myFM: Surviving the holidays

The holiday seasons festivities can lead to weight gain and push you right out of your routine; that means that come January, you’re making all those resolutions to undo what you could avoid right here and now so that you sail into the new year feeling like you’re a winner, and not beat yourself up through the beginning of March. Recognizing that it’s an intense time of year, going easy on yourself, letting things go if you can’t get to them all, and quietening down that perfection angel or devil that sits on your shoulder saying that what you are doing is enough, can go a long way to enjoying the holiday season, with some magical self-compassion. With that in mind, I have seven top tips to keep you on track, areas to be mindful of as you go throughout your day and this holiday season - or any season, to be honest.

1. Hydration

I can almost guarantee you’re not drinking enough water. Unless you’re super disciplined and, like me, take your water bottle EVERYWHERE you go, hydrating with water is a massive challenge. Whether at work, you’re walking through the mall or heading to be with family or friends, having water is the only way to get it into you. Need more energy? Drink water. 

2. Support your immune system

There’s two ways of coming at it - don’t shut down your immune army with that fast food or refined white options, do what you can to manage your stress levels and watch the sugar intake. Then there’s feeding, supporting your immunity with vitamins A, C, E and Zinc; you can do that with my Take This by Lianne Alka C, top up with superfoods like in my Kid or Skin Boost, up your vitamin D intake with Sunshine D3+K2 and add Bio Boost probiotic to your protocol. I’ve taken the guesswork out of what you need over on sproutright.com in the immune boosting package

3. Love your liver

Whether it’s more booze or the damn sugary cookies that you can’t bypass, or grandma's meatballs that you don’t usually eat, all that goes into your mouth ends up heading to the liver, meaning that it seriously needs some love. Cruciferous vegetable family of cabbage, broccoli, collards, kale, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, bok choy, arugula, radishes, wasabi, watercress, kohlrabi, mustard greens, rutabaga, turnips all help if you can get at least one to two cups of any of them, cooked, daily. Detoxifying and anti-inflammatory herbs and spices, like turmeric, cayenne pepper, thyme, rosemary, chilli powder, cumin, sage, oregano, onion powder, cinnamon, coriander, cilantro, paprika, and parsley are worth adding to those sulphur-containing eggs that I mentioned. One to two cups of green tea daily boosts liver detoxification by increasing GST or glutathione enzymes

I have other suggestions for balancing blood sugar levels, movement and sleep in episode 145 of Eat This with Lianne.

Be realistic with the holiday season and do what you can to set realistic goals, say no more than you want, and prioritize your time to some things YOU want to do. That self-compassion alsomeans remembering that your food choices don’t equal your value as a person, and if it all doesn’t go to plan, it’s a moment in time, and it will pass soon enough.