“The holiday season is just around the corner! The hallmark of most American winter holidays are centered around big, indulgent meals; think Thanksgiving Dinners, Friendsgiving Dinners, Christmas Breakfasts, Christmas Dinners and New Year’s Eve parties. Research shows that Americans gain an average of one to three pounds from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, which can mean a weight gain of 10-30 pounds per decade. This may not seem like a number to be concerned about; however, this type of weight gain left unchecked can increase the risk of other serious conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension. So how do we balance our holiday eating without wrecking the holiday cheer?

The plate model is a guide from Harvard’s School of Public Health for creating healthy, balanced and satisfying plates of food. Here are the basics:

• Make most of your meal vegetables and fruits (1/2 of your plate)
• Go for whole grains (1/4 of your plate)
• Protein Power (1/4 of your plate)
• Healthy plant oils (in moderation)
• Drink water, coffee or tea (skip the sugary drinks)”

Island Health Care Courageously (https://islandhealth.org/healthy-eating-for-the-holidays/)

Here’s what experts recommend for de-stressing after a hectic holiday season:

Adults young and old know the holiday season presents an exhausting array of physical and emotional demands that, for many, can bring about lingering stress and anxiety.

To cope with stress during the holiday season, a large number of pet owners say they turn to their petfor comfort, but even this may not be sufficient for getting rid of persistent worries.

If you’re still dealing with holiday-related stress and anxiety into the new year, it’s important to take steps to de-stress. Reducing stress after the holidays can help ensure your mind and body are in the right state to stay healthy and cultivate good habits for self care.

Some tips on de-stressing:

• Meditate. Quieting the mind and relaxing the body is goal of meditation. Even as little as one minute of mediation can be beneficial, says Jordan.
• Put down your devices. The blue light emitted from digital devices like iPhones, iPads, and laptop can impair your “fight or flight” mechanisms, says Jordan. For a more restorative night of sleep, avoid using devices two hours before going to bed.
• Take walks. Sitting for long periods can lead to low energy, but getting up and walking around (even just for a few minutes) can help boost your energy and problem-solving levels.
• Get outside. Take 15 minutes during lunch to go outside and get some sun. Getting outside — even on cloudy winter days — has been shown to help combat seasonal depression.
• Get to bed early. Sleep deprivation can impact our body’s de-stressing ability, memory compiling, and hormone cycling functions. Try to get to bed early — no later than 10:00 PM. Even as little as ten minutes of extra sleep per day can be a boon to your health.

Remember that Christmas is your holiday too, those after giving the party or those after going to the party with getting ready for it and even those who had to work the holiday and want to relax now. Play some relaxing music, perhaps seasonal carols, and burn some scented candles, incense or aromatherapy oil. Take a relaxing hot bath to unwind.

Music always help anyone relax; turn off the hard rock or hard metal and this is why:

• Calm music can reduce stress and anxiety by soothing the mind and emotions. It can help a person enjoy a clearer perspective about life and its stresses and strains.
• If a distressed or disabled person listens to calm music, it promotes communication and coordination. This helps to improve the person’s quality of life.
• Research shows adult cancer patients enjoy a better quality of life as music therapy can reduce emotional distress due to their ailment.
• Elderly people can relieve their depression and also boost their self-esteem by listening to calming music.
• Stresses of life can have an adverse impact on your mood, making you snappish and irritable. You can improve your mood by listening to music!

Stress can take its toll on your skin:

Stress can take its toll on your skin and leave it feeling dry and irritated. Hydrating ingredients, including hyaluronic acid and squalane can help calm the situation. Cue , with ceramides, squalane and shea butter it’s the skincare equivalent of giving your complexion a hug. If your skin is feeling temperamental, we recommend swapping this in for your usual face cream for a few days.

Sleep and rest its your Christmas time too the day of and after!

ENJOY THE FUN OF YOUR CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY and THE WEEK!

Put your feet up, warm by the fire, drink, be merry and safe at the sametime!   ENJOY THE HOLIDAY AND THE SEASON!  Don’t forget to be extra loving to the pets of the families!!  Love you Teddy amd miss you Pumpkin and T.J.!!  ALL dogs are so COOL!  MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL including God’s creatures!

LOL

“As host/hostess, Yes, you may be in charge of the food, decorations and guest list, but you can’t fully control everything.

Dr. Potter suggests letting a bit of that control go by reaching out to ask for help if you need it. Something as simple as a couple of people bringing some side dishes or putting someone on dishwasher duty can take a level of stress off you. And remember, you can’t be everywhere at once and take care of everyone all the time. Once you get the main preparations done, let the party unfold and run on its own.

“It’s also important to remember that as the host, you’re responsible for things like providing the space and maybe the food. However, everybody at the party is responsible for themselves for making sure that they have a good time,” says Dr. Potter.  Dr. Potter is a psychologist,PsyD.”

Cleveland Clinic (https://health.clevelandclinic.org/holiday-anxiety)

1. Keep Valuables Secure 
2. Monitor Alcohol Consumption 
3. Protect Your Property 
4. Manage Guest List Effectively 
5. Have a Plan for Handling Disruptions 

A Few Tips for dueing your holiday parties this holiday season by CPI.

CPI (https://cpisecurity.com/blog/cpis-guide-to-hosting-holiday-parties-without-compromising-safety/)

“You might be alone on Christmas for different reasons, such as the death of a loved one, living far from relatives, or because of social isolation. If you have social anxiety disorder (SAD) and don’t have close relationships with family or friends, loneliness at Christmas could be particularly hard.

In general, there are three ways to cope with being alone at Christmas. First, you can address your mental state and how it is contributing to your loneliness. Second, you can find things to do at Christmas that make you feel less alone. And third, you can plan ahead so that you are not alone this time next year if you don’t want to be.

Christmas is the perfect day to take the time to appreciate what you have in life, be it good health, a place to live, or food on the table. Having gratitude will also help you to move past anxiety, as you learn to live in the present moment and be mindful of your surroundings. One way to practice gratitude is to write down three things you are grateful for on this day.

You can choose to feel lonely because you are alone, or you can choose to feel grateful for the positive things in your life. Reframing your negative thoughts is the basis of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an effective treatment for social anxiety disorder.

One way to cope with being alone on Christmas is to actually go out and do something productive. Rather than spend the day at home alone, find something that you can do that fits with your mindset and mental state for the day. “

Very Well mind (https://www.verywellmind.com/how-to-cope-when-you-are-alone-at-christmas-3024301)

“Brighten the holidays by making your health and safety a priority. Take steps to keep you and your loved ones safe and healthy—and ready to enjoy the holidays. Here are some tips:

1-Wash hands often to help prevent the spread of germs. It’s flu season. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water for at least 20 seconds.
2-Bundle up to stay dry and warm. Wear appropriate outdoor clothing: light, warm layers, gloves, hats, scarves, and waterproof boots.
3-Manage stress. Give yourself a break if you feel stressed out, overwhelmed, and out of control. Some of the best ways to manage stress are to find support, connect socially, and get plenty of sleep.
4-Don’t drink and drive or let others drink and drive. Whenever anyone drives drunk, they put everyone on the road in danger. Choose not to drink and drive and help others do the same.
5-Be smoke-free. Avoid smoking and secondhand smoke. Smokers have greater health risks because of their tobacco use, but nonsmokers also are at risk when exposed to tobacco smoke.
6-Fasten seat belts while driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Always buckle your children in the car using a child safety seat, booster seat, or seat belt according to their height, weight, and age. Buckle up every time, no matter how short the trip and encourage passengers to do the same.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/healthequity/features/holidayseason/index.html)

‘‘Tis the season for family, festivity, and food—lots of food. Temptations are everywhere, and parties and travel disrupt daily routines. What’s more, it all goes on for weeks.

You may not be able to control what food you’re served, and you’re going to see other people eating tempting treats. Meet the challenges armed with a plan:

-Eat close to your usual times to keep your blood sugar steady. If your meal is served later than normal, eat a small snack at your usual mealtime and eat a little less when dinner is served.
– Invited to a party? Offer to bring a healthy dish along.
-If you have a sweet treat, cut back on other carbs (like potatoes and bread) during the meal.
-Don’t skip meals to save up for a feast. It will be harder to manage your blood sugar, and you’ll be really hungry and more likely to overeat.
-If you slip up, get back to healthy eating with your next meal.”

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – CDC
(https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/library/features/holidays-healthy-eating.html)

“Take your veggies and dip to the next level with this colorful crudité wreath. This vegetable appetizer is a stunner with white cauliflower, red tomatoes and green broccoli, green beans, snap peas, kale and Brussels sprouts. It’s also a delicious way to start your celebration with veggies (which there are rarely enough of at parties and holidays). The homemade ranch dip, which uses nonfat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream, takes just a few minutes to make, or you can use a healthy store-bought dip.”

EatingWell.com (https://www.eatingwell.com/christmas-recipes-to-make-forever-8411600)