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10 Simple Tips for Staying Healthy and Balanced Through the Holidays

Jenni Berman |

It is hard to believe we are in mid October, just a few days away from Halloween and a few weeks away from Thanksgiving.  Hopefully you are thinking about our previous blog and finding a lifestyle balance between the delicious candy, drinks, and events while also maintaining your adequate protein intake, avoiding your inflammatory foods, and getting enough (restful and efficient) sleep!

I am here today to give you my top tips and tricks to maintain a “simple” lifestyle through the holidays, keeping up with protein intake, and feeling the best version of yourself.

Here we go – my top tricks for you to take away:

  1. Start your day with 16 ounces of room temperature water right away – get up (don’t press the snooze button!! Maybe that actually should have been number 1, but either way…) get out of bed, brush your teeth, take your morning supplements or medicines that need to be on an empty stomach, and then drink your 16 ounces of room temperature water.
  2. Start your day with protein – start with at least 20 grams of protein within 2 hours of waking up. Maybe this is before your workout, or directly after  – it depends on your body, but either way, within 2 hours of waking you are getting 20 grams of protein.
  3. Focus on 15-30 grams of protein every 3 hours during the day. Aim for 30 grams of protein at your meals with 15 grams of protein in between at your snacks – every 3 hours during your day on average.
  4. Make your protein shake the night before and store it in the fridge, then shake it up and drink it. This might be your breakfast or it might be a snack. Either way – making it the night before and allowing it to sit takes the grittiness of the protein powder away and it makes it a quick and easy meal or snack!! Blend it up, leave it in your single cup shaker, then the next day shake and drink!

PS – the shakes that you make have less calories and carbohydrates than the premade shakes that you buy. Also, they are without any added oils – so they are actually better for you and can be just as convenient!

  1. Keep your carbohydrates such as fruit, bread, rice, quinoa, sweet potatoes, pasta before 2pm. If you know you are going to an event that night where you will indulge – stay lean during the day and enjoy your carbs at night, but for a general rule day to day, keep your carbs before 2pm!
  2. LOAD UP ON THE VEGETABLES. Non-starchy carbohydrates such as your vegetables (that excludes potatoes, peas, and corn) are unlimited throughout your day and are not limited to before 2pm. Load up on your veggies at every meal.

Cooked vegetables help to lower cholesterol, blood sugar, inflammation, and hunger!

  1. 1 gallon of water. Aim for 1 gallon of water per day (as long as your kidneys and heart are healthy) and make sure you replace your electrolytes daily. In fact, make sure you are tracking and COUNTING your ounces of water. So many think they are “drinking a lot”, but in reality it is less than 48 ounces!! 80 ounces should be your minimum with your goal of 1 gallon (128 ounces)!
  2. Write down your food and drinks. Keep track of your “off” days and your “on” days. If you have holiday events – that is OKAY. Just make sure you are resetting the next day with a lean, protein and vegetable based day. Try to stay “on” 90% and “off” 10%. That is balance.

You will only stay accountable and true to this if you can actually see it written down.

With writing things down – plan your meals ahead of time. On Sunday’s, plan out what your dinner is going to be Sunday-Thursday. Plan to use leftovers for lunch. Plan to have more flexibility on the weekends (Friday and Saturday) for events during the holiday. This can always be adjusted – but at least make a plan of what you think is going to happen to help hold you accountable.

  1. Understand your macronutrients. Understand the nutrient goals that your body needs each day. Understand that you want to be in a range at the end of the week – so this gives you some flexibility day to day to have “off” days.
  2. USE A COACH. Have someone to coach you, guide you, hold you accountable other than yourself, family, or a significant other.  Use someone with outside knowledge that knows more about what your body needs than you can perceive that you need.

What do you think? Does that help? Ask me how we can help you to balance your macronutrients through the holidays to see WEIGHT LOSS, GUT IMPROVEMENTS, and HORMONE BALANCE through the holidays rather than sliding backwards during this time!

Jenni Berman

Jenni Berman

Jenni, owner of Berman Health and Wellness, works alongside Berman Physical Therapy to help individuals get back in shape, improve their gut health, and to stay feeling young so they can stay in the game! After graduating from the University of Florida with a Bachelor’s in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, she went on to obtain a Master’s of Physician Assistant Studies. She has a passion for helping individuals to feel better than they thought imaginable through natural approaches, nutrition, and whole body treatment. She is also a Certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition Specialist. When she is not working with patients or with clients, you can find Jenni on the boat, in the sun, enjoying time with her husband, Jake,her daughter Stella June, spending time in Jacksonville with her family, or playing with her [CUTE!] pups!!
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