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Top 10 Tips on How to Survive the Holidays Feeling Great

by Stephanie

Top 10 Tips on How to Survive the Holidays Feeling Great

Today I’m going to talk about how to get through the holidays without feeling gross when January hits.

As the weather gets colder and the season gets more festive, we’re more apt to fall into eating sugary foods that will put us over the edge.

Eating too much sugar wreaks havoc on our bodies and when we eat all of that heavy, sugary, processed food it suppresses our immune system and many times we get sick.

What happens to many of us is that we feel so gross after the holidays that we enter the new year feeling the same way we did starting the past year: bloated, overweight, bogged down, hungover. It’s a vicious cycle.

Is that any way to start a new year?

What if we left the year behind feeling great so we can focus on starting the new year feeling as though we can accomplish anything?

…

10 Tips on How to Get Through the Holidays Feeling Great.

To Do Every Day:

1. Drink lots of water: I start every morning with a litre of lemon water. Do this before your coffee! Lemon helps us to flush our system and kick-start our digestion for the day to come.

2. Eat a good breakfast and a decent lunch: Whatever time you consider breakfast, I encourage you to eat a meal full of fat, fibre, protein and greens (thanks for this tip Kelly Leveque!). This will keep you feeling full for longer and will help you avoid the temptation for all of those sugary treats at the office or the coffee shop.

If you’re in a hurry, make a smoothie. My morning smoothies include a scoop of protein powder (I like Genuine Health Vegan Fermented Protein Powder), some fat like a couple tablespoons of nut butter, a handful of spinach or kale, a 1/4 cup of blueberries, two tablespoons of of ground flax seeds or chia seeds and a two cups of nut milk. If I have something like this at 7 or 8 am I’m not full again until after 12 p.m.

At a party or event:

3. Don’t go to a party starving: If you go to a party over the holidays and you’re starving, you’re more likely to reach for the first food you see. 

Be sure to do steps 1 & 2 earlier in the day and then reach for a hand full of nuts as you head out the door. The nuts will keep your blood sugar balanced and will help you make balanced decisions when you’re out.

4. Eat veggies first: When I go to a party I scan the food table and fill my plate with salads, olives and veggies first. Taking this step will help you fill your stomach with greens and fibre and you’ll set yourself up for eating well from the get-go. Wait a few minutes before heading back up to the table so you can be sure you’re still hungry!

5. Decide what you really want to eat before you get to the party: If you have a sweet tooth and love this time of year for your aunt’s gingerbread cookies, let that be your sweet treat and make the decision before you leave the house. If you follow all the steps above, that might be all you need to satisfy that sweet tooth. Resist the urge to fill up an entire plate with sweets.

Choose one, sit down and really enjoy it.

6. If you drink, drink organic wine: I love wine like the next person, but I don’t like how it makes me feel in the morning. Same goes for sugary mixed drinks. A while ago, I decided to drink organic red wine and it’s helped me stay on track through the holidays because I feel fine the next day. I encourage you to keep the sugary mixed drinks to a minimum because they’re partly to blame for those nasty hangovers and bloated stomachs. (Read more about it in my post on my blog here). Also mixing sugary foods with wine will likely increase that hangover! So be mindful of what you’re eating and drinking together.

7. Put down your phone and connect with the people you’re eating with: When I’m out with family and friends I leave my phone in my purse unless I’m taking a photo.

When we eat with technology it heightens stress levels (What am I missing out there when I’m here??) which makes it harder to digest our food properly. Looking at our phones while eating also distracts us from what’s on our plates so we’re more apt to eat more. Also it’s just plain rude in my opinion. Keep your phone off the table and away so you can actually enjoy the people around you.

8. Listen to your body. What is it telling you? Our bodies are constantly giving us messages. Eat bread and feel bloated? It’s a message. Break out after eating sweets? It’s a message. Feel like you want to roll out of the restaurant after eating and drinking all night? It’s a message.

If we get in tune with the messages our bodies are trying to tell us (but that we often ignore) we might realize that it’s trying to help us stay on track. 

No one feels good after stuffing their mouths with too much food. I don’t worry about calories, but I did learn to eat until I’m 80% full. By eating this way, our bodies have a bit of room to breathe, time to rest and you can enjoy the rest of the night without making several trips to the washroom or wishing you hadn’t eaten something.

If you know your body doesn’t do well after eating pie, leave it on the table and try something else instead. 

I know I don’t feel well after eating regular cake and cookies so I don’t bother eating them. This isn’t a matter of depravation—it’s a way of listening to our bodies to find out what it really needs to be happy.

9. Don’t stress about all this stuff: This might be a lot of information for you, but try not to stress about it. I like to look at it as nourishing our bodies first, leaving room for a little treat at the end of dinner.

Try not to regret or feel guilty about something you’ve eaten over the holidays—take it as a learning experience. Ask yourself: Why did I eat that? How did it make me feel? Was I even hungry when I ate it? Did I feel pressure to eat it?

And if you wanted to eat it feel good about that decision! Life is too short not to enjoy treats now and again.

Everything takes time so if you can, do one step at a time like starting your day with lemon water and you might be surprised where it takes you!

10. Finally, be kind to yourself now. Don’t wait until January to get going. Make small changes now that will take you into the new year with vim and vigour! 



Your body is worth it. You are worth it.


Healthy Sweets + Treats Recipe Booklet
 
Want some sweet treats you can feel great about eating? Check out my Healthy Holiday Sweets + Treats Recipe Booklet and make something deliciously satisfying this holiday season. Get your copy here.
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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: eating well, healthy eating, holidays

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How to Survive the Holidays Feeling Great! The ho How to Survive the Holidays Feeling Great!

The holidays are here and we want you to feel great during and after the festivities. 

We also want you to enjoy yourself and not stress too much. It can be a stressful time for many people especially when food is involved.

Here are 4 tips to feel great during and after the holidays:


1. Drink lots of water. Not only will you likely be eating more food than normal, but winter is a dry season so drink up! Water will keep you hydrated all season.


2. Put down your phone and connect with your friends and loved ones. Nothing on your phone is more important than the face in front of you. If you want to share a cat video, share it and then put your phone away again. 🐈

3. Don’t stress and be mindful. Think about what you really love during the holidays and eat it, but eat it mindfully. Sit down, breathe at the table, and eat slow. Taste your food. Be grateful for the beautiful bounty.


4. Connect with me now for a nourishing meal plan so you’re ready to start January with a gusto. 

Don’t fall into the “January Diet Trap”. I’m here for you!

PS. If you want a little recipe gift. Comment ‘gift’ below. I don’t have one of those fancy automated IG systems. I will send it to you in the flesh! 😂

Also to book a consult with me check out the link in my bio! I’d love to chat.
Some might think custom meal plans are over the to Some might think custom meal plans are over the top, but they’re not, and here’s why:

1. Stress levels are at an all-time high and you need to eat. With custom meal plans and recipe books, you have one less thing to think about.

Let someone else figure out exactly what you need to and want to eat (down to specific ingredients). The investment is worth it (time is money, my friend).

2. When you get that special food list from your practitioner, the stress can increase. Now you really don’t know what to eat.

Meal plans can be customized to create meals that fit you. If you can’t have lentils and you hate red peppers, it can be added to your plan so that you only get recipes without those ingredients. You won’t have to think about substituting them on your own.

Nothing is worse than finding a recipe online and having to make changes to fit your needs.

3. When you get a custom plan, most times they come with a prep plan that tells you when to cook. Plans are great, but when the heck are you going to cook this stuff?

Prep plans offer hour-by-hour help to help you cook and prep food so you’re not rushing during the week on your busiest days.

4. Getting a custom meal plan will help you save money long-term. You likely won’t overbuy food and then let it rot in the back of the fridge (an expensive thing to do right now!).

Custom plans come with grocery lists so you know what to buy and how much to buy each week.

5. On that note, you can use up the food you have in the fridge with a custom plan. Your meal planner will ask you what you have in your fridge and cupboard so you can use up the food you have first.

You’ll also get help with any leftover food you might have at the end of the week so you’re not left with extra food and wasted money.

If you’re looking for meal plan help DM me to chat!
I’ve been working with @onehealthservices for so I’ve been working with @onehealthservices for some time now creating meal plans for their clients to not only meet the needs of their protocols, but also give them recipes that taste GOOD!

This is the thing about working with a naturopath or culinary nutrition expert: you don’t have to eat food that tastes like cardboard. Blech!

Healthy food should taste good!

We can work with you to create a custom meal plan just for you so that you actually enjoy eating every week.

And if you don’t like to cook, we can schedule an hour to cook a few recipes online together to help you get the hang of it.

I have a few openings this week so take advantage of them! 

All of our calls are online so you don’t have to travel (psst I won’t judge if you’re on the call in your cozies!).

You can either book a free 15 minute consult with me or jump in with an hour with me which includes a meal plan on our first call. The link to my schedule is in my bio @lealoucooks
This is an old apple tree right outside my back do This is an old apple tree right outside my back door. 

It’s seen better days. I think it might be close to 200 years old. It needs a really good trim. 

Today I’m so proud that it gave me the most beautiful apples! 

Never judge a tree… or person… by an age. You never know what you’re going to get! 🍏🍎❤️

#urbanfarmer #gardenlover #growfood #appleseason

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About Stephanie

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Hey! I'm Stephanie. I'm a Writer, Culinary Nutrition Expert and Cooking Instructor helping families cook nourishing meals. Read more about me {here}.

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