Erin O'Hara: Staying Merry and keep the balance to support your health

Published Dec 22, 2024, 12:06 AM

Christmas is a time for enjoying yourself but how can we keep the balance to stay healthy?
Erin O'Hara joins Francesca Rudkin to discuss how keeping a little balance can make all the difference in how you feel - and the importance of supporting your gut health.
Tips to keep the balance: 

  • Get rid of the ‘all-or-nothing’ approach. Everything in moderation 
  • Limit Alcohol intake  
  • Eat your veggies and protein first before indulging in sweets and treats 
  • Eat sugar in moderation 
  • Try not to skip meals and then overeat at one meal  
  • Hydration - we can overeat when we are dehydrated. 
  • Quality sleep - sugar cravings are worse when we are sleep deprived. 
  • Keep up with some Exercise - create a fitness schedule for the holidays  
  • A few days of overindulgence won't put you off track. When not at social gatherings try to get back to some healthy meals to keep the balance.  

LISTEN ABOVE

You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin from News Talks edb So.

Mike Vanda Alsen has just you know, given us some great tips from some lovely sweet treats to have over Christmas, and Aaron is no with us erin Ohara Natrapeth to talk wellness and just to remind us to maybe just find some balance over the Christmas period.

Good morning, good morning. Yes, it's all about balance, not the grench of Christmas. Keeping that balance with our nutrition is super important at this time of year, and I know that quite often we've got that accessibility to a lot more desserts, a lot more sweet foods, a lot more alcohol, chocolates, all those things that we can over indulge in, but we can also keep the balance and still enjoy some of those things as well. So it's not about having no treats and making your whole life miserable, but actually making it so it works for you, so you can still feel good and not feel really bloated and sluggish and tired through this time.

But there's a difference between enjoying a day or two of some of some lovely eating with friends and family and then having that kind of extend out over the whole summer holiday. You know, it's sort of like I look forward to the Christmas and we indulge when we do that, but then I don't think there's going to be anything really particularly in order to eat in our house from boxing Dad, It'll be gone. You know, you kind of if you just sort of go, willa, I'm not going to you know, my whole summer's not going to go out the window just because I'm going to go on holiday and get ready.

Yeah, you can go on the diet holiday that never ends, but actually not letting it get out of control and be like, oh, I'm going to have some more relaxed kind of no rules on these days, but also kind of finding that balance and not labeling foods as like good and bad or can and carn eat these things, but instead creating a beautiful balance in your nutrition, which might mean you know, limiting your alcohol intake, you know, throughout the day, even on Christmas Day. Eat some veggies, great way to kind of create that balance of sugar levels as well as protein. With the vegetables, it will just help you kind of keep your sugar levels balance when you do have the dessert at the end. And then it might mean after the meal, instead of sitting on the couch, you know, going out and getting some fresh air. Might be a little stroll along the beach or stroll through the neighborhood for ten minutes. Doesn't have to be excessive exercise, but just a little bit of movement can actually make you feel good after your Christmas meal and it will help you regulate the sugar that you've eaten for the dessert so you don't feel that sluggish feeling after having it.

Keep dessert, just keep moving.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it doesn't have.

To be excessive, and you don't have to be going to the gym on Christmas Day, but actually just a little bit of movement does wonders. Also, keeping up your hydration really important, that we're not getting dehydrated, especially if we're having more alcohol and sugar. And then quality sleep, which I know on the holidays sometimes we think, oh, we're on holidays, so we'll stay up really late and we can catch up on sleep tomorrow and sleep on sleep in or have some naps, or maybe have too many naps during the you can't get to sleep at night. But actually quality sleep can help you regulate your sugar levels as well and actually make you feel really good and you're more likely to eat healthier when you are more rested. So it's about just keeping their harmony and balance through this time and also after the day after you've had Christmas Day, the next day if you know you've over indulged a lot and you're feeling a bit on the boxing day, all the day after Boxing day is get back on some good nutrition and get back on three meals a day, good amount of vegetables, plenty of protein, lots of fiber, get your body moving and you'll be back on track again.

You're trying to say to me Erin, is that if I've gotten a little bit of a hangover and I just really want to cocon a pie, I should just have a nice green smoothe and get on with my life right.

Absolutely, greens thoothie, some hydration, some electrolytes and a little bit of movement and you're good to go.

Erin, thank you so much, Merry Christmas. Always love you to have you on the show and we look forward to seeing you back in twenty twenty five.

For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Ron. Listen live to News Talks at B from nine am Sunday, or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio

The Sunday Session with Francesca Rudkin

News, opinion, analysis, lifestyle and entertainment – we’ve got your Sunday morning listening cover 
Social links
Follow podcast
Recent clips
Browse 2,540 clip(s)