5 Tips for Holiday Wellness

5 Steps to Prioritizing Your Health This Holiday Season

1. Keep up with your fitness routine.

Even if it seems hard, maintaining your exercise routine during the holidays can have many benefits.

Exercise has natural stress-relieving and mood-improving effects, which can help offset the stress caused by the holidays. In addition, people typically eat more and richer food during the holidays. An exercise routine can help combat potential weight gain.

If you don’t have enough time to commit to a full workout, even a 15-minute walk or stretching session can have health benefits. The CDC recommends 150 minutes, or 2.5 hours, of moderate aerobic activity per week, and strength-building exercises at least twice per week.

You can use this recommendation as a baseline for designing your holiday exercise plan.

2. Keep up with your preventative care.

It may seem tempting to push back that check-up appointment or skip that Physical Exam this year – but try to avoid it if you can.

Regular preventative care can help you minimize and potentially even avoid chronic health conditions down the line.

You may also be able to use leftover HSA or FSA funds for qualifying medical services and products, which can help you avoid losing those funds at the end of the year. (Be sure to check with your HSA or FSA account to see which services or products qualify.)

3. Find support in supplements.

There are many supplements that can help with fatigue, mood, stress and other common problems you may experience during the holiday season.

LIPO-C, for example, can help boost your energy and encourage fat loss. B12 can improve your mood and help you cope with increased stress. If you’re looking to combine the benefits of B12 and LIPO-C, we also offer a specially compounded Fat Loss Kit that includes both ingredients.

4. Control your eating.

We’re not saying to skip out on mom’s famous pecan pie, but you can avoid going overboard when it comes to the holiday feasts. You can still enjoy delicious foods without going back for seconds and thirds.

On average, people gain around 2 pounds during the holidays, and potentially more throughout the entire Winter season. Controlling your eating habits can help you avoid this.

Minimizing seasonal weight gain is good for the health, since the average adult gains 1-2 pounds per year beginning in their 20s through to around their 50s. This weight gain may seem small in the moment, but it can accumulate to a surprising amount over time.

5. Draw boundaries.

The holidays can make us feel like we have to go above and beyond.

It’s always healthy to draw boundaries. These can include deciding on a budget for holiday shopping, and setting expectations about the time you’ll spend with family.

Sometimes drawing boundaries is the best way to minimize stress and make the holidays just a little easier.