Everyone knows the time between holidays and New Year can be a stressful time of year. Whether it be the aftermath of gift shopping or preparing the decorations, often times people fall into a funk about their schedules during this hectic time of year. It’s easy to fall of normal eating patterns with festive food and feel discouraged about falling out of regular routines. Here are some tips to navigate the food scene this holiday seasons, the PranaSpirit way.

• Get Those Vegetables – Here at PranaSpirit, we believe in the nourish your body, mind, and soul with the right foods to achieve your goals, feel your best, and cultivate healthy habits for life. During the holiday season, we are surrounded by dishes they are delicious but are often not ideal for our everyday eating habits. Aim towards eating more vegetables with main courses either in salads, smoothies, or separate side dishes. That way you are able to incorporate nutrient-dense food while enjoying your holiday seasons.
• Small Portions – Here at our practice, we promote mindfulness with nourishment. Understanding proper portion sizes can shape your appetite for a healthy lifestyle. Often times, larger the portion size presented to you, the more likely you eat that whole portion regardless if you would have been satiated with a smaller amount. To prevent overheating, using smaller plates instead of a larger one. This can help prevent lethargy and give you the time to reflect on your satiety and hunger.
• Don’t Skip Meals – At PranaSpirit Nutrition & Wellness, we believe in a self-powered approach to care and healthy living. Skipping meals can do more damage than good due to its effects on slowing down metabolism, brain fog, drop in blood sugar, lowering energy, and depriving of essential nutrients. Skipping meals can lead to tendencies overeating. If you really want to save your appetite before a delicious meal, try snacking on nuts, fruit, or vegetables to hold you over without spoiling your excitement.
• Eat When You’re Hungry – We believe in reflection and mindfulness with all practices in life. One of the most rudimentary signals your body sends is hunger. When the stomach “growls”, it allows us to be aware that it is time to refuel and eat. Ghrelin (known as the hunger hormone) is produced in the pancreas and stomach lining and works to stimulate the appetite. It is important to understand the timing of your appetite in order to optimize nutrition and energy intake without overeating. We recommend avoiding long periods between meals in order to minimize overeating. While eating, take a moment to put down the utensils, reflect on how you feel and assess your hunger scale. Use your hunger scale to before, midway and at the end of your meal to reflect on your satiety level.
• Try Essential oils – At our practice, we believe in the use of essential oils to supplement a healthy lifestyle and balance. Essential oils are proven to positively contribute to health as well as food flavoring and aroma. There are a variety of essential oils that are used for different purposes such as aromatic, topical, and internal use. Essential oils that are intended for Internal use (ingestion) is a very safe and effective method of application because of the efficient corporal processes within us. Some ways to incorporate them are in recipes (cooking or baking) to replace herbs and spices. Remember, oils can be very potent in flavor so start off with small dosages.
• Incorporate Physical Activity – At PranaSpirit, we understand and incorporate exercise into numerous therapies for our clientele. Exercise has numerous health benefits such as combating insulin resistance, controlling hunger, releases endorphins, burning fat and supporting bone health. Even though the holiday season is a busy time, take the time to book your favorite yoga class with us, run to the gym, or do a quick home workout. It allows us a moment to engage our bodies and give our minds rest while preparing you for the holiday festivities.
• Prepare Your Own Meals – One of our core beliefs is holistic, individualized, and self-empowered approach to attaining optimal health and vitality. Cooking is one of the best ways to obtain control over your health and engages you to the beautiful ritual of meal times. By choosing ingredients, preparing and cooking for nutrient preservation, cooking at home enables you to have complete control over what goes into your body and can give you peace of mind of preparation.
• Drink Water – We believe in the power of nutrition for overall health and well being. Water is one of the most important aspects of health. On a daily basis, your body uses water in all cells, organs, and tissues to regulate its temperature and maintain other bodily functions. Your body loses water through numerous tasks such as breathing, sweating, and digestion, it’s really important to rehydrate by drinking fluids and eating foods that contain water. Water contributes to health benefits such as energy, brain function, and skin health. When enjoying your holidays, make sure to get enough water in. A great way to help make that happen is using your own sustainable water bottle in order to hold yourself accountable (and help save the planet too!). To add some flavor add 1-2 drops of lemon essential oil or fresh fruit for a refreshing taste!
• When thinking of detox and relaxation, one of the most undermined tools is just taking a breath. Deep breathing, fire-breathing and mindful breathing promote relaxation by oxidizing cells, detoxifying tissues, and induce relaxation of muscles promoting muscular relaxation. So during the holiday rush, stop and take a breath.

At PranaSpirit, we believe in the importance of all aspects of life balance. The holidays are a time to recenter and focus on the new year. Be gentle with yourself and reflect on your difficulties in order to create a plan to over them.

Take the time to rest, recuperate, and enjoy your loved ones.