It’s finally the holiday season and Christmas is right around the corner! By this time of the month, many of us are already in holiday mode and it’s easy to get caught up with all the festivities. Even when spending the majority of the year keeping up with dieting, exercise or general healthy lifestyle practices, slumping into bad habits tend to come easily when the holiday mood kicks in.
Top 5 Unhealthy Holiday Habits Filipinos Practice
From overindulging our cravings to spending the day in bed binging our favorite K-dramas on Netflix, the holidays have made most of us put our health goals on hold. Let’s point out these usual unhealthy holiday habits we Filipinos make during the holidays in order to avoid them!
1. Holiday Mindset
These unhealthy habits begin with how we perceive the holiday season. More often than not we reassure ourselves that the next year would be a fresh start. There’s no harm in getting into the holiday spirit, however when we succumb to our “bahala na” attitude as Filipinos, we begin to neglect the healthy practices we’ve followed for the year. Remember, consistency is key!
2. Forgetting to Exercise
The holiday season is the busiest time of the year. While we wrap up things for work and prepare our holiday plans, our workout schedules suddenly slip out of our daily routines. Lack of exercise added to holiday binging can easily setback anyone’s weight management progress. A 10 minute workout or stretch to start your day will do. A quick workout is better than none at all. Set aside some time to exercise!
3. Sleeping Too Late
As Filipinos, our holiday celebrations tend to stretch out past midnight whether it be our Christmas Noche Buena feast or our countdown to the New Year. However, this doesn’t mean you should sleep late every evening in between or before these days. Enjoy your favorite holiday-themed flicks and tv series but stick to your sleeping schedule! Sleep is not only important for weight loss but for overall health as well.
4. Excessive Drinking
At this time of the year, groceries to sari-sari stores stock up on all types of liquor to prepare for the influx of customers looking to liven up their holiday parties. If you are one of those customers, remember that too much of anything is detrimental. Alcoholic beverages have “empty” calories. This means that unlike food, liquor has little to no nutritional value and isn’t as filling. Whether you want to avoid weight gain or not, cutting back on the alcohol is never a bad idea.
5. Too Much Fatty Foods
Nothing says Christmas more than colorful lights, late afternoon caroling and of course a Noche Buena feast. Lechon, Pinoy Spaghetti, Macaroni & Fruit Salad and Quezo de Bola are typical delicacies we find laid out on our Christmas spread. Looking closely however, a common denominator among these dishes is high fat content. Too much fat in food isn’t good news to anyone much more for anyone aiming to avoid weight gain. It’s not too late to make a few changes to your Christmas menu! Switching the usual macaroni salad to a pure vegetable or fruit one is a great way to start.
Tis the season to be jolly, and healthy!
There isn’t anything wrong with enjoying the holiday season and a well-deserved break, however, let us make a conscious effort in spotting our unhealthy habits and make our Christmas and New Years’ a healthier one.