The holiday season is like one big festival of food, parties and good cheer. It’s my favorite time of year! Of course, to truly enjoy the season and feel your best, try to enjoy a healthy mix of indulgences with equal amounts of exercise, relaxation, hydration and adequate sleep. These really are the key ingredients to adding some balance to this festive time of year.
Russ and I enjoy a few extra runs during this time of year when we are fortunate to have a few extra days off from work. Extra time, for us, translates into enjoying a nice jog together.
To kick off Thanksgiving, we started our day running in a local road race to help support the high school athletic program. My hometown of Medway, Massachusetts hosted their first Turkey Trot. I love the idea of getting in a run before the feasting begins. A perfect example of balancing exercise with feasting.
And on Thanksgiving, it’s all about turkey,right? Matt Dwyer shows serious turkey spirit at this years Turkey trot!
Or of course, the turkey hats are key elements to a successful turkey trot, too! How fun!!
What expected to be a 100-200 participant race actually had nearly 600 registered runners! What a healthy way for everyone to start their Thanksgiving festivities! For Russ and I, running with this group was a great start to the day!!
With a 7:45 AM race start, it was nice to see all the spirit and energy on this chilly morning. And the scenic farm country made the run even sweeter.
To support the runners, I asked a few food companies to provide their healthy products for the post run fare. And I am grateful to say, FOOD SHOULD TASTE GOOD, Hint water and Kind Snacks were very generous and stepped up to the plate for all of us! Thank YOU!
Food Should Taste Good sweet potato chips were a big hit! These are so yummy and sweet potatoes are such a fab source of Vitamin A.
The Kind products are great too-these gluten free bars are made with real food. Kind bars are a great treat on the go. OH…yes, very nice tasting indeed. YUM!
At the Turkey trot, the Kind Bars were a BIG hit!
Hint water is a novel idea. Water with a splash of flavor but with NO artificial sugars.
YEAH! This water tastes like fresh spring water at first, but then hits you with a nice flavor boost. I am digging the blackberry. A great post workout hydration source. Real water. Yay!
Hint water supplied the runners with great hydration in many flavors after the turkey trot!
Knowing I would be having a rich lavish Thanksgiving meal, it was nice to balance it out with a 3 mile run with many happy, friendly faces. You don’t have to run a road race to add balance to your holiday season, but if your like to run, maybe you want to add a Jingle Run to your agenda. If not a run, take a stroll with a friend, snow show with your family, plan a sledding trip with neighbors or simply hit the gym. But be sure you add a little extra activity to your calendar this month to help balance out the few extra indulgences this holiday season!
Here’s a few tips to keep the body fit and the mind Zen-ful during the holiday season.
- Schedule a date with your pillow. Try to get in enough zzz’s so you can keep up with the extra holiday socializing and cheer. Adequate sleep helps keep your appetite in check.
- Keep your tank on full. Be sure to drink plenty of water to keep skin and body hydrated through out the winter. Perhaps a decaf tea mid-afternoon or a seltzer or Hint water with lunch?
- Balance exercise with holiday treats.
- Squeeze in a massage or a yoga class to help you take it down a notch.
- Perhaps skip-out of some of your holiday invites. Try not to over-book yourself.
- Choose treats wisely, avoid impulsive snacking, and save extra calories for special desserts that “make the holiday special” rather than eating up treats you can get anytime of year.
- Don’t let yourself get over hungry shopping at the mall. Perhaps bring a Kind bar or some Food Should Taste Good sweet potato chips to snack on should you get hungry while shopping. Avoid mall fast-food!
- To keep your spirits bright, surround yourself with the cheery not the weary!
Kristi
Loved this post, Kate! Some great tips that we can all put to use this holiday season. The sweet potato chips look delicious! Are they fodmap friendly? (is evaporated cane juice ok?)
katescarlata
Sweet potato is a source of mannitol, a sugar alcohol so should be limited to 1/2 cup serving. I would imagine since sweet potato is not the main ingredient that a serving of the Food should taste good, Sweet potato chips would be fine. Evap. can juice is another name for sucrose (table sugar) which may be processed slightly different. You don’t want to go overboard with sugary foods in general, but a portion size of something made with Evap cane juice should be fine–at least from what we know at this point. Still more research to be done. 🙂
Kristi
Thank you! Lots to learn still 🙂