How To Pay Your Body Back™ After The Holidays

Are you feeling a little “out of whack” after the holidays?

This is a challenging time of year for busy women to stay healthy.  Our regular (and hopefully healthy) routine is interrupted by added stress, hectic schedules, and an abundance of naughty foods! Your body got you through the holidays, with all that entails.

Don’t you think it is time to Pay Your Body Back™? Of course, if you don’t pay it back — it will pay you back in ways you won’t like!

Here are some tips to get you started.

• Purge: Look around: If your house is like mine, there are tempting treats everywhere. Cookies, candies, salty snacks, all just calling to you… eat me, eat me! It’s time to remove the temptation.

• Keep It Flowing: Feeling a little bound up from the holiday indulging?As one of my dietitian friends says, “You can’t float a log down a dry stream!” Help your digestive system out by drinking water. As the weather gets colder, the air becomes drier and you need more water as well. Find tips to Pay Your Body Back™ with Water.

• Schedule Some Me Time: During the holidays it is hard to set aside time just for you. Make time now! Schedule a massage, a pedicure, a bubble bath, even a girls’ night out. Taking time for yourself isn’t selfish, it is essential! Find tips to Pay Your Body Back™ with Me Time.

• Pack in the fruits and veggies: After indulging in “naughty foods” your body needs some “Grow Foods” – produce very close to the way it was when left the farm! Find tips to Pay Your Body Back™ with Grow Food.
  

• Reset Your Clock: Changes in your routine can mess with your body.  Try to get up at the same time every morning, go to bed at a consistent time, and eat meals at predictable times so your body has a chance to settle down and function properly. Spending even five minutes outdoors during the day will help your body reset, plus it may improve your mood!
  

• Move! One of the best ways to feel better is to move more. Don’t worry, being more active doesn’t require hours in the gym. The trick is to work activity into your regular routine by using short walks, a pedometer or even pumping up your chores. Find tips to Pay Your Body Back™ with an Active Lifestyle in this article or even more in our e-book.

• Grab Some ZZZs: Most women don’t get enough sleep, and the problem can become severe during the holidays.  Make sure you get seven to eight hours sleep consistently. Find tips to Pay Your Body Back™ with Sleep.

Pay Your Body Back™ a little bit every day and it will pay you back with good health! Wishing you low stress and great success in 2010!

Eliz Greene works busy people to improve heart health, so they can work well, feel better, and stress less.

She is a heart attack survivor and the author of the Busy Woman’s Guide to a Healthy Heart as well as 3 other books on wellness. She writes one of the top 50 health and wellness blogs and is a sought-after heart health, stress management, & wellness speaker.

If you are planning a women’s wellness program, workplace wellness program or programs for healthcare professionals check out EmbraceYourHeart.com to see if Eliz would be a good fit with your organization.