Feeling a bit crazed with the holidays approaching?? Over scheduled with family dinners, shopping, decorating, party planning, and the million other obligations you have over committed yourself to between now and the holidays.

With all of these obligations, it is so easy to put your happiness, health and self-care last on your holiday list.

It’s true that the holidays are a crazy time, and for many people, the holidays also bring some not-so-desirable consequences.

While I can’t make the healthy choices for you, I can offer you some tips that may help you keep your sanity, health and well-being on track this holiday season. So if you’d like to enjoy the holidays this year, then you’re in the right place! Here are my best 10 tips to keeping you happy and healthy during the holidays.

10 TIPS TO BEING HAPPY & HEALTHY DURING THE HOLIDAYS

TIP #1. MAKE YOUR BED
A great way to start off your day is to make your bed every morning. It might be a small accomplishment, but making the bed sets the tone for the entire day. It will give you a sense of accomplishment, and will encourage you to do other tasks too.

TIP #2. MORNING GRATITUDE
What we do in the morning tends to have a big impact on our outlook and mood throughout the rest of the day. Starting our mornings with positive thoughts reinforces our mind, body, and spirit with a sense of calmness, gratitude, and joy to help us maintain a positive perspective through our daily tasks.

TIP #3. MORNING EXERCISE
I am sure the last thing you feel like doing first thing in the morning is exercise.  If you make it your first priority, nothing can cause you to skip it. Now I know you have a million things to accomplish in a day, but if you practice self-care, and put you first you will see how daily exercise can not only be great for your health, but help with your mood, sleep, and keep you on track with eating healthier too.  Can’t get to a gym? Walk outside, being in nature is a fantastic way to clear your mind, so you will be ready to conquer your day ahead.

TIP #4. DAILY MEDITATION
I have been meditating daily since last year, and I can genuinely say that it has changed my life tremendously. Not only have I reached another level of enlightenment, my intuition has increased and I learned how to become more mindful.If you think you are too busy to meditate, think again. “Studies have shown that meditating just ten minutes a day reduces stress, lowers cortisol levels, and improves your outlook on life” (Sarich, 2015).

TIP #5. CHOOSE HEALTHY FOODS
Make the effort and try to make healthy food choices, at least the majority of the time.Not only will you feel better, you will have more energy to complete your holiday tasks, and you will be more likely to avoid holiday weight gain. One way I have been able to keep the 30 pound weight loss off, is from intermittent fasting.  Which means I only eat from about 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm daily.  I also only eat twice per day, lunch and dinner. By doing this, it helps me keep my insulin levels down, which helps keeps my weight and energy balanced.

TIP #6. GET YOUR PROPER SLEEP
With all the holiday party obligations, parties and entertaining, it may be tempting to stay up late, but remember your body needs a regular sleep schedule. Try listening to a sleeping meditation instead of binging on Netflix, and see how your body, mind and spirit will feel so much more refreshed in the morning.

TIP #7. STAY HYDRATED
Start your day off each and every morning with at least a tall glass of water.  Staying hydrated will help your organs stay healthy, flushing out toxins, keep your skin vibrant, and help you think more clearly, feel more energized, and eat less. If you get bored with drinking water like I do, drink hot or cold green tea. The perks of drinking green tea can improve your health, brain function, burn fat and act as an antioxidant and prevent your risk of cancer.

TIP #8. BE ORGANIZED
A super important way to feel and grounded during the holiday season is be organized.  I feel creating to-do-lists really helps with staying on task and being more calm.  By having plan of actions in place, versus being scattered, will help you reduce stress and aggravation. Trust me on this one, I was an event planner for over 20 years, I had to be organized to execute successful events.

TIP #9. EXCUSE YOURSELF FROM OBLIGATIONS
This holiday season, give yourself a gift of saying no.  Fire yourself from being the over achiever, and over obligating yourself to your family and friends.  Just because you have taken charge every holiday tradition, doesn’t mean you need to this year.  Remember the holidays are suppose to be bring your joy and cheer, not stress.  So repeat after me…NO, I am just doing me this year!!! See that was easy. Because when you are happy, everyone else will be too.

TIP #10. RELAX AND REJUVENATE
Another way to ensure you will remain happy and healthy during this holiday season is to remember to take breaks to rejuvenate your energy.  How are you to be the happy hostess if you are burnt out and exhausted? Practice being mindful and resting your body and soul throughout the day.  You will stay more energized, happy and healthy.

If anything I can leave you with is this, put yourself first. Because if the captain of a ship gets sick, what happens to the ship?  Make yourself a priority and don’t look at these tips as another obligation, but rather as a way of living.  If you look at these suggested tips as you would like brushing your teeth, you wouldn’t make excuses, you would just do them, right?  I wish you the most happy, healthy and magical holiday season. 

With much love,

Deirdre Abrami

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