Tips to help you enjoy a healthy holiday season

PRIME – December 2013 By Victor Acquista, MD Special to PRIME As we head into this holiday season, it seems timely to make some suggestions about how to enjoy them without compromising your health. In truth, these tips apply all year long, but most especially during the holidays. Food and drink One of the ways we share the joy of the holidays is to gather together to celebrate, often with food and drink as major parts of the celebration. Too much good food this time of year often leads to a gym membership in January to deal with the extra weight, or a New Year's resolution to take off those extra pounds. But it doesn't have to be that way. There is no reason not to enjoy that good food, it's just a matter of not enjoying too much too frequently. Benjamin Franklin said, "All things in moderation." I like to remind patients that a long life of self-denial is no better than a short life of self-indulgence. The key here is not to be so austere and ascetic as to deny yourself all those goodies, while not overindulging in some binge of gluttony. Office parties, meals with friends and relatives, festive traditional celebrations all should be partaken of, but with a spirit of moderation. Indulge, but don't overindulge. The best way to approach this is with a plan and a commitment to stick with the plan. Good planning strategies might be only a half portion of dessert or no seconds on the main course. With a plan and commitment you can enjoy all that good food yet be disciplined in a way that your health does not suffer. Special words here to diabetics – monitor your blood sugar more frequently. The change in diet and routine can throw your metabolism off. As for drink, keep a close eye on your alcohol consumption as well as watch those you love. An intoxicated person can ruin a party, a celebration, and is a hazard to themselves and others. You don't want to be that person. Have a designated driver. A driving while intoxicated arrest (DWI) is a holiday remembrance you would rather forget. Worse, a traffic accident or fatality is nothing to celebrate. If you cannot be moderate and responsible in your alcohol intake, best plan is to abstain. Don't fool yourself into believing you cannot enjoy the holidays without drinking. The traditional toast, Salud! translates as "To your health!" – think about it. Guilt and grief Well, let's just say things did not go according to plan and you overindulged a bit. You can feel guilty and that changes nothing about what happened. Get over the guilt and recommit to health. As I have stated in a previous column on forgiveness, it's important to learn how to forgive ourselves when we have let ourselves down. Mopey and gloomy and down on yourself is not a good way to spread holiday cheer. Actually, I find that many people use the holidays as a time of critical self-reflection. As a result, they might pass judgment on themselves especially as regards all the "could haves" and "should haves" during the past year. I think it's great to do some looking in the mirror and self-reflect, but remember, the past year is gone. If you fell short of the mark, don't burden yourself with guilt, that's a holiday present you can do without. Instead, commit yourself to doing better. Recognize that this time of year is often accompanied by feelings of grief as we remember family and loved ones who have passed or as we yearn for holiday celebrations of old when our lives somehow felt simpler and happier. I recommend that you understand these feelings are common. Those happy memories of people and events are precisely part of what you are celebrating. Instead of feeling grief, focus on gratitude and all that you truly have to be thankful for. Stress All the common life stressors: time management, finances, relationships, and work all converge into some perfect storm during the holiday season. Most of us have extra commitments during the holidays such as parties, activities for our children, traveling, shopping, decorating, preparing, etc., etc. It is no wonder that people often breathe a sigh of relief once the holidays are over. Let's face it, 'tis the season of stress. Again, planning is a great way to reduce the stress beforehand. Unfortunately, most of us have not done our holiday shopping all year long and now feel pressed for time and money to get it all done under a deadline. But you can plan today to get done what you reasonably can get done today. Try not to over schedule or over commit yourself. You will enjoy your holidays more, and you will enjoy better health if you are realistic about what you can and cannot do. Through all the hustle and bustle and extra tasks, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and even a bit down in the dumps. That's a good time to take a break and try to relax. Go for a walk, watch a funny movie, take a long hot soak. In fact, building some of these little mini oases into the structure of your week is a good approach to not getting overwhelmed during the holiday season. All the stress management techniques I mentioned in the column on stress management are good strategies to employ during this particularly stressful time of year. These suggestions can help you enjoy the holidays a bit more and enable you to enjoy better health. They are my little holiday gift to you. Happy and Healthy Holidays! – Victor Victor Acquista MD is author of "Pathways To Health: An Integral Guidebook" and a partner in the Collaborative for Community Health in Palmer. For more information on Acquista's book, visit http://pathstohealth.info/.