The Proven Way to Reset Your Body Post-Holiday
The holiday season is finally here, which means it’s time to enjoy some of those tasty foods you’ve been waiting all year for. Holiday favorites like pumpkin pie, Christmas cookies, and boozy eggnog just feel right at this time of year.
However, they may not leave your body feeling right, especially after multiple Thanksgiving celebrations and holiday parties throughout November and December. Though holiday food is tasty and a great way to bond with friends and family, these dishes are typically packed with salt, sugar, and fat.
Keep in mind that there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a less-than-healthy treat every once in a while. If you want to savor a slice of pecan pie at a family gathering or have a few too many glasses of wine when you’re celebrating with friends, have at it! We, at Clean Juice, are definitely not stopping you.
Issues only arise when you’re partaking in unhealthy foods and drinks on a regular basis, which is often what happens during the holiday season. Womp wah!
If you relate to this statement, don’t worry—you’re not alone. It’s normal to go a little off the rails during the holiday season with your healthy habits.
Not only are unhealthy foods around constantly, but you might also be traveling or hosting family, which can throw you off your routine in a totally different way. This is why figuring out how to reset your body and get back to healthy living after the holiday season is so important and highly encouraged.
Table of contents:
- Why a Reset Cleanse Is Important
- How to Reset Your Body After the Holiday Season
- Boost Your Health Deliciously With Clean Juice
Why a Reset Cleanse Is Important
You may be wondering, what’s the point of learning how to reset your body after the holiday season? Won’t things go back to normal on their own? The fact is, you won’t automatically return to your pre-holiday routine without some guidance and effort.
You may notice that your habits don’t usually change all at once as you enter the holiday season. You slowly start to slack on exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, and eating the natural foods your body craves.
The same goes for returning to your healthy routine after some time away from it. Without paying close attention, you may never get back to some of the health-boosting habits you had in place before the holidays.
With all this in mind, you can see how big of a difference it can make when you know how to reset your body after the holidays. You’ll get back to feeling like your normal self much faster, and you might even create the momentum you need to improve your routine into the new year.
How to Reset Your Body After the Holiday Season
You might know that a revamp of your wellness routine is needed after the holidays, but making it happen is a whole different story. If you’re feeling lost when it comes to your post-holiday reset, take some ideas from this list to get yourself started. The more effort you put in, the better you’ll feel, and the momentum will only build from there!
Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate
When you’re figuring out how to reset your body after a holiday, the importance of hydration cannot be understated. Drinking enough water regularly is essential for a variety of bodily functions, including:
- Blood circulation
- Brain function
- Exercise performance
- Energy levels
Staying hydrated is important, no matter the time of year or what your wellness routine looks like. However, the holiday season can be non-stop busy, which might make you forget to drink your water throughout the day. Additionally, many of the holiday season’s most beloved foods are high in sodium, which can dry out your body. Standard Thanksgiving Day foods that are highest in sodium include gravy, stuffing mixes, and we hate to even say it, but pumpkin pie. Most anything processed will be high in sodium but surprisingly, turkey can be also. It’s naturally low in sodium but by the time it reaches your nearest grocery and then your dinner table, it can be infused with more salt than you could have imagined.
Wondering how to make drinking more water easier? Buy a cute, fun water bottle that will make you want to reach for it throughout your day. We are loving gallon water bottles like these with encouraging or motivating quotes. You could also add some lemon slices, berries, or other natural flavorings to make it tastier and more refreshing.
Create rules around water consumption, such as downing a glass before each meal or right after you brush your teeth each morning. These rules will slowly turn back into habits.
Additionally, it’s important to remember that some foods can be hydrating too. Healthy, tasty snacks like watermelon, strawberries, celery, and cucumber are great for your body for all the nutrients they contain, but they’re also high in water content and can leave you feeling more hydrated after eating. Consider adding these to your holiday charcuterie board!
Get Back Into Your Exercise Routine
If you haven’t been able to keep up your typical workout habits during the holidays, don’t be hard on yourself. The holiday season is meant to be enjoyed, and that might mean choosing to spend extra time with your loved ones rather than getting up early to go to the gym or go for a run down the block.
To hold yourself accountable, set a date when you will return to organized exercise once the holidays are over. Don’t feel guilty or pressured for not exercising before that date, but make sure you keep your promise to yourself and hit the gym or the track that day.
Grab a friend or family member to join you and make it feel more enjoyable. This could even be the perfect opportunity to try out a new form of exercise that you’ve been considering. If you’re motivated by the idea of New Year’s resolutions, make an updated exercise routine one of the resolutions on your list!
What if you have a plan for returning to working out, but you want to get some physical activity in the meantime? There are so many ways to move your body without going for an exhausting run or sacrificing family time to go to the gym. Try starting your day with a leisurely walk around your neighborhood or a hike at a local trail.
Simple, low-impact exercise options like this can also be a great way to spend time with your loved ones while enjoying the great outdoors and getting your body moving.
Additionally, even everyday household chores like cooking and cleaning can be an easy way to increase your physical activity throughout the day while also preparing for holiday parties and dinners.
We know gyms normally increase in membership around New Year’s, so keep that in mind when considering when and where to bring exercise back into your life.
Increase Your Vegetable and Fruit Intake
You may realize once the new year comes that your intake of veggies and fruits has been much lower than usual. Take a trip to the grocery store and stock up on all your favorite vitamin-packed foods to support healthy organ function, good energy, smooth digestion, and a clear mind.
Nutrient-rich foods like fruits and vegetables are good for more than just your organs and energy levels, however. Many veggies and fruits are high in fiber, which can help improve your gut health.
During the holidays, heavy, rich foods are everywhere, and they can make your gut feel less than optimal with bloating, constipation, and discomfort. Adding lots of fiber-rich foods back into your diet can help significantly with your gut health and digestion. Apples, berries, and leafy greens are good examples of fiber-rich foods.
Don’t Over-Restrict
After overindulging at a few too many holiday celebrations, you may have the urge to restrict your eating to “make up” for the extra calories. Going down this path is not only uncomfortable, as you may be excessively hungry, but it could also cause you to bounce back in the other direction and overindulge again.
When you’re figuring out how to reset your body after the holidays, the best way to do so is to simply return to the healthy routine you had before. Don’t try to intentionally eat less or switch up your habits too significantly. This approach is much more sustainable for your body as well as your mind.
Reclaim Your Morning Routine
Your eating and exercise habits likely aren’t the only aspects of your routine that are thrown out of whack by the holiday season. If you have a morning routine that helps you to feel grounded, calm, and ready for the day, get back to that as soon as you can after the holidays are over.
Having consistent routines in place that help us feel centered can make keeping up other health-boosting routines even easier.
It’s no wonder that when family members are visiting and you’re planning all kinds of celebrations and dinner parties, you’re thrown out of your typical morning routine and feel more frazzled throughout the day.
Consider a Meditation Practice
Learning how to reset your body after a busy season of holidays is important, but your mental health matters just as much.
If you took the time to meditate daily or weekly before life got hectic, make sure you get back to your practice as soon as you can. This will help you get back on track in mind and body much faster.
If you’ve never meditated on a consistent basis and you’re interested in starting, a brand-new year after the holidays is the perfect time to start!
Begin by sitting quietly and practicing mindfulness for just a few minutes at a time. Eventually, you can work your way up to longer meditations and notice the significant calming effect they can have on your mood and mental space.
Prioritize Your Sleep Schedule
Keeping a consistent sleep schedule is usually not a priority around the holidays. Maybe you’re sleeping in later than you usually do since work and school are off, but you’re likely going to bed later too and throwing off your circadian rhythm.
Keeping your usual sleep schedule during the holidays may simply be impossible, especially if you’re traveling a lot and transitioning to new time zones. However, staying close to your typical sleep habits can make a huge difference in how you feel physically and mentally.
If you’re wondering how to reset your body effectively post-holidays, sleep should be one of the first habits you focus on. If you’re getting consistent sleep each night and prioritizing your bedtime routine to allow your body to wind down, you’re sure to feel more relaxed and like yourself in no time. Curious as to how many hours of sleep you may need now that the holidays are over? Check out this past blog.
Take Time to Mentally Recover
Whether you add meditation to your regular routine or not, it’s important to take some time for yourself after the holidays. Ideally, you should plan some time between the bulk of holiday celebrations and when you have to return to work or school.
The holidays can be draining for many reasons, even if they’re enjoyable overall. Boundaries being pushed by family, being confined in our childhood homes, constant chatter–they can all push you further than you normally go. Find ways to clear your mind and allow your mental and emotional health some time to recover after so much social stimulation. Try going for more walks, spending time in nature, reading books, or journaling to connect with your mind and allow it to relax. Be gentle with yourself and don’t feel like it is necessary to always wear a “busy badge.”
Take a Break From Alcohol and Sweets
In general, cutting foods out of your diet isn’t the healthiest course of action unless you have an allergy. All foods can fit into a healthy diet, though some should only be enjoyed in moderation.
During the holiday season, moderation is often thrown out the window. This is why you may want to take a slightly stricter approach surrounding unhealthy foods for a few days or weeks after the holidays. Give your body a true reset cleanse from sweets, alcohol, and any other foods that taste good but have no nutritional value.
You can always return to these things in moderation after a while, but your body will thank you for the break. Trust us!
Try a Juice Cleanse
Healthy foods are an important part of learning how to reset your body following the holidays, but you can take your nutritious diet a step further with a juice cleanse from Clean Juice.
Juice cleanses are designed to deeply detox your body from the inside out and provide a variety of noticeable benefits, including smoother digestion, reduced bloating, better energy, a stronger immune system, and more.
Additionally, when you do your reset cleanse with Clean Juice, you can trust that every juice will be fresh, delicious, and made with clean ingredients.
Boost Your Health Deliciously With Clean Juice
Your perfect post-holiday reset cleanse is waiting for you at Clean Juice. Find your nearest location today to place your order for delivery right to your door.
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Disclaimer: The information presented here is for educational purposes only and is in no way intended as a substitute for medical counseling. Consult your doctor before using any health treatment, including natural remedies, and tell your doctor if you have a serious medical condition or are taking any medications.
If you’re unsure whether a cleanse would be a healthy choice for you, ask your doctor.