‘Tis the season to be jolly… and bloated and hungover, tra lalalala lala lalaa.
The party fun of the festive season is one of the best things about the dark and dreary winter, but often we can end the year feeling awful and in desperate need of a ‘detox.’
It doesn’t have to be that way. It is possible to enjoy all the merriment and still feel like yourself in the New Year. Here are some tips to help show you how:
1. Be happy! Identify what you actually do and don’t enjoy. If you love feasting on rich foods and thinking ‘screw it’ to your usual healthy choices, then indulge away. But if you find yourself going too far and end up feeling sick, guilty, lethargic and physically under par afterwards, then respect yourself enough to not throw your usual eating habits completely out the window. If drinking alcohol is part of the fun for you, then enjoy getting tipsy, but if you truly hate the hangovers and brain fog then be kind enough to yourself to make sure you feel ok the next day. There’s no point in indulging to excess in absolutely everything just because everyone else is and because you feel you ‘should.’ Fun isn’t feeling physically rubbish; fun is your mood, company and joyful mindset.
2. Don’t skip meals. If you know you’ll be indulging in the evening, don’t think skipping daytime meals will compensate. It will mess up your blood sugar levels and make you even more likely to crave foods high in unhealthy fats and sugar. Don’t go to parties hungry!
3. Max nutrition! Following on from that, make sure your meal choices are nutritious so that you can ‘let go’ a bit when you’re not in control of the food and drink available. Eat plenty of greens, healthy fats like avocados and enough protein to keep you satisfied at every meal.
4. Maintain your supplement regime. It’s easy to ditch all of your daily healthy habits when you’re in the midst of a month of excess, but keeping up with your daily vitamins will help your body get back to a balanced state quicker. That Vitamin Buddy box dropping through your letterbox could be the most welcome sight on the day of an almighty hangover!
5. Drink plenty of water at parties and try not to mix drinks. Preferably stick to one type of drink and have a glass of water between each one.
Remember, the most important thing is to have fun. This isn’t the time for deprivation and excessive control; nor is it the time for doing things you don’t want to due to pressure. Think about what makes you happy and simply do that. Make sure that, come Christmas, you’re cringing more about serenading your boss from on top of the bar than you are about what you shoved down your throat!