As we approach the busiest time of year, it’s easy to set aside our daily wellness habits, using the holidays to go way overboard with less-than-healthy action steps.

The holiday season is a time to reflect on the year, spend time with loved ones, show appreciation to others — including those in need — and to enjoy it all. Being super restrictive and avoiding all the things you love, or the opposite, going all-in with food and drinks, aren’t necessary, though.

We often live in the mode of “all or nothing.” We go all-in whether it’s trying to be perfect when it comes to our health or going off the rails completely. This is why we struggle so much with trying to be consistent with our healthy habits.

Enjoying life doesn’t need to mean we aren’t living well. We can enjoy the things we love without going over the top all the time. We will overeat sometimes, we will eat foods that are considered less than healthy, and we will go weeks without exercising.

Life isn’t always smooth and certain times of year can make it all much more challenging.

There are many things I could mention, like skip the mashed potatoes and don’t stand near the food at parties, but that would be missing the mark, in my opinion. There is no need to do all these little holiday hacks when it can be much simpler and way less restrictive.

Here are some tips that can help you enjoy the holidays without having to be anxious or overly restrictive, which will allow you to eat, drink and be merry!

  1. Enjoy the food you love but do so more mindfully. What you eat isn’t necessarily the problem, but how much you eat could be. Putting weight-gain aside, chronically overeating can lower energy levels, disrupt digestion, and put you in a mindset of continuing to eat because you think you messed up.
  2. Go easier on the alcohol. Not only can alcohol hinder your thinking when it comes to food (the munchies can kick in along with the hangover cravings), it can also affect your mood, and that isn’t great for a happy time of year. It can also lead to dehydration, which makes you tired and can trick you into thinking you need food, when it’s actually water you need.
  3. The holidays are a great time to slow down and rest but we tend to try to get many things done in a very short amount of time. Visiting family and friends, last minute shopping, and preparing dinners or parties can take a lot out of you. It’s important to also honour the rest your body needs. Make sure you get your zzz’s and take breaks. Get your shopping in now so you aren’t rushing to get it done while you could be resting at home, enjoying some much-needed down time. Get help from your guests by asking them to bring a dish to add to your meal. Make wrapping presents fun with Christmas movies and warm drinks, instead of making it a chore.
  4. Add more movement. Enjoy walks with your family to take in the holiday lights. Go skating together. Play some games that involve movement with your kids or friends. Not only does this create better moods and more energy, it also helps with digestion. Great thing to ignite when you are enjoying more food than usual.
  5. Make sure you take time to acknowledge the great things from the year, what’s going well in life, and the great people in it. Showing gratitude is a great way to help lower stress levels and just enjoy the season as we should.

Most of all, embrace and take in everything that means something to you, including the food. Going into the holidays with the attitude that you need to put your wellness on hold because you don’t think you can be perfect sets you up for going overboard. Wellness is much more than food and workouts. It’s about your mental, emotional, and spiritual health as well.

The holidays are a great time to really focus on all the things about wellness that we don’t typically focus on, like enjoying food without guilt and shame but also with mindfulness. It’s also about enjoying movement in a different way when you can’t get to the gym. There is more to movement than just weights and cardio machines, so this couldn’t be a better time to have fun with family and friends with activity.

‘Tis the season to enjoy and be well. As we go into a new year, there doesn’t need to be an extreme goal for your health if we just practice wellness daily, in some way — mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually, all the time.

As you enter the holiday season, just keep in mind that as long as you follow through in some way for yourself that keeps you practicing wellness every day, you won’t have to stop and start anything.

So don’t worry so much about what you eat and focus more on being more mindful about how much and why. Enjoy food, family, and some down time. That is good for the soul, which makes it good for your wellness.