Holiday Blues – Do they strike you? Quick tips to overcome the blues!

Feeling blue when you take down the decorations or have no more parties to attend? Or, when the holidays are over do you have trouble getting back on track? Some years it seems the holiday spirit is harder to muster along with the recovery from the holidays. Your waistline doesn’t need to suffer nor does your productivity and mood. All that sugar, alcohol and caffeine increases the roller coaster of emotions, hormonal imbalances and over indulging. So cut yourself some slack, everyone gets off track.

We often experience some sadness this time of year amidst joyous times even when with friends and family. End of year memories, dark days, stress over holiday plans, are often the triggers. The pressure to be “happy” and joyous during this time makes the sadness more apparent. Often perusing sites such as Facebook can increase these feelings that your life is seemingly without or that others are having more fun and success than you. Is that really the case? Guilt over feeling this sadness creeps in when everyone around you is happy and enjoying the season. But again, these feelings are normal.

So how do you move past the sadness or maybe recover from the holidays? With no more holiday parties or family gatherings around the corner, there’s a lack of something fun to look forward to, right? Or is there. We need to remember this is a time for self-care and attention. Check out this quick tips for how you can get back on track and ditch those holiday blues. 

• Find outside activities like hiking or if snow bound go sledding to renew the kid in you!
• Enjoy comfort foods in moderation. This is the time of year for them, not the summer. 
• Seek out friends or other contacts. 
• Maintain a schedule to keep you on track; don't give into what you want or don't want to do. 
• Conversely if alone, meditate and find some solace with a book or a hobby. Pick up a new book or find a new television series to indulge. Remember the creature comforts, of good food, intelligent reading, loving relationships, are often the more sustaining comforts. 
• Seek out a new activity for January. Maybe try that new cooking course you have been eyeing or that Meetup on hiking, sewing, fixing cars. Choose one. Don’t overload your calendar in desperation to stay busy.  
• MOST OF ALL! If you have overeaten a bit don't put the pressure on yourself to loose immediately.  No rush to lose a pound in January.  February will be here soon enough. 

Remember, small changes lead to lasting results. Focus on the activities that make you happy, the foods that nourish you and the weight will come off. Being convicted in weight loss is important, but not to the point of stressing and depriving yourself. Let me know if you need help with finding quick tips that you can easily integrate everyday into your life.

The increasing light and longer days will help with the mood and the appetite, so be patient with yourself - all will pass.  Change is always happening. Enjoy the present, the future is right around the corner.