Practicing Gentle Nutrition During the Holidays (and EVERYDAY!)
The holidays should be a time of joy, surrounded by family, food, and fun. However, it can be overwhelming to find the balance in your nutrition habits during this season.
Follow these three simple tips to help you find balance while eating foods you love this holiday season and also staying committed to your health and nutrition goals.
- Don’t skip meals. You may find yourself trying to skip meals to “save your calories” for one big meal during the holiday season, but that is not a good strategy to have! Skipping meals can lead to overeating which can lead to physical discomfort after meals and potentially disordered eating habits.
- Focus on your hunger-fullness cues. Your body will tell you when it is full and when it is hungry. If you can learn how to use these cues during the holiday season, it will allow you to enjoy all the goodies, without the temptation to over consume past fullness. If you want to learn more about tuning into your hunger-fullness cues, schedule an appointment with Samantha the Dietitian today!
- Add fiber throughout the holiday season. Fiber can be found in foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Fiber can help you stay fuller longer, improve digestive health, and help you maintain a healthy weight. It is easy to add more fiber to your nutrition habits during the holidays by boosting your recipes with fruits, vegetables, or whole grains like oats and whole wheat flour.
Featured Food and Health Benefits: Peppermint
Peppermint has been around for centuries. Usually during this time of year, peppermint is used in many different foods, candles, soaps, teas, and more! Peppermint doesn’t just smell good, it has many health benefits too.
The health benefits of peppermint include:
- Relieving stomach discomfort like stomach aches, nausea, and gassiness
- Reducing intensity of headaches
- Freshening bad breath
- Improving energy levels and mental focus
- And so much more!
As you can see peppermint can be a great addition to you improve your quality of life.
NEED HELP with improving your health through better nutrition habits?
Unsure of how to set nutrition goals that are realistic and will work with your budget, schedule and lifestyle? Work with Samantha the Dietitian to help you figure out what types of goals you should be striving to achieve based on your chronic conditions and/or health needs. Registered dietitians (like Samantha!) can help make improving your health less overwhelming!
