The healthiest thing for the holiday season

Staying healthy during the holiday season can seem like a chore.

However, it doesn’t have to be.

Staying healthy during the holiday season can be simplified if you choose to take a step back and reflect on what healthy means to you.

Here at Dunnebells, we like to take a well-rounded approach to our health. Yes, we’re a personal training company for women who specialize in weight training and developing a healthy relationship with both food and our bodies - but we’re also way more than that too.

We see health as an overarching thing in our lives which, let me just say it, involves more than just working out and eating vegetables.

Yep, I said it.

Working out and eating a well-balanced diet is important, and oh-so-helpful but it's not everything and we don’t ever want you to believe that it is.

This is why I want to talk about staying healthy during the holiday season, with the goal of it not seeming so daunting and instead seeming a little bit exciting.

I’ve been focusing a lot of my mental capacity lately on connection - whether that be friendship, relationship, or community - I truly believe that the power of connection (not to the internet, unfortunately, although that does carry its weight in benefits, too) is something we need to put a bit more of our energy in. 

Building and maintaining connections is unbelievably hard for some of us, and for others, it comes off more naturally - but somewhere in all of us I feel like there is a desire and need for more connection. True, honest, growth-oriented, laugh until your belly hurts and support one another through anything type of connection.

The thing about connection, that deeply relates to working out and nutrition, is that it takes time and effort. The deeper and more meaningful you want a connection, the more you may have to put in. This doesn’t mean that you need to text your friend ninety times this week to prove your love to them and to have them know that you care - but it may mean finding your way to make sure they know how much you care and support even when you don’t have the time to check in constantly (which, most of us don’t, let's be honest).

Quality over quantity.

The best friendships, in my opinion, are the ones that can go weeks or months without contact and still feel deeply connected. Friendships, however, that are more consistent and in touch have their benefits as well and I'm learning that merging the two is proving to be the MOST beneficial to my overall well-being.

For the friends I can go months without talking to without losing our connection, I’ve started trying to connect more. Not because I have to in order to maintain our connection, but because of great our connection feels, I want more of it in my life. I believe that the best way to make those whom I feel connected to feel empowered and important is by letting them know they are, for one, and by making an effort to care about what's going on in their life, for two.

Showing I care is important and it’s making a huge difference in those friendships. Treating people as I want to be treated, is key. Realizing that friendships as adults are a lot more work than friendships as a child has been both exhausting and life-changing. 

There is nothing more in my life that I want than really great connections.

First off with my wife and my immediate family - but then with everyone else I interact with as well. Connections are the fuel to my happiness, and guess what that means? They’re a massive part of my health.

Because happiness and health are connected.

Our mental health is just as important as our physical health and what I want to emphasize now, more than ever, is that this holiday season I want you to care about people a little bit more. Or, just show them how much you already do care.

You don't have to go out of your way and give your time or your money or your opinions to people if you’re not in a place to do so. What you can give, however, is connection.

To the people in your life who you’ve been missing, forgetting to respond to, or not reaching out to because you want them to reach out first? Reach out. Say hello. TELL THEM YOU CARE ABOUT THEM!

The holidays are hard, and you have the power to make them a bit easier on some of the most important people in your life if you just stop for a second and realize that you caring, you listening, and you wanting to know how someone is doing -  could be the greatest gift you ever give.

With that being said, also - please continue to work out a bit if you’ve got the capacity. Please go for walks, regardless of the weather. Please eat vegetables and drink more water than you think you need to.  Realize that your health is important, whether it be your emotional health, your mental health, your physical health or the health connected to the connections you have in your life. 

If I've learned anything it's that the more I give to the right kind of friends the more I receive what I require. Giving to the wrong kind of friends can drain you more - so take caution with your boundaries and your relationships with people. Choose people who you love and adore and make sure they know that you love and adore them.

Staying healthy during the holiday season can mean a lot of different things.

Some of those things are exhausting and completely daunting - like wanting to eat seconds at Christmas dinner but feeling obligated to only have one plate because your judgemental uncle is watching you like a hawk - that sounds exhausting and not something anyone should have to deal with (please note this is just an example of many of things we’ve heard over the years when working with women. If it's not an uncle, it's a parent or an inner voice that's been corrupted by diet culture. If there's something you need to talk to a professional about, please do. You can reach out any time and our certified coaches would love to hear your story and lead you in the right direction).

Some of them are less exhausting and less daunting - like reaching out to your brother who you haven't talked to in over a year and saying you’re hurt by the distance between you - not because of what happened - but because of what potentially will not happen if you both don’t come to terms with your differences and agree to move forward in a way that suits everyone.

Some of them are easier - sending a text to your best friend to tell her you’re proud of her for all the hard work she put in this year; sending a handwritten card in the mail to a client you worked with this year that changed your perspective; calling your grandfather to let him know that the years of love he dedicated to your family is something you hold very close to your heart and something you wish to carry on into your family in the future; and writing a love note to your wife to let her know that she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you and although you tell her all the time, having it in writing for her to read when you’re not feeling overly romantic is a nice touch.

Staying healthy this holiday season is important, and my advice to you is for you to decide what healthy means to you - and go from there.

I highly suggest reaching out to some of the most important people in your life - you never know who is one step away from really needing you right now.

Happy Holidays, from our family to yours.

Let us know if there's anything you need.

If you're needing nutrition tips for surviving the holidays, I’ll give you five that you can take away with you, but just know that I think you already know what you need to do - it’s just that doing it can seem overwhelming.

1. Eat what you want

2. Eat when you’re hungry

3. Eat protein that fills you up so you don’t try to combat your hunger with baked goods and alcoholic beverages. Baked goods and alcoholic beverages are great, but nutritionally they aren’t adding any value so, if you’re going to have them, also have something that is going to fill you up so you’re not trying to fill a void.

4. Eat smaller meals more often. During the holidays it's easy to FILL YOUR PLATE numerous times. If that feels good for you, go ahead. If it doesn’t, what I suggest doing is having handfuls of smaller meals so that you can enjoy all the flavours but never really have to feel like you’ve overdone it. 

5. Eat what you want and eat when you’re hungry. 

And if you want to feel your best - walk. A lot. Not just to your car and your office, but maybe around the block sometimes. Take a stroll through your community, regardless of how hot or cold it is, and really just admire the holidays from a different angle. Moving your body doesn’t have to be strenuous - but it can be enjoyable.

And there you have it, Nutrition tips for surviving the holidays as well as my ultimate tip for staying healthy during the holidays.

See you next week, friends!