| Why not start the New Year (and the new decade!) the way you intend to live the rest of the year – in top form! Once we get over 50 it takes longer to recover from overindulgence and less time for calories to reach your hips! Hereโs how you can make the most of your festive season and avoid having to spend January recovering.ย ย Do as many of the following as possible:
- Drink 2 litres of water daily.ย ย Drink a glass of water ยฝ hr prior to eating lunch or dinner.ย ย This ensures that you stay hydrated and donโt overindulge in alcohol and excess calories
- Exercise 30 mins daily:ย ย rotate between Pilates, Walking/Swimming/Cycling and Resistance Training. ย Get family and friends out for a brisk country walk after Christmas Lunch. ย This will help to burn some of those extra calories and you’ll sleep better.
- Sitting is the new smoking!ย ย Try not to spend more than one hour sitting down continuously – get up and walk around for 3 minutes every 30 minutes.ย ย This will keep your metabolism active and help prevent back ache.
- Visiting relatives with a soft, non-supportive sofa or chairs?ย ย If youโre going to be there for a while watching TV or playing games – sit on the floor with your back supported to avoid your hamstrings and hip flexors tightening up and pulling on your lower back.
- Eat Vegetarian/Vegan as much as possible.ย ย Good for you. Good for the planet!ย ย There is more and more research on how avoiding meat and dairy reduces your risk of disease and improves your daily performance levels.
- Take a break from social media.ย ย Avoid using or checking your phone whilst enjoying other peopleโs company.ย ย Better for relationships, better for your brain health. Constantly checking your phone causes mental overload which decreases your ability to stay focused and to live mindfully.
- Know an elderly person spending Christmas alone?ย ย Package up a portion of your Christmas lunch and send it to them or better still invite them to join you.
- Limit alcohol!ย ย Avoid sipping that Baileys into the early hours of the next morning! Have a bottle of diluted fruit juice at hand to feed your sugar cravings after excessive wine and/or liqueur consumption.
- Stay off the sweets and chocolate.ย ย There are enough goodies to eat over Christmas without succumbing to sugar addiction.ย ย They are addictive, will pile on the calories and make you feel lethargic.
- Relatives get on your nerves? Pause and think before you react to things they say which doesnโt sit well with you.
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