- It's holiday season, folks!
Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Years,
it's time to celebrate.
But, it's also a very stressful time.
Because you're seeing family members
that you're not used to spending time with.
Maybe eating unhealthier,
skipping out on the gym.
And it is flu season,
so you're bound to get sick.
Unless, you arm yourself
with the tips I'm gonna give you in this video
on how to stay happy and healthy during this holiday season.
First tip is to take a vacation.
A recommendation for a vacation.
I know that rhymed.
A statistic that blows my mind courtesy
of Project Time Off
is that 54% of Americans leave their vacation time
on the table.
That creates a stockpile of 660 million vacation days
that are left unused.
You serious, bro?
I can think of a lot of things to do
with 660 million vacation days.
There's places to see,
there's places to be.
And there's animals to play with.
I know cost is one of the most prohibiting factors here
because not everybody can afford to take a vacation,
so that's why I partnered up with Experience Kissimmee
to give away a vacation to sunny Kissimmee, Florida.
And all you have to do is hang around
til the end of the video
to get all the details on how to sign up.
There have actually been studies
that prove taking a vacation is good for your health.
There's boosts when it comes to mental health,
physical health, heart health,
even busting stress and productivity boosts.
And the one I'm most excited about
is taking consistent vacations
has been tied to a longer life span.
Sounds like a good deal.
Tip Number Two,
is just be present and focus on quality time.
You're gonna be reconnecting with a lot
of family members and friends
who you haven't seen in awhile.
They may have different religious viewpoints,
political viewpoints,
and this is bound to come up
in the crazy political climate we find ourselves in.
It's also totally possible that in the midst
of one of these holiday gatherings
you get very angry or stressed out.
Separating yourself during these moments
and just going to the bathroom,
taking 30 seconds or a few minutes alone,
is the smartest thing you can do.
Try and evaluate and think inside your head,
whether that means meditating
or just thinking while you're alone,
why it is that you're getting so mad
about this given situation.
Usually it has nothing to do
with the person you're debating against
and much to do with something else going on in your life.
Or, something that you're projecting
onto that person on your own.
A few techniques I recommend for people
to understand and use when
they're at a holiday gathering is,
A: understand that you're probably
not gonna convince anyone to change
their political viewpoints over a single dinner.
B: Use charitable thinking.
It's when you're debating with someone
and this first thing that you have to do
is admit that that person's intelligent.
That person's a good person.
And that you're gonna think about
the best possible reasons
why they choose to disagree with you,
instead of automatically labeling them stupid,
bad or whatever negative adjective you want to use.
Be kind, be compassionate,
spend quality time,
and try and avoid that stress.
Food, food, food, food, food.
This is the time of the year to indulge.
Now look, I'm gonna be understanding when it comes to this
because when we're celebrating,
health really should take a backseat as much as it can
without going overboard, right?
So you want to be balanced here.
Tip Number One: Wait 10-to-15 minutes
before jumping into seconds.
I love eating seconds,
especially during the holidays,
so I get it.
Your eyes can be bigger than your stomach.
Give your stomach time to catch up
and send the signals to your brain
that it's really full and you need some time to digest.
Two: Keep a distance away from the snack table/tray.
There's been plenty of times where I'm standing near
the snack tray talking to somebody
and unconsciously stuffing my face full
of Cheetos and Doritos and whatever else is there.
If you just have the same conversation
and socialize away from it,
you're less likely to overeat.
Three: Avoid sugary drinks.
Too many times I see people
will grab like a gin and tonic,
not realizing that tonic has twentysomething grams
of sugar in it.
Instead have a gin and club soda,
which has zero grams of sugar.
And you could use that same advice
for regular non-alcoholic drinks.
Grab a seltzer instead of a soda.
You'll be saving yourself calories
and allow yourself to enjoy some sweets later on.
Four: Now this one's for holiday meal prep.
Never go shopping hungry.
'Cause the last thing you want to do
is be hungry and make horrible choices
and get all these sugary, fatty foods
that you shouldn't be eating
and pack your house full of them.
I've made that mistake before,
but you shouldn't.
Keep moving.
Don't let exercise take a backseat during the holidays.
Number one, it's a calorie burner
which allows you to cheat a little bit more
'cause you're going to be burning those calories
off while you're working out.
And on top of that,
exercise is a stress reliever.
Now a lot of people say they don't have time.
That's no excuse
'cause you have high-intensity interval training,
which only takes about 15-to-20-minutes
to get a high-quality exercise session in.
Get outside.
Even if it's just for a walk.
Take a family member with you; socialize.
Before you know it,
you could have hit 10,000 steps,
or five miles,
in a single walking session.
Stay cold-free.
You don't understand how many more people
get sick during wintertime.
My hospital emergency room is flooded
with people who have the flu,
bad colds, pneumonias.
Here are a few steps to take in order to decrease
the likelihood of getting an infection:
Wash your hands.
By washing your hands,
you're decreasing the amount of bacteria
and viruses on your hands,
therefore the less likelihood
that you're actually gonna contract those diseases.
Next is getting enough sleep.
When we think about sleep
it's more about being well-rested.
But your immune system suffers
when you don't get at least six hours of sleep.
Your natural killer cells can drop by almost 50%!
And I have to address the elephant in the room.
(elephant trumpets)
No, no. Not that elephant.
Yes, you should get your flu shot.
Not only does it decrease the likelihood
that you're gonna get the flu,
but if you get the flu,
it's also gonna decrease the rate of complications
like pneumonia and even death.
And by getting the flu shot
you're not only protecting yourself,
but you're protecting grandma through herd immunity.
Bet you didn't know that one.
Put a smile on your face.
But seriously, you should put a smile on.
Yes, the holidays are stressful.
We all occasionally experience what we call,
the holiday blues.
But if it's a little bit more
than the holiday blues
and you catch yourself feeling more depressed than usual.
That's a good time for you to go see your doctor,
have a conversation about your symptoms.
Because what can occur during the winter season
is a condition known as, Seasonal Affective Disorder.
Now this is a mood disorder characterized
by depressive symptoms that occur during low light seasons,
such as winter.
♪ It's give away time ♪
♪ Give away, give away, give away now. ♪
The folks at Experience Kissimmee
are picking one random winner.
Actually, I'm gonna channel my inner game show host:
Experience Kissimmee is giving away
a four-day trip including accommodations,
rental car, airfare and theme park access
to one lucky winner.
Just click the link below the description.
(clink)
I came back from Kissimmee a happier and healthier person
and I fully expect that you should too.
I know you're focused
on being the healthiest version of yourself.
So click on this healthy routine playlist
and find out what you can do all day, everyday.
Huge thanks to, Experience Kissimmee,
for making this video happen
and allowing us to stay happy and healthy.