Tag Archives: christmas

3 Yoga Poses to Avoid Holiday Shopping Aches and Pains

From the day after Thanksgiving up until the very last minute on Christmas Eve day, we find ourselves frantically racing around in our cars and walking for miles in the shopping mall. This tight schedule of spending, wrapping, stacking, and mailing off gifts in a busy post office where the line doesn’t seem to move at all can wreak havoc on our lower back, legs and feet if we are not careful. The following yoga poses will offer a reprieve from the stress our bodies endure while we are trying so hurriedly to be prepared for the big day.

Standing Forward Bend

It doesn’t matter if you are in your work clothes or donning your favorite shopping sweater; practice forward bending every chance you can get. Standing for hours while perusing the isles of robes, slippers and neck ties can tire out the muscles of your low back in a heartbeat. Take the stress off of it by doing a simple forward bend with both knees slightly bent and your feet hip width apart. When you are ready to come out of the pose, roll up slowly vertebra by vertebra and then roll your shoulders back and down upon standing.

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Posted on November 29, 2023 by Jill

Your Guide for Enjoying a Safe Gluten-Free Holiday Season

Wendy Gregory Kaho blogs about the care and feeding of a gluten-free family at Celiacs in the House.

As the holiday season approaches, those new to the gluten-free diet, and even those with years of experience, can feel a sense of dread with all the opportunities for gluten in holiday gatherings and foods. How do we share the spirit of the season without the effects of an accidental “glutening?” I’ve gathered tips to make this a safe, joyous, and gluten-free holiday.

Communication is key to staying safe and gluten-free during the holidays. Linda Etherton, the Gluten-Free Homemaker, shares tips for staying safe and gluten free when eating those holiday meals. Not only do we need to educate our guests and hosts to keep us safe, but it is also an opportunity to lovingly hint to our relatives that they may need to be tested for celiac disease or gluten issues, since this is genetic.

Planning is critical. Whether it is planning a safe dish to take to a potluck or party to planning an entire gluten-free meal. (more…)

Posted on November 14, 2023 by GuestBlogger

Holly Mosier’s Tips For Managing Holiday Stress

At age 40, Holly Mosier felt like she had hit a wall. “[It was] hard to come out of my bedroom at times. I was a wife, mother, stepmother, trial lawyer… trying to blend a family and maintain some semblance of peace, joy, health and vitality, and I was failing miserably,” says Holly. She sought solutions everywhere she could think of to find tools that she could work in to her life despite being a very busy professional and mother.

Despite searching in books, seminars, classes, medical studies, experts, and television shows, as she looked for practical, efficient solutions, and Holly never found the answers she was looking for, she was able to develop her own set of tools to create a “lifestyle that balances the needs of the mind, body, and spirit in a practical, efficient way.” After working these techniques into her own life and seeing the result, Holly put them together in her book Stress Less, Weigh Less. Holly has now expanded her techniques to create the following tips for handling holiday stress.

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Posted on November 12, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Best of Christmas: Our Holiday Round-Up

Holiday DrinkThe staff at DietsInReview would like to share some of our favorite holiday articles with you today. You can think of it as our little Christmas gift to our fans and readers. We know that Christmas is not a day most people want to think about counting their calories. Besides, taking a day to indulge will help you stay on track with your weight loss goals in the long run. So, here are some fun ways of making your holiday just a little healthier.

Holiday Eating

Avoid Holiday Stress

The Skinny on Parties

Just in case you’re going to end your day with a workout, be sure not to miss this awesome Christmas Workout Mix, which we’re sure could also liven up any holiday party.

Posted on December 25, 2023 by Margaret

Empty Calories Comic: Christmas Cookies

See more Empty Calories right here in the blog each week, or receive one each month when you subscribe to our free newsletter. (more…)

Posted on December 24, 2023 by Health Buzz

5 Ways to Avoid a Blue Christmas

Christmas is supposedly the Season of Joy, except for many, it steals joy like the Grinch stole Christmas from the Who’s. Holiday distress can be caused by traffic, crowded shopping malls and parking lots, financial struggles, and a calendar crammed with holiday parties and events. In addition, the season shocks us with a dip in temperatures requiring extra time and bundling, the least amount of daylight in a 24 hour period of the entire year, and for many of us, complications such as snow, ice, sleet, and a wintry mix. The real culprit stealing the joy of the season for many is grief: missing a loved one during holiday celebrations, unfulfilled dreams or unmet goals, memories of old hurts, and/or family situations that do not meet the holiday ideal.

When you are feeling a bit Scroogey during the holiday season (or any time), it is extra tempting to eat fatty, sugary foods, eat larger portions, skip workouts and stay in bed longer than necessary. Depression also encourages negative thinking patterns which can lead to personal put-downs, self-doubt, and giving up on goals. They may seem basic, but these tips can help you avoid having a Blue Christmas and hold steady on your goals through the end of the year.

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Posted on December 15, 2023 by Brooke Randolph

Four Healthy Holiday Menus Sure to Please

If you’re planning a holiday party, planning the menu is probably the most stressful part of the event (not counting the post-party clean-up, of course). To simplify your party preparations we’ve put together a menu for several festive celebrations, whether you’re throwing a New Year’s Eve Bash, a holiday cookie swap or an open-house soiree.

Potluck Dinner: If you’ve invited each of your guests to bring a favorite dish, you’ll still want to serve a few versatile staples for early-arriving guests.

Rosemary Skewered Chicken: Simple and tasty, you won’t have one leftover.
Stuffed Mushrooms: A simple, classic appetizer filled with the “good stuff.”
Quick Bake Lasagna: Wow, your guests with an easy, pleasing lasagna.
Goat Cheese Salad with Spinach & Tomatoes: A flavorful combination for a great salad.
Almond Biscuit Ring: A great dessert or snack, even for diabetic diners.

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Posted on December 14, 2023 by Maris

Holiday Gift Guides Featuring Our Favorite Health and Fitness Products

You may still be stuffed full of Thanksgiving turkey, but it’s time to look forward to the next winter-time holiday. Whether you celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Ramadan, everyone deserves something special this time of year. If you have a fitness buff on your list, or are making a wish list of your own, Diets in Review is here to help. We’ve compiled our favorite health and fitness products on the market. From yoga mats that play music to the latest in weight lifting technology, our guides will help you find the perfect gift for every type of fitness fanatic on your list.

To help curb your holiday spending (or to ensure you get what you really want this year) we are giving away a few of each of our favorite products, so check out the prize packs at the end of each guide!

Happy and Healthy Holidays!

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Posted on November 30, 2023 by Kelly

Reindeer Meat: Holiday Controversy

Lidl grocery storeVenison has become a fashionable dish, but a British supermarket chain is coming under fire for offering up reindeer steaks. The Lidl stores have been accused of “destroying the magic of Christmas by selling dead reindeer” by the Vegetarians International Voice for Animals (VIVA!). The animal-rights group says that the reindeer are treated cruelly. They say that wild reindeer are herded with snow mobiles and helicopters, which causes the animals undue stress. They also say that 70 percent of the reindeer killed are calves. The reindeer are sourced from Siberia, where Polar Research Journal reported a decline in wild populations.

The Daily Mail reports that Lidl is the first of several grocery store chains that will offer reindeer meat during the holiday season. Lidl has defended their sales by pointing out that the wild animals are better off in their natural habitat than livestock that are raised in captivity. A Lidl representative further pointed out that the reindeer eat local aromatic herbs and grasses. The reindeer meat is served under the grocery store’s premium Deluxe label.

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Posted on November 15, 2023 by Margaret

A 3,000-Year-Old Holiday Stress Saver

Since we are in the midst of the 2024 holiday season and a more precarious economic climate than this country has experienced since The Great Depression, it is no wonder if your stress levels feel like they are off the charts! In-laws, holiday parties, tightened wallets, the list goes on of what we need to accomplish in just a few short weeks.

If you are in desperate need of an immediate tension-tamer, I have one word for you: Yoga. For those who may already have a regular yoga practice, you will appreciate moving and breathing to your favorite asanas all the more as the stressful holiday season heats up. For those of you who have never tried a yoga class, this is your time to experience this ancient system of mind, body and spirit connection. Consider it a holiday gift you are giving to yourself that you don’t even have to gift wrap or write a card. (more…)

Posted on November 25, 2023 by heather

Another candy holiday?

Maybe it’s just me but it appears that in the past years, most of our holidays have turned into candy holidays. It used to be that Halloween, Easter and a Valentine’s Day box of chocolates were the holidays that we often celebrated by relishing in a chocolate candy heart or a caramel-filled egg. Not only have these three traditional candy holidays turned full throttle in their assortment of every kind of candy on the market wrapped up in festive packaging, but Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day, and the Fourth of July have also joined the bandwagon. I don’t remember eating red, white and blue Blow-Pops growing up, but come mid-June, they are a ubiquitous item in candy aisles with kids (and even adults) sucking on them as they fire up the barbecue.

Don’t get me wrong, I am about as happy as a kid in a candy store when I’m in a candy store, but I think our preoccupation with and overindulgence in sugar is something to look at as we read the daily health headlines that provide ongoing evidence of the increasing waistline in this country’s childhood and adult populations.

Posted on March 3, 2024 by heather