The holidays are here and with them comes the heaping helpings of the year’s most indulgent foods. But avoiding the holiday food hangover doesn’t have to be difficult! You may be surprised at how these small decisions can keep you from overdoing it.

Don’t Save Your Calories

Some like to skip breakfast, cut back on lunch, or even restrict the foods they eat in the days leading up to the festivities in an attempt to save calories. But, you know how we say not to go to the grocery store on an empty stomach? The same applies to holiday parties & Christmas dinner!

This not only puts you in a mindset of “might as well go all-in”, it also puts your body in a position where its only focus is refueling on energy-dense foods! Remember, your body doesn’t know the difference between you cutting back on calories and famine.

Instead of going “all-in” and ending up with a holiday food hangover, go about your day like you normally would & stick to your healthy habits. If your celebration is at an odd time of day, drink a Whey Protein Shake so that, when mealtime does roll around, you’re more able to make choices that make both your body & your brain feel good!

Eat What You Love – Mindfully

I am not about restriction or cutting out the foods that you love! Especially around the holidays, there are so many foods and even more reasons we choose to eat them. Sometimes it’s because they taste good, other times it’s because it feels good for sentimental or emotional reasons! Both are totally valid reasons to indulge.

So, when faced with a spread of tantalizing goods, how do you navigate it without ending up on the couch for 3 hours?

• Decide what you really want, and eliminate what you can have other times during the year.
• If you want 3-4 desserts, be mindful of how full you are and choose your serving size accordingly.
• Opt for desserts that align a little closer to your goals, like choosing pumpkin pie over the triple-layered chocolate cake
• Take TLS Thermochrome: With TLS Thermochrome’s unique thermogenic blend, it can help the body burn through fat and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. It may also help suppress appetite and stave off cravings.
• Help your body digest all of that “good” food with Digestive Enzymes: This digestive health promoting supplement features a formula of digestive enzymes and probiotics, including DigeZyme®† – a blend of amylase, protease, cellulase, lactase and lipase – and Lactospore®†(Bacillus coagulans). Digestive enzymes help your body break down food to utilize the complete spectrum of nutrients in the food you eat, resulting in a more complete digestive process and better nutritional absorption. The addition of probiotics helps promote a healthy intestinal tract environment. Besides supporting a healthy digestive tract and absorption of nutrients, Isotonix Digestive Enzymes with Probiotics helps maintain epithelial structure and barrier function and supports healthy skin, helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels, supports healthy immune functions, and may help ease occasional stomach upset.*

The key to avoiding the holiday hangover here is to be mindful of what sounds good to you physically & emotionally. Sometimes grandma’s Holiday cookies brings back too many memories to pass it up, and that’s fine!  Just be sure you’re not ignoring your fullness cues or eating so much sugar that your stomach feels upset.

Avoid an Alcohol Hangover

• Avoid Drinks High in Congeners: Drinks high in congeners include whiskey, cognac and tequila. Bourbon whiskey is exceptionally high in congeners. Colorless drinks — like vodka, gin and rum — have low levels of congeners. In fact, vodka contains almost no congeners at all.

• Drink plenty of water: A good rule is to drink a glass of water — or another non-alcoholic beverage — between drinks and to have at least one big glass of water before going to sleep.
  
• Eat a hearty breakfast: Hangovers are sometimes associated with low levels of blood sugar, a condition known as hypoglycemia
  
• Take your supplements: Take TLS CORE Fat & Carb Inhibitor PRIOR to drinking alcohol. It inhibits the amount of starchy carbohydrates being absorbed by the body. These carbohydrates can elevate blood sugar levels, increasing insulin. Take Isotonix Activated B. Because alcohol is a diuretic, you lose a lot of vitamins and nutrients during a night on the town. The most important of which are vitamins B and C. Those people that use Isotonix Activated B Complex, to combat hangovers swear by their effectiveness.

Take It Outside

The fun, we mean! Football, tag, kickball, or even a family walk are great ways to stay active during the holidays. More importantly, it’s a great way to take the focus off of the food & where it belongs: connecting with the people you love.

Important: This exercise, no matter what you choose, is not a punishment for what you ate. Move your body in a way that feels good & enjoy the benefits that come with that movement such as improved digestion, the endorphin rush, and a great energy boost! I happen to love snow shoeing 😉

It doesn’t have to be complicated! Just make sure you’re sticking to healthy habits without putting yourself in a lose-lose situation. Don’t restrict your calories or go in with a “might as well go all-in” attitude. Make the holidays enjoyable for you, for your stomach, and for your goals!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.