Take Care of Yourself During the Holiday Season

Taking care of your physical and mental health is the single most important aspect of creating holiday health and happiness. Start now so you are ready to go when the holiday season arrives.

• Eat a healthy diet that gives you most of your calories from vegetables, fruits, grains, and other delicious low-fat ingredients. Why? The point is to feel better about yourself. If you eat better, you feel better. You have more energy. You look better and consequently, your self-esteem is enhanced.

The higher your self-esteem, the more confident and successful you are. (Get the cycle?) Trying to diet during the holiday season will make you feel like a failure and ruin the festive nature of celebrations and parties.

• Exercise regularly. A supervisor at one of my client companies walked up to me with a big smile the other day. I asked, "Where's your normal stress? I haven't seen you smiling in a while. What changed?" He responded that he has started running during his lunch hour and it is helping him keep work happenings in perspective. Exercise also helps you control weight. Take a look at the article, Top Ten Cardio Exercises by About's Paige Waehner for excellent exercise ideas. Just getting started? About's Wendy Bumgardner offers the Ten Week Walk of Life Program.