A wonderful time, the holidays. But after a period of many dinners, glasses of wine and extra desserts, you may feel bloated, tired and lifeless. Time to recover, then! And eating healthy after the holidays will be a breeze with these tips.
1. Appeal to your self-control
Realize that after consuming lots of sugars and processed foods, your body craves for more. This has to do with the reward system in your brain and this makes it extra challenging to leave the leftover Christmas wreaths behind.
From the very moment sugar touches our tongue, signals are sent to the brain. There, in addition to the taste center, the reward system is activated. After all, sugars were a rare commodity in prehistoric times, and our brain has not yet evolved to the point where it realizes that sugars today are more of a threat than a reward. So our brain produces the reward hormone dopamine, which makes you happy and euphoric. This is a nice reaction, so it makes sense that you then crave more sugars and that nice feeling again! But this is how you end up in a vicious cycle that is something akin to an addiction....
You are now aware that this is how your brain and hormones work, but keep your goal and good health in mind and appeal to your self-control. Most importantly, consciously try to change your habits. After all, your brain would rather be lazy than tired and prefers to choose the easiest path. So when you make healthy eating a habit, your brain automatically falls back on it. This takes time and energy, but is well worth it!
2. Stabilize your blood sugar levels.
Sugars cause a spike in your blood sugar levels, only to drop them again moments later. So it is good to stabilize your blood sugar levels. Eating plenty of protein, good fats, varied vegetables and good amounts of fiber helps with this!
As additional support for your blood sugar levels, we have developed the supplement Bloog sugar support. This supplement contains chromium, which helps maintain healthy blood sugar levels.
3. Plan your meals.
The days between Christmas and New Year's are often a bit messy and there is no tight planning. It can be extra nice to plan your meals and prepare them ahead of time. Breakfasts like oatmeal and chia pudding can be made in advance, as can an omelet with leftover veggies from the Christmas gourmet!
4. Drink plenty of water.
Not only is healthy eating after the holidays important, so is healthy drinking. Whether you drank a lot or little alcohol over the past few days, drink extra lots of water and herbal teas over the next few days. Staying well hydrated is always important, but now that you may want to get rid of some extra toxins, it's extra important!
Extra tip: start the day with a glass of lukewarm water with lemon juice (or apple cider vinegar) squeezed into it. This will stimulate the production of gastric acid, making digestion easier. Drink this preferably with a straw for your tooth enamel.
5. Exercise, preferably sober and outdoors!
Exercise is always nice and important, but after days of lots of food and little exercise, it is extra essential. It's better to burn the sugars from the Christmas cake than to store them in your body, and by putting your muscles to work you are giving your body a helping hand! When you exercise sober, your body first uses the previous evening's supply as energy!
6. Support your energy balance with supplements
Do you feel sluggish, lifeless and tired? Then support your energy levels with the right nutrients. You can consider the following supplements:
- Iron Bisglycinate supports energy levels
- Magnesium contributes to extra energy in fatigue
- Vitamin B12 helps release energy from food
- Vitamin C helps reduce fatigue and tiredness
