It’s that time again, a time when we push our ‘health consciousness’ a little to the left and enjoy and make merry. After all, it’s the festive season when everyone wants to catch up and your calendar is full of brunches and endless dinner invites (I try not to attend all of them). So, with all this happening left right, and center, how do you survive the festive season without putting on an extra kilo (or more), getting sick (and I’m not talking about hangovers), over-stressed, or just going crazy?

Well, to help you out, I had some nice Intercare Wellness Consultants, Dr. Nas Al-Jafari, and Dr. Mourad Habib step in and give us much-needed advice on how we can survive the festive season.

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Avoid the Weight Gain

The festive season can be challenging when it comes to weight loss and health. Overindulgence can easily lead us to put on some extra kilos. In addition, we tend to easily throw all of our good habits out of the window, because every meal becomes a feast and there are plenty of friends and family to toast! And we all know the extra kilos are quite hard to shed than they are to put on. So be mindful of these tips over this and every other Holiday Season:

Choose 1 or 2 things to indulge in instead of indulging in everything!
Which is your biggest meal today? Change your eating habits accordingly. In preparation for a large lunch, have a light or no breakfast.
Avoid snacking in the evening
Choose cheese over dessert, and nuts over crackers. The higher fat content will be more filling and will limit insulin surges associated with sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Follow some heavy days of‘ feasting’ with a day of ‘fasting’. A 24-hour ‘food fast’ will lower insulin levels for an extended period of time, giving the body time to rest and recuperate.

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Survive the Festive Season by Staying Hydrated

Make sure you are sensibly hydrated with water all the time. By the time you’re thirsty, you’re already dehydrated! Try to measure out your daily water allowance in bottles and take small sips throughout the day.

Stick to Your Exercise Routine

Sticking to your exercise routine can be challenging at this time of year. To survive the festive season, try something new like HIIT – it takes less time and gives optimum results. If that’s not possible, wake up a little early and go for a walk to work off those extra Christmas calories. Early morning and evening walks are ideal at this time of year.

Get Enough Sleep

Late nights are certainly a feature throughout the festive period. Try as best as you can to get into a good sleep routine. Adequate sleep allows your body enough time to complete its nocturnal healing regime. Daytime naps are highly recommended to top up on late nights (cheers to that). And don’t eat too close to bedtime, this disrupts essential sleep hormones.

Take Your Vitamins

To survive the festive season, increase your vitamin and supplement intake! Zinc/Magnesium supplements can help with sleep, have anti-oxidant properties, and will give you a much-needed energy boost. High doses of IV vitamin C, selenium, and Glutathione (which you can find at Intercare Wellness) are great antioxidants and immune boosters and B-complex vitamins will help you keep running like a well-oiled machine. And when you’ve had a glass too many, the folks over there have personalized IV vitamin drips to put you back together (and their doors will be open throughout the festivities).