Resolution Solution: Eat Healthier

One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to try and eat healthier. While it’s a great change to make in your life, it can be hard. Try these tips to make a healthy change in your lifestyle.

• Drinks lots of water – Perhaps the most important step to eating healthier, water is important. Water makes you feel fuller and aids digestion. Often when you think you’re hungry, you’re really just thirsty (but stay away from the soda).
• Be open to new foods – Even though many of the foods you probably love are healthy, it’s good to be open to new foods too. Bland foods can be made more exciting with spices and herbs. You never know- you may find your new favorite food.
• Don’t skip breakfast – Many times people don’t feel the need for breakfast or don’t feel hungry early in the morning. If you skip breakfast, it’s easier to overeat at lunch to compensate. Remember that a small breakfast is better than no breakfast at all.
• Practice moderation – Giving up your favorite chocolate cake isn’t the whole solution to eating healthier. It’s okay to have your favorite food if you eat a small amount of it instead of the whole plate. Try to vary your diet so you eat some of everything.
• Slow down – It can take a few minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that it’s full. If you eat slowly and start feeling satisfied, that way you haven’t consumed too much extra.

Holiday Gift Ideas for the Wellness Enthusiast

1. Fitness Class Coupon—What are their favorite hobbies? Gift certificates to their favorite climbing gym or yoga studio are great ideas for the fitness buff.
2. Healthy Cookbooks—There are a ton of cookbooks that feature low-carb or low-fat recipes. Go to your local bookstore and search around. You’re sure to find one you like.
3. Juicer—These are great because you pack a whole serving of fruits and veggies into one glass. Although they are a little pricier it’s sure to be a hit with anyone who’s health conscious.
4. Heart-Rate Monitoring Watch—These can be found online and are not too expensive. Any health buff will love receiving this as a gift and keeping track of their heart rate while they work out.
5. Great Workout Apps—If your on a smaller budget, give a iTunes gift card to download their favorite workout app. To make their work easier, give with a list of fitness apps including descriptions and ratings.

Holiday Stress Relieving Meditation

How would you like to start every morning on the beach? Or sitting in front of a blazing fire? With meditation, you can. Focusing on a calming scene for just five minutes every day will help you to clear your mind and prepare for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. Meditation is also a great tool to use for those days that are stress-filled and full of holiday commitments  Sneak away for a few minutes to ease your nerves and rest your mind. Here are a few tips to get you started on meditation to relieve that holiday season stress.

Focus. Concentration is essential to outstanding creative execution and performance. The simple act of focusing on your breathing everyday, will gradually improve your powers of concentration.

Patience. Meditation can be boring at times. For once in your life, you’re not trying to do anything or think anything, just sit there and pay attention to your immediate experience. And you will encounter all kinds of resistance to doing it. Zen priest Steve Hagen says, “If you can get past resistance to meditation, nothing else in life will be an obstacle.”

Calmness. At first, you’ll be surprised, maybe even horrified, to discover how busy your mind is – a nonstop stream of mental chatter. But if you stay with it, you should gradually find that your mind settles down as the months go by.

Clarity. Like calmness, this can be gradual and intermittent to begin with. But you are likely to notice moments and even periods of mental clarity, when you see things clearly and your mind is sharper than usual – which makes problem-solving and decision-making easier.

Insight. You’ve probably had the experience of suddenly realizing the solution to a problem, even though you haven’t been consciously thinking of it. Or you may have experienced a moment of inspiration, when a new idea flashes into your mind unbidden. If you’re practicing meditation regularly, expect this to happen more often.

Perspective. When you spend time just being present and observing your breath, thoughts, feelings, and moment-to-moment experience, you start to realize how trivial most of our daily worries really are. Even in the midst of the daily grind, you can let go of the small stuff, and keep the big picture in view.

Quick Fixes for Stomach Problems During the Holidays

Whether you’ve had too much to drink or too much to eat (or in all likelihood, both), try one of these quick fixes to get you back on track this holiday season.

Problem 1: Too much rich food.

From excessive portions to fatty dishes, an overload of rich foods can lead to everything from acid reflux to constipation to diarrhea. The most obvious solutions are over-the-counter remedies, but you can counter the abundance of seasonal treats by taking a fiber supplement, eating slowly or going for a walk after meals.

Problem 2: Too much to drink.

Ah, the hangover. It’s a malady that’s best avoided altogether, but hindsight is 20/20, right? Grab some coconut water for immediate replenishment of sugar, vitamins and electrolytes, and try to get some (mild) food in your stomach like bananas, rice, applesauce or toast.  And next time, try not to drink so much.

Problem 3: Too much stress.

All it takes is a trip to the mall during the holiday madness to get your stress levels skyrocketing. Nip stress in the bud by taking a yoga class or spending a few minutes doing deep, slow breathing exercises. Caffeine-free peppermint tea is another all-natural way to soothe rattled nerves and help alleviate nausea and stress-related stomach aches.

Reduce Stress during the Holiday Season

The holidays are no doubt one of the merriest times of the year. However, they can also be one of the most stressful times of the year, too. Our experts at Travaasa have some tips to keep your holiday season stress free and organized.

•  Plan ahead parties – Whether you’re the host or the attendee, parties can definitely be stressful. If you feel like you’re being pushed into attending or hosting too many events, try to prioritize which are most important to you.
• Follow a budget – Financial problems can become overwhelming during the holidays, and can become a big stress point. Set a budget at the beginning of the season and stick to it.
• Give yourself time to travel – Traveling can be stressful during a normal time of the year, but it just gets more stressful over the holidays. If you give yourself extra time to get through those security lines, the stress level will reduce.
• Use lists and calendars – Calendars and lists may seem petty, but they’re a great way to stay organized. Make a list of chores, presents to buy, etc. so that you can cross them off when you’re done. Use calendars to keep track of your parties and events so you can plan ahead accordingly.

10 Tips for Reducing Stress and Staying Organized During the Holidays

1. Make delegating easy. Before people come over for Thanksgiving dinner, write down a list of tasks that people can do. That way, when they ask what they can help with, you can just refer them to the list.
2. Stock up on wine and liquor well in advance, as to avoid long holiday lines and irregular holiday hours at the liquor store.
3. Stock up on baking/cooking essentials (butter, sugar, baking soda, flour, salt, vegetable stock) to cut down on last-minute trips to the grocery store.
4. Share cooking duties by encouraging a potluck style Thanksgiving dinner.
5. Make room for new gifts and purchases in advance, whether that means purging closets or reorganizing drawers.
6. Schedule a cleaning service to help with post-party messes (or to get your house sparkling before out of town guests arrive).
7. Stock up on easy appetizers – crackers, cheese, dips – to alleviate stress during gatherings and to accommodate last-minute gatherings.
8. Make a list of people who you plan to buy presents for, and set a budget for each person.
9. Shop online. Not only can you avoid long lines (and traffic and parking), but you also can have gifts wrapped and sent directly to the recipient.
10. Set a deadline to have all of your holiday gifts purchased, wrapped and sent.

How to Get Better Sleep during the Holidays

With all the hustling and bustling around the holiday season it sometimes seems impossible to get any rest. Our wellness experts here at Travaasa have compiled a few easy tips to make your sleep easier and more effective.

• Make sure you’re maintaining a consistent sleep schedule, even on the weekends. Going to bed and waking up at the same time will help you feel more rested and get to sleep easier and faster.
• Skip the caffeine after noon and opt for decaf or switch to a decaffeinated tea. Also, avoid alcohol four to six hours before sleep as it interferes with REM, an imperative part of your sleep cycle.
• Eat larger meals for breakfast and smaller meals at night. This helps your digestive system as well as allowing for a deeper sleep.
• A cooler temperature is better for sleeping. Your body needs to cool down when you sleep, so make the job easier and turn down that thermostat!
• Turn off the lights. Darkness allows your pineal gland to secrete more melatonin, which is a big factor in determining how well you sleep.
• In addition, increase how much light you get in the day. Go outside for a walk in the sun and open your curtains. The more light you get during the daytime the better.