Is it getting annoying? All those people shaking fingers and telling you all the stuff to avoid eating too much of during the silly season? Unfortunately, they're right. And while we're talking food, you'll note I've posted the also obligatory Christmas puppy image; we need to remember our furry friends still require proper food, water and care at this time of year.
Alright, we've got food and puppies out of the way! (Who now wants a puppy, huh?)
Like I said, there is oodles of information out there and it's been coming thick and fast the last few weeks about the do's and don't's of the holidays. I sit squarely in the middle of the 'cant's', because I'm still on restricted foods, thanks to eating no gluten and very, very little fructose. So take a moment to feel sorry for me when you're eating your Christmas pudding, fruit salads and other such goodness.
Here's the thing: you KNOW when you're eating too much and you KNOW when you should stop and you KNOW what's good and bad for you. You do it at this time of year, because it's the time to relax, wind down and be thankful for the good and the bad (aka 'the lessons') of the year gone. Letting your hair down between Christmas and New Year is fine. The real issue is that most people let their hair down between New Year and Christmas. You know that, too, so I'm just going to move on.
One thing you shouldn't put on the don't list over the holiday break is your exercise. All that garbage you said during the year about not having time, because you work, or this or that or something else. Well, most of you are on holidays now, so there goes the work excuse. Oh, but you have to do all that Christmas shopping? Uh huh, for 8 hours a day? And the cooking, and the relatives, and oh excuses! How could you possibly squeeze in time to exercise? Wanna know?
Bake something (healthy) from scratch. You need a bit of muscle power to knead dough, baby! Work those arms!
Get out in the garden. You know the relatives will judge you (it's what they do at Christmas, isn't it?), so tend those flowers, lay a bit of mulch, weed the grass and sweep the paths. You'll burn plenty of calories.
Clean the house. Yep, those judgemental relatives will be ticking off checklists - you'll hear about it by mid January. Sweep, mop, vacuum, rearrange your cupboards. If your family is anything like the ones I know, you'll have random visitors dropping by most days. Keep sweeping and mopping those calories away.
Clean the windows! Need I say anything more on that one?
Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day can be mentally and physically draining. Excuse yourself for 15 minutes and take a walk around the block. It'll renergise you and give you a break from the wrapping papers, kids, food, drinks and obligatory drunken uncle.
Get outside and play some kind of game with the whole family. Yes, backyard cricket usually ends in tears (adults, more often than kids, it seems), but it's fun while it lasts.
If you're at or near the beach, walk, walk, walk. Walking in the sand gives your legs a great workout. Build sandcastles, chase the kids.
Be childlike. Remember when the holiday season was fun and exciting and you anticipated pretty lights, decorating the tree, and unwrapping presents before 6am Christmas day, when your parents were still not quite awake and pretended being woken at that time of day was fine; you didn't know then that they'd been up till 3am wrapping presents from Santa and making sure you really were staying in bed before they left him a plate of food.
There are all the regular ways of keeping up your exercise at this time of year, or any time, for that matter. Park further away from the store and walk. Use the stairs instead of the elevators - yes, shopping centres still have those old fashioned things called stairs!
Don't try getting all the shopping bags out of the car at once. Take one or two bags at a time and walk back and forth. A couple of extra minutes and a few more calories burned. I am compulsive about this - I have to do this in as few trips as possible, so this is my lesson, too!
The number of ways you can keep up your exercise over the silly season is really up to you, and if you're creative, it doesn't have to feel like exercise at all. However, the more food you eat and alcohol you consume, the more actual exercise you'll probably need to do. It's up to you. Don't go crazy, but do enjoy yourself.
Be grateful, be happy, be kind to each other. Most importantly, have a safe time and spend it well.
The examples used above may or may not be situations in which I've been involved over the years and aren't necessarily related to my family or friends. 😉
