Avoiding Holiday Health Struggles

Avoiding Holiday Health Struggles (ARA) - Whether it is out-of-town house guests, battling shoppers, airline delays or feeling the pinch around the waistline, sometimes holiday-related stress can take the joy out of the season. This year, make a point to take control of your stress by maintaining good health habits to kick start a better lifestyle as you enter the New Year.   Don’t burn out before you even get a chance to get started with those resolutions. Here are four ways to help you make it from now to 2009 without going insane: Make less room for bad food. If there’s one certainty, the holidays are all about eating tasty -- yet not always healthy -- food. Not partaking in such a scrumptious tradition would be crazy though, right? But if an expanding waistline is a genuine concern, consider drinking a few glasses of water before your meal to make less room for unhealthy food and hinder your desire to keep downing dressing and biscuits. If plain water isn’t your thing, try a tasty flavored water like Fruit2O. It has the flavor of real fruit, but at zero calories.  It’s a decision you can feel good about while keeping those extra holiday pounds at bay. Plus, staying hydrated during the dry, cold winter months is crucial for fighting off holiday-wrecking flu bugs. Find fitness in the snow.   When it’s cold and dark outside, it’s hard to get out and head to the gym. Instead, head to your front yard. Grab your family and friends and let your inner child out. Go sledding, build a snowman, throw snow balls or shovel the driveway. You can easily burn calories running through the snow and have fun at the same time. Not to mention, laughter is the easiest way to relive stress. Stay limber after the leaves fall. As the weather cools, muscles and joints tend to stiffen up. Don’t forget to keep stretching. Ask for a yoga mat and DVD for the holidays and try out a few positions to keep your body strong and limber. Just a few stretches a day can keep stiff sore muscles away. Try something new. It’s true what they say: variety really is the spice of life. To get motivated for a new healthy lifestyle, take a cooking class to learn about new ways to prepare healthy food. Or sign up for a salsa dancing class at your local community center. Write down your dreams and goals and team up with friends and family to take a risk and accomplish what it is you want. Having a clear focus will help you tackle life’s little challenges. Keep in mind this is a season of peace and love, not stressing about finding that sweater for your mother in the right size. So relax, and remember that New Year’s resolutions don’t start until after Dec. 31. Courtesy of ARAcontent