Health for the Holidays

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There is something truly wonderful about the holiday season. Fall harvest time melds into the celebration of abundance at Thanksgiving, and that opens the door wide for Christmas gatherings and remembrances of God come to earth. With all the celebrating and blessings it can be difficult to maintain the healthy eating side of our power pantry. I don't think this is a time to put our wellness goals on the shelf with the intent of picking them up in the new year. Instead, it's a great time to keep it simple and put intentional effort into our power pantry lifestyle.

To stay focused it's good to have a guide for some reminders and boundaries. I found a great one this past week from Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of Eat to Live and several other 'must read' books on nutritious eating. Dr. Fuhrman describes himself as a 'nutritarian', not a vegetarian or omnivore or flexitarian, but someone focused on the nutrient density of the foods he chooses to eat. With that in mind, Dr. Fuhrman offers a useful list of things we can eat daily over the holidays to stay grounded in nutrient dense and healthful foods.

Sure there will be turkey and stuffing, and cakes and pies, and maybe even sweet potato casserole with mini marshmallows on top. But indulging a little in those holiday treats and traditional dishes doesn't need to totally derail us. Check out this article from Dr. Fuhrman, which includes the nutritartian list, and think of how you can incorporate some of his guidance in your holiday food choices: The nutritarian diet and checklist

A wellness lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle. If you're becoming more and more of a health-motivated person, keep at it, and incorporate some good meal planning and thinking into your holiday meals. That way you won't need to make a big reset come January, to regain healthy ground you've lost. Instead, you can just keep on track with wellness choices as part of everyday life. 

By the Way

To give an idea of how quickly we can lose ground with holiday eating, check out this post from Coach Up (I saw this referenced in the Sunday paper today...)
"Get Active on Thanksgiving"

The average American Thanksgiving meal encompasses 4,500 calories - yeow. It would take me almost 8 hours of running, or 15 hours of cycling to overcome all those calories.