DO WE EVER REALLY THINK ABOUT THE COMMON PHRASE, “MAKE UP YOUR MIND?” WELL, MY DEAR FRIENDS AND FOLLOWERS, THIS IS ESSENTIALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT KEY! LET’S NOT UNDO ALL WE HAVE WORKED SO HARD TO ACCOMPLISH BY NOT BEING DESIGN SMART, IE DESIGNING OUR HOLIDAY EATING TO BE VICTORIOUS! 🙂

THREE EASY TIPS FOR HEALTHIER HOLIDAYS

1)  DEVELOP A Healthy Attitude: adopt healthy eating and exercise habits now!

This is the most important tip! We all have learned and accepted that our behaviors are linked to our thinking or our MINDSETS. Where our mind goes, our decisions or behaviors follow.

Therefore, developing a HEALTHY ATTITUDE  equips you to handle the holiday craziness  with a predetermined attitude being battle ready. Armed with  NEW HOLIDAY HABITS , you stop and think BEFORE indulging. This one step prevents that nagging guilt  of “why did I do that again?”

You all know by listening or reading my posts and videos that a habit is done without thinking about what we are doing. We simply do it almost unconsciously except for that haunting  consequential guilt afterwards. So why do we keep on doing what we know we will regret?

This next paragraph is for my fellow believers who understand that our natural instincts are to let our human flesh get its way. But God’s word says in Galatians 5:1 (TPT) “Refuse to go back into the bondage of our past.” verse19 calls our mindless eating or HABITS, “uncontrolled additions.”

Regardless of anyone’s beliefs, any of you reading this post get the message. 

HEALTHY HOLIDAY EATING IS A CHOICE! 

Did you know that even the super calorie laden Thanksgiving dinner can drastically be calorie reduced without sacrificing one of the most favorite traditional meals? Instead, why not try the above delicious meal that mimics our traditional meal but with less than half of the calories!

 

Healthy meal for Thanksgiving for two like me and BobBob did at Holden Beach NC a few years back. Ocean and balcony extra….:)

2) Everything in moderation!

Please realize that it’s OK to splurge on your favorite treats! I am not the food police for myself or my family. The secret or trick is that  you do not keep on this holiday  binge but get back into your normal routine.  Another smart tip is to  splurge on dessert without all of the calories with the Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Pie. Here is our archived video on how to make the delicious Chocolate Pie! Enjoy a laugh from my videos back in 2012 if you can believe it! 

Here is one of my beginning recipe videos that is still good today! 

3)  DO NOT GIVE UP EXERCISING DURING THE HOLIDAYS!

 The anti-stress and energy benefits from this type of  a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE  are especially critical during holiday time. MORE THAN EVER BEFORE, OUR IMMUNITY IS CRITICAL TO STAYING HEALTHY DURING THE HOLIDAYS. And daily or at least most days, exercise is a proven factor in our immune levels. 

Join an exercise class, such as a Pilates or spin group, at your local gym. This can help keep you enthusiastic to workout, and puts you in the company of other encouraging, like-minded people when it comes to health. However, I walk almost daily even in cold weather. You can not imagine how much better I feel after a brisk or even cold walk being rewarded with a renewed energy is icing on my cake! 

To keep up with exercise goals while traveling, learn some workouts that don’t require lots of extra equipment. Body weight workouts (push ups, squats, crunches, planks, tricep dips) are great for this purpose. Or pack bands to work in the super important stretching!

Meals and food are such a big part of our holiday traditions. I believe that it is important to  honor traditions that are important for our families’ and friends’ memories. We are not about “throwing the baby out with the bath water.”  We are about gently introducing new ways of celebrating family and friends holiday traditions without adding extra fanfare and stress.

I hope that you’ve gained some insights on my healthy living philosophy, and I’d love to read some of your tips and thoughts in the comments.

We are so thankful for all of you that follow our posts and love it when you comment your thoughts and suggestions that help us all at the holidays and all year long.

Right now I am having a Christmas Special for a Limited time on my book “Design Smarts”! Now until December 14th. Purchase your own copy of my book here!

Living and loving life together,

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