The holidays are right around the corner, and for many people, that means struggling to maintain a healthy diet. To make things easy, we’re going to offer you a holiday playbook with 10 tips to keep you sane and healthy.

1. Go Pro: Having protein at your first meal of the day reduces cravings and helps you make healthier choices throughout the day. This could be a collagen smoothie with greens powder or spirulina, eggs and avocado, or chia pudding.
2. Work Your Water: Richard Johnson, author of Nature Wants Us to be Fat, explains how one of your body’s reactions to dehydration is to store fat as a potential water source. Holiday cocktails are dehydrating, so you really want to be drinking at least half your ideal body weight in ounces of water — so a 140-lb person should have around 70 ounces of water per day. We have the Foodtrainers® FLASK to help you visualize your water intake throughout the day. Tea is also a great way to hydrate, whether it’s ginger, yerba mate, green tea, or any of the other healthy variants.
3. You Can Complain: Lauren always stops clients when they say “I can’t complain.” Susan Davis, in her incredible TED Talk, said “Want to be happy? Embrace your negative emotions.” She mentions that our internal pain often comes out in the way we eat. For her, repressed emotions around her father’s death led to an eating disorder. It wasn’t until she expressed how she truly felt that she was able to overcome that obstacle.
4. Pick Your Pleasure: Food is often a big part of celebrating the holidays, but it isn’t always the healthiest option. We advise not abstaining completely, but picking your pleasures intentionally and making responsible choices around them. Maybe you can have that decadent pumpkin pie, but skip the fatty gravy or super sweet side dishes
5. Passeggiata: Passeggiata is Italian for a leisurely stroll after a meal. As little as 10 minutes of movement after meals lowers blood sugar, which is good for weight and digestion. Whether it’s a walk outside or simply cleaning up, try to move after meals, especially indulgent ones.
6. 2-to-3 Food Free: You want to have a minimum of two, ideally three, hours “food free” before bed. If you go to bed at 10 PM, you should stop eating, even snacks, by 7 PM.
7. Pre-Think Your Drinks: Before heading out, give yourself a drink budget. Probiotics and B vitamins mitigate a lot of damage of alcohol. Yes, it’s better not to drink at all, but as we said above, it’s important to pick your pleasure.
8. BYO Nutcase: Having nuts before drinking, or a sweet, indulgent meal can prevent your blood sugar from plummeting and help you make better food choices throughout the day. Our Foodtrainers® Nut Case is perfect for bringing a few emergency walnuts or brazil nuts with you.
9. What You Measure Gets Improved: Data collection is important, particularly over the holidays. We’ve talked about tracking your food, our clients keep daily deets. The scale works for some. Levels has their glucose monitors and the Oura Ring is fun. Be sure to do some tracking or data collection over the holidays — better to know!
10. Don’t Do It Twice: The habit researcher and author of Atomic Habits, James Clear, says “don’t do it twice.” If you skip a workout one day, don’t do it the next. If you eat treats one day, don’t do it twice. We talk to clients about regrouping ASAP — don’t wait for the New Year, Monday, or even the next day. The #1 skill of healthy eating and weight loss is regrouping fast. This can spin an oops into a victory.

Products mentioned:

• Vital Proteins Grass-Fed Collagen – Foodtrainers®
• Vitality Greens
• Terrasoul Blue Spirulina
• Foodtrainers® FLASK
• Foodtrainers® Gutsy Probiotic
• Foodtrainers® B-sane
• Pure O.N.E. Omega-3
• Apothékary Lion’s Mane
• Gossamer Dawn CBD Tincture
• Foodtrainers® BFF
• Vermont Apple Cider Vinegar
• Foodtrainers® MagneZZZium

Resources:

• Learn more at foodtrainers.com
• Instagram: @foodtrainers
• Facebook: facebook.com/Foodtrainers
• Twitter: @foodtrainers
• Read: The Little Book of Thin: Foodtrainers Plan-It-to-Lose-It Solutions for Every Diet Dilemma