Have A Healthy Christmas!
Posted by Ching Ya | Posted in Guest Posts, It's All About Christmas |
4
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Today, I’m delighted to present the very first Guest Post for my blog, by Evan Hadkins. Evan writes a blog (www.wellbeingandhealth.net), which covers all aspects of health (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and social). He also has a free email course on health and a free weekly newsletter that you can sign up for on his blog.
I’ve always find his posts inspiring. Apart from getting some tips about how to live a healthy lifestyle, there are topics covered about how to maintain good relationships, self improvements, and one of my favourite topics, living authentically. Now he even added ecology in his discussions as well. Without much further ado, let’s have Evan give us some pointers on how to:
Have a Healthy Christmas
Christmas may be the time of year where our ideals and the reality clash most strongly. How often is Christmas really joyful? Come Boxing Day we are often glad that Christmas is over for another year. I think it can be different – here are some ideas for a healthy Christmas (healthy for body, soul and spirit).
Eating Healthy at Christmas
In the book Mindless Eating (from the website: www.mindlesseating.org), Brian Wansink goes into great details about how the surroundings we eat in influencing how much we eat. (And if you are like me, you are very likely to overeat at Christmas.) To avoid over-eating here are two simple things we can do:
1. Use a smaller plate. If it is a buffet use a bread and butter plate and put a couple of things on it at a time, then go back to the buffet again. (You will usually end up eating less.)
2. Wait until someone else has started eating. We can also pause during our eating. Our bodies take a while to know we are full. Take a break of twenty minutes or so, you will then know whether you feel full or not. You are also less likely to end up with indigestion.
Exercise on Christmas Day?
In my family anyway Christmas is more about sitting around and eating than doing any exercise. Getting in some exercise may be challenging. I have one idea to help it happen.
Take the family and food somewhere other than home. If you live in the Southern Hemisphere (I live in Australia), where it’s summer, this is easier to do. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere then it may mean moving to an indoor venue somewhere. Have part of Christmas day somewhere that it is easy to do things that the people like doing. A park with walking trails or an indoor venue with something like a skating rink perhaps.
A Happy Christmas
There are lots of ‘shoulds’ around Christmas. These are often unconscious and they can often lead to us doing things that don’t make us happy (or as happy as we could be).
My suggestion is to sit down and think. Maybe you could start with the following question: how shall I do Christmas so that everyone will be as happy as possible?
Just start by imagining: don’t worry about limitations, imagine you could have whatever you wanted. This is to free up your thoughts and get you out of thinking about Christmas in your usual way. Then you can start thinking realistically, about any changes you might want to make to the way you usually do Christmas.
You might change the kind of food eaten. How presents are given (what difference would it make if no presents were given?). The order things are done in. Altering the seating or the venue. The rituals for meeting and greeting and the topics talked about. There are lots of things to consider when thinking about how to make Christmas a happy time for everyone.
The Spirit of Christmas
Even those who are not identified as Christian will often endorse the spirit of giving at Christmas. I’m not criticising the giving of presents, but I do think that the crass commercialism can get in the way of the Christmas spirit.
Here are some ideas for getting away from the commercialism and more in tune with the spirit of giving at Christmas:
- Buy cards from charities, where the price of the card supports the charity.
- Buy presents from charities and organisations that use the funds to support charity and social justice activities.
- If it won’t offend them, instead of giving a present make a donation to the charity in another person’s name, let them know in a card.
- With close friends or family that you get on with, consider what it would mean to give of yourself to the others. It may mean doing something for them or helping them do something.
- Try telling those you are close to what kind of gift they are to you, or what gift they bring in to your life.
These are just a few thoughts about the spirit of Christmas, I’m sure you could think of many more. Please feel free to contribute more ideas for being in tune with the Christmas spirit, or how to have a happy and health Christmas, in the comments.
Wishing you a joyous, happy and healthy Christmas!
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
It’s funny, sometimes the gifts that we intend to convey our caring for someone… don’t work out that way. If one person can afford to give more than the other, it can be particularly difficult. Where’s the spirit of the season in spreading guilt and spending money?! DJ and I have worked out a way around this. All through the year, whenever each of us finds something interesting or beautiful or otherwise “perfect” for the other — or, on the contrary, something so horrible that it’s almost a gift *not* to give it — we email each other a link. That’s all. No money is spent, no gifts change hands. But the thought is there, and we share the pleasure of the *intention* of the gift. A bit nuts, maybe, but it means the sky’s the limit for what we can *give* each other — and the real gift is the sharing of this game.
That’s right. I’ve just came across a survey saying that most of the people are not gettng what they ‘want’ for Christmas. Seems like presents-giving are gradually turning into fulfilling somebody’s needs, and a headache for the giver for fear their present would not meet the ‘standard’ of another. Since when it’s about ‘GETTING WHAT I WANT’? It’s a season of giving, to show appreciation, and most of all, the spreading of love and joy that we’ve been blessed from above. As long it’s from the heart, a simple gift or even a link, is good enough to put a smile on someone’s face. Thanks Jen, it’s a good comment for us to ponder. =)
Hmmm… great post with useful tips. Let’s have a healthy Christmas
That’s right, Yan. I learnt alot from Evan’s post as well. =) You too did a fantastic job on the Christmas Spending tips! I really could use some of that.