Staying Healthy This Holiday Season

As the holiday season approaches, the weather gets colder, food gets heavier and typically our exercise comes to a standstill. It is very easy to get derailed from healthy habits in the midst of the holiday rush. Here are some tips to make this holiday season a healthy one.

Healthy Eating

• Make A Plan: Does Aunt Janice make a to-die-for Death by Chocolate cake? Or is Bob’s friend bringing cronuts from the new, swanky bakery? Choosing your indulgences ahead of time prepares you for deluge of sweets and heavy dinner options this holiday season. Make a plan to navigate the dinner table and it becomes easier to stick to a healthy lifestyle without giving up the foods associated with family holidays.
• The Skinny on Skin: Whether you prefer white or dark turkey meat, go skinless. Just 1 ounce of skin contains 80 calories and 2 grams of fat.
• Full Flavor: The American Dietician Association recommends using low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth in your mashed potatoes to add flavor and cut back on added butter or margarine.
• Information Overload: If all else fails, picture it. According to the USDA, half your plate should be filled with vegetables and fruit, one quarter filled with lean protein and one quarter whole grains. For a visual reminder of a healthy plate, check out My Plate on the USDA’s website.

Get Moving

• Getting Your Sweat On: When exercising in the cold, it is best to dress in three layers. Start with a lightweight base layer that can wick away sweat and keep it off your skin. Then, go for a mid-weight fleece snug enough to prevent pockets of cold air but does not restrict your movement. Finish with an outer shell to help block the wind and elements. Don’t forget to cover areas prone to frostbite like your ears, ankles and wrists.
• Weigh yourself every day: The holidays are an easy time to let the wheels come off of healthy habits. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recommends weighing yourself daily will help keep you on track and prevent creating an insurmountable task come Jan. 1. The goal is to check in with yourself, not obsess or criticize.
• Plan a post-meal walk: Suggest a post-meal walk or touch football game. Getting others to join will make exercise social and more importantly, difficult to bail. It may even give you a chance to catch up with your hipster cousin and get some music recommendations.

Before You Hang Those Lights

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) estimates there were 15,000 injuries involving holiday decorating seen in emergency departments nationwide during November and December 2012. In 2012, the most frequently reported holiday decorating incidents seen in emergency departments involved falls (34 percent), lacerations (11 percent) and back strains (10 percent).

• A Minute Reading a Ladder Warning Saves You Three Hours in the E.R. Check out CPSC’s OnSafety blog, “Ladder Safety 101,” for tips to prevent ladder falls this season.
• Use lights that have been tested. Select lights tested for safety by a nationally recognized testing laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL), Intertek (ETL) or the Canadian Standards Association (CSA). On decorative lights, UL’s red holographic label signifies that the product meets safety requirements for indoor and outdoor use. UL’s green holographic label signifies that the product meets requirements for indoor use only.
• Early Bird to the Tree: If you are buying your Christmas tree early this year, check for freshness. A fresh tree is green, its needles are hard to pull from branches, and the needles do not break when bent between your fingers. The bottom is sticky with resin, and when tapped on the ground, the tree should not lose many needles. Finding fresh tree will help prevent fires.
• Faking it? Look for the label: “Fire Resistant” on artificial trees. Although this label does not mean that the tree will not catch fire, the label does indicate that the tree is more resistant to catching fire.

Follow these tips and ensure you have a safe, happy, holiday season. Happy Thanksgiving from Doctors Express.

Dr. Roxanne Latimer is a board-certified family physician at Doctors Express, an urgent care clinic serving Natick, Marlborough and its surrounding towns. It is one of 12 clinics in the urgent care network.