Feeling frazzled or fat? Try this.

I didn't mean try this (photo)

Last week, I was the guest on Sarah Stanley’s Wellness Chat; the topic was Breaking Old Holiday Habits. I know some of you were busy (this time of year I can’t imagine why) and others do not tweet (many of my friends it seems are twittersaurs) so I thought I’d give you the gist of what we discussed.

You don’t need me to tell you holidays are hard. There’s spending and anxiety about dept. Then the cold and darkness can cause mood to take a serious dip. Some of us are too busy with parties and travel and others are lonely. It’s really the perfect storm for emotional eating, so what do?

Watch ProcrastinEATing. Procrastineating = “when I get home from this trip I’ll exercise" or,“on Monday I’ll get bag on the wagon” or this time of year January 1^st resolutions beckon. When you feel yourself postponing your wellness ask yourself what you can do now, some ideas:

Fill a water bottle, loving these new bigger Bars

Wear your Fitbit; I have the flex dying for the force model.

Drop and do push ups; try for 10 real ones.

Rather than spending all your energy at treat avoidance how about a Green Day?

Goal: for one day have something (naturally) green at each meal. For example a green juice or omega 3 eggs with kale or spinach for breakfast.

I loved this juice.

Pre-tox- are you in NYC on 12/30? Spin, Sweat and Prep for New Year’s Eve with a special ride hosted by Foodtrainers. Get a sneak preview of, The Little Book of Thin and insider tips of how to enjoy the biggest party of the year without wreaking havoc on your body.  6:30 pm, Swerve Fitness be there or be square (or maybe rounder)

From pre-exercising to the Pre-Eat. When I tell clients to Pre Eat I get the same look from clients my kids give me when I tell them to wear a hat.  “Do I really have to?” They do if they don’t want to freeze or get sick (is that a myth?) and you do if you don’t want to overeat or gain weight. Fill a nutcase with seeds or nuts and have it 30 to 60 minutes before the party or. Holiday dinner.

Ah Gingersnap Organics, how I love the Go Chili seeds

If the winter blues are setting in, double your D. Especially in Northern latitudes, we’re not getting any D from the sun. Try 2,000 IUs or International Units. Vitamin D is important for appetite control, mood and immunity. These little Blue Bonnet bottles can go in your desk drawer or makeup case.

And some promising holiday news, the “Holiday 5” or tendency to pile on the pounds this time of year is a myth. Average weight people tend to gain less than a kilogram (2.2 pounds) despite feeling like we gained more. If you’re overweight the statistics are a little less cheerful. Come January 1^st if you’re looking to make changes or did procrastinEat you know what to do, sorry tis the season for me and my “Little Book”.

What do you find most stressful this time of year? Are you a procrastinEATer or pre eater? Do you take Vitamin D, which brand?

Happy (and healthy) Holidays

Screw the Flu (Before it Screws You)

I was cocky. Last weekend, my friend emailed to inform me she was a member of a flu family. Her son, came home from school Friday with the pukes, the shakes…the whole compendium of flu nastiness. She was emailing me because her son and my little guy “are attached”. I appreciated the heads up, asked my son how he was feeling but totally tempted flu fate thinking “we’ve never had the flu, never do flu shots, we’re hardly ever sick.” So you know what happened next.  I spent the night Sunday with a boy with such a high fever my washcloth-compresses were coming of his body burning hot. As Stephen King said, “there is no bitch on earth like a mother frightened for her kids.”

As determined as I was not to let the mean nasty virus near the rest of my family, I didn’t want to “fight” the flu as many articles suggest. As a germ-coward I am not interested in a “bug” brawl. Instead, I was seeking flu elusion. Below you'll find my strategy.

Astragalus- start day with a dropper of astragalus tincture in shot glass of water. Perhaps shot glasses are inappropriate for 8 and 10 year olds. I envision their first bar experience where they see shots poured and think “I wonder if that’s astragalus or E3Live? " Ah nutri-damage. Astragalus boosts your immune system to fight the flu.

Matcha is to green tea what spinning is to the stationary bike. Matcha is a powdered green tea, with a delicious sweet taste and nutrient profile. It’s contains both Vitamin C and zinc and a host of immune boosting phytochemicals. You can add it to smoothies or make it traditionally whisked into hot water. This is a great tutorial video to get you started. I love David’s tea but use an organic matcha called Do Matcha.

Vitamin D- Vitamin D3 decreases incidence of the flu in both adults and children. Carlson and Blue Bonnet are great brands; their liquid Vitamin D is very easy to take and tolerate.

looks like a smaller ginger with this beautiful orange color when sliced

Turmeric- if you haven’t used fresh turmeric, now may be the time. It has potent antibacterial and antiviral properties. Try blending it with fruit, protein powder such as Sun Warrior, almond milk and honey or stevia for a delicious breakfast. It’s also delicious with vegetables: this week I heated some Jungle Products coconut oil  (also an immune booster) added garlic (garlic can destroy the flu virus toss in your juicer or add to salad dressings), ginger an turmeric (grated with microplane) and allowed this to heat for a couple of minutes. I then tossed in some sliced bok choy, a dash of fish sauce and a sprinkle coconut flower sugar.

Other flu eluders include cinnamon, miso, papaya, leafy greens and mushrooms. And though I’m not a Purell fan, we’re loyal Clean Well customers. I don't want to say anything but there's only been one flu victim in our family so far...

How are you faring this flu season? What are your go-to flu eluders? Have you had a flu shot?