The holiday season is upon us, but as fun and exciting all of the parties and gift-giving can be, it can also take a toll on our health.
Dr. Mladen Golubic, a wellness expert at Cleveland Clinic, says a good way to manage your health over the holidays is by making time for the regular stress-reducing techniques you've practiced all year.
"Maybe you meditated or did yoga 20 minutes, twice a day. Now you might not have that luxury because you'll have to spend many more hours preparing things, so just make sure you do it at least once a day and if you can't do 20 minutes, do 10 minutes," Golubic explained.
Recommended Videos
Golubic says staying physically active is also a must. He says it, too, is a great stress reducer and it will help to burn some of those extra calories from those big holiday meals.
Golubic says doing things to keep stress levels low is critical because the higher our stress level, the lower our will-power. He says if you're not feeling overwhelmed you're more likely to make choices that are healthier.
"If you go and you're exposed to the foods that are offered to you that are not the healthiest, what you need to do is you need to be quite polite and say, 'You know, I am taking really good care of myself and I don't want to offend you but I will, go with this,'" he advised.
Golubic says if you weren't practicing stress-reducing techniques going into the holidays, it's not too late to start. Just keep it up in the new year.