Is festive season stress driving you towards emotional eating? Here’s how to nourish your body during the holidays without giving up your favourite foods.
● Tired, stressed or having a bad day? Identifying the triggers that make you reach for food when you are not hungry can help in mitigating them.
● The holidays can stir up feelings that lie dormant the rest of the year, so take time to identify what you are feeling and have a safe place to express your emotions without fear of judgement.
● It’s also the time when you can get thrown off your normal habits. Figure out what is essential to you functioning at your best – be it exercise, meditation or jotting your thoughts down.
● Moderation is also key. Work out which foods are your must-haves and savour them in reasonable portions. This makes it easier to pass off the treats you don’t “love”.
● Don’t label food “bad” or “good”, instead, eat what you enjoy, but do so mindfully. Slow down, pay attention to taste, and your body’s hunger and satiety cues.
● Adopt a “try your best” approach. If you break a “rule”, let it go and move on. But don't give up. You can always start over.
HOW TO RAISE YOUR HAPPINESS INDEX
Three ways to start your pursuit of happiness: Begin your day with a smile; laugh without restraint; and make time for play. One way to get it all in one place: Plan a staycation to Hong Kong’s Disneyland Resort to join the world’s biggest mouse party! Yes, this year marks the 90th anniversary of everyone’s favourite mouse and the mascot of Disneyland – Mickey Mouse – and his friends are going to be celebrating it with him till February 2019. Add to that, a classic Disney Christmas celebration, on till January 1, 2019. What’s more? Special hotel-stay and park privileges are available exclusively for Singaporeans. From the lighting of a magical Christmas tree on Main Street and the Wintertime market at Fantasy gardens, to the Mickey and Friends Christmastime Ball by the legendary Disney Castle (all the while being serenaded by yuletide carols), there’s enough here to up your happiness quotient. For more details, visit hongkongdisneyland.com/disneychristmas-intl/
A BALANCED LIFE
40, The age your sense of balance tends to decline, say researchers.
Practise your balance by:
● Standing on one foot while brushing your teeth.
● Adding the tree pose to your yoga routine.
● Walking across rocks during your daily walk – to challenge your balance.
WRAP IT UP!
Health and wellness gifts for every kind of personality
For the weight conscious
More a weight-loss companion than a weighing scale, Body+ Body Composition WiFi scale by Nokia measures the person’s weight, muscle and fat mass, hydration levels and bone mass. At $169, from Lazada.
For the yoga buff
Wheel yoga is gaining a lot of popularity of late. The EVO Yoga Wheel will not just get the yoga fiend stretching into the perfect pose, it looks spunky enough to be part of the living room decor. About $45, from Amazon.
For the compulsive gobbler
Fact: Eating too fast is as bad as eating too much – it leads to indigestion and weight gain. The HAPIFork tracks the time taken to finish a meal – in the number of fork servings per minute and reminds the eater with gentle vibrations and blinking lights if they are eating too fast or too slow. Comes with an app for progress-tracking. About $89, from Amazon.
TEXT: SANDHYA MAHADEVAN / ADDITIONAL REPORTING: BAUERSYNDICATION.COM.AU / PHOTOS: 123RF.COM
