these minerals when exercising – to read more about electrolytes, head to Important Things to know about Electrolytes

Move that Body

Being a time of year that many of us are on holiday we have free time to catch up with friends, these catch-ups often are centered around food or alcohol. Mix it up and arrange a few social dates around activities that involve movement, trail runs, beach walks, hiking, yoga classes, rock climbing centres or bike rides. These are all fun ways to meet with friends and give the lymphatic system a helping hand at detoxification.

Switch off…literally.

Detach from your phone and invest in those around you. Switch it off and enjoy the moments you are in rather than investing time in chasing the ultimate Insta moment. Forget showing social media how awesome your Christmas celebrations are and completely immerse yourself in the moment and just have an awesome time.

Love your Liver

If the liver had a choice it would ask us to remove all toxin exposure because let’s be honest, no one likes to be overworked! Be kind and give your liver some support to do the wonderful job of detoxification that it is designed to do. There are multiple detoxification pathways in the liver and the one responsible for alcohol loves cruciferous vegetables, think steamed broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, bok choy, selenium which can be found in brazil nuts, curcumin which is the compound found in turmeric, flavonoids which basically means load up on your fruit and vegetables and a range of amino acids, so get your quality sources of protein in which can include grass-fed beef, free-range eggs, fish, legumes, lentils, quinoa and poultry.

Get your Zzzzz On

Don’t run yourself into the ground. Lack of sleep can result in fatigue, feeling cranky, dysregulated hormones, poor immune function and, sugar cravings, doesn’t sound like fun, does it? Aim for 8 hours of sleep per night.

Be Kind

It’s a celebratory time of year and overindulging is likely for most of us at some point. Be kind to yourself, we are human, we are not perfect, life is not perfect. A day consuming more mince pies and Christmas pudding than you want to acknowledge is not going to ruin your health, in fact, savouring every mouthful of that bloody delicious pudding whilst you are enjoying time with family and friends will fill your soul, relax and enjoy!

Your body will tell you when you’ve overdone it, listen and move on. Don’t beat yourself up, don’t restrict food to “make up” for it and don’t decide you need to undertake a “detox”, it’s all ok. Implement a few of these tips over the festive season and you’ll be ready to rock into 2020.

If you feel you need some guidance to improve your health and wellbeing in the new year, I will be here ready to support you for a vibrant energetic new decade. 2020 bookings are now open and you can make bookings to secure an appointment time by clicking here

“Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more” – Dr Seuss