The holiday season is a time for getting together with friends, meeting new ones and catching up with the old.  It is a time when you take time to be with family and loved ones.  It is a time of togetherness, and it is celebrated with food.  The number one rule is to bask in these and enjoy it.  The second is to remind yourself that you do not have to overeat to enjoy.

1. Be realistic.

Admit it, it is difficult to continue dieting while everyone else is binging.  However, this is not to say that you should just throw all caution to the wind.  Set realistic goals that will not limit what you can do during the fun and festivities of the season.  For example, you might want to aim for maintaining your weight instead of losing some.  This way, you will not be under tremendous pressure to cut back and put a damper on any Christmas party you go to.

What is more, it is important to keep track of these goals wherever you may go.  Write it on a piece of paper, recite it to yourself every chance you get, or tie a ribbon on your little finger, anything that would help you remember your goals and keep you from eating too much food.

2. Avoid the alcohol.

Christmas parties usually start with a pre-dinner cocktail, but it is best to, just drink water while everyone else is drinking alcohol.  This is because the alcohol actually makes you eat more by stimulating your appetite.  What is more, by cutting back on the alcohol, you can avoid the extra calories from it.

3. Do not skip meals.

Some people think that by skipping breakfast or lunch, they would be able to make up for last night’s food binge.  Wrong.  By spacing meals too far apart, you would only find yourself too hungry to control yourself when dinner comes along.  This makes you overeat all the more.  Do not skip any meals, and you should even include some snacks like yogurt or sandwiches every four hours.  If you come to a party on a full stomach, you will be tempted less to gorge on sinful cakes, and fatty foods!

4. Drink water!

Remember to hydrate yourself with water.  Instead of juices, sodas or punch, drink only water.  This will help cut the calories you eat during the holidays.

5. Go for smaller portions.

You love that juicy Christmas ham, that chocolate cake, that creamy salad, that chocolate mousse?  There is no sense in saying no to these foods when you are in a party that would last for hours, opting instead for “safe” foods.  You would find yourself going back to the table and getting these “sinful” foods, which on top of the “safe” foods you have already eaten would equal overeating!  Instead of depriving yourself of your favourite foods, take a small portion of each on your plate.  However, do limit yourself to one plate!

6. Eat slowly.

It is bad manners to talk while your mouth is full.  However, do you know that talking in between bites actually helps you lose weight?  Eating slowly can help you eat less before your brain can signal your body that it is full.  The result? You eat less before you realize you are full.

7. Exercise every chance you get.

Set aside extra 30 minutes or one hour for additional exercise.  If you cannot spare time to go to the gym, look for other ways to exercise.  You might want to walk to the next party or run home instead of taking your car.

8. Ditch the guilt.

If you found yourself eating too much at a party, forgive yourself and move on.  Get back on track tomorrow.  There is no sense in feeling guilty about your bout with overeating.  Feeling guilty will only make you take drastic measures like abstaining from food or even eating more.

Proper health practice is a general term used to describe or denote activities geared towards achieving a state of optimum health and wellness. One of the activities under this includes diet modification that is, establishing a well-balanced diet complete with the adequate amount of vitamins and minerals needed to sustain the activities for everyday life. Nutritious food nourishes life thereby promoting good health and wellness. Diet varies according to the needs of an individual. Like for instance, a person with hypertension must follow a strict diet that is low in cholesterol and low in salt. Another example is a person with diabetes who must strictly follow a diet low in sugar. Diet not only affects what a person eats, but also how the person lives. Aside from diet, a change in lifestyle is also under the umbrella of proper health practice. Lifestyle modification is indeed vital in achieving a direction towards good health. As person ages, his body organs and systems also ages. Hence, immune system is thereby lowered making an individual more prone to acquiring diseases. In addition, ageing requires a person to change his lifestyle since the bodily processes wears down. Alcohol binging, cigarette smoking, and late night parties are some of the activities that one must abstain in order to reach the goal of being optimally healthy. Excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages damages the liver and is toxic to the body. However, with the way people in the society treats alcohol, it’s as if it’s a necessity. Parties would have no life without alcohol. It gives a sort of extra kick in the atmosphere. With this, it makes it hard for people to abstain from alcoholic beverages. It makes the venture towards good health vague and cloudy. Cigarette smoking, on the other hand, not only damages the lungs, but it also increases the risk of acquiring cancer. Smoking has many detrimental effects to an individual’s body. It promotes constriction of the bronchial muscles thereby compromising breathing. It increases production of hydrochloric acid of the parietal cells in the stomach thereby increasing the risk of gastric ulcers. It causes liver cirrhosis, which can eventually lead to fatal outcomes. When talking about late night parties, it has a negative connotation with regards to health. Late nights are intended for sleeping, not for parties. The body needs at least 8 hours of sleep. Any lack thereof will have a negative effect to the body. Another activity that promotes proper health practice is proper hygiene. Taking a bath daily, making sure your nails are short and clean, brushing your teeth every after meals and proper grooming are just simple, easy yet effective methods towards achieving a state of wellness. With proper grooming, it enhances self-esteem and increases an individual’s self-confidence. Regular exercise is another thing that can help enhance one’s health. Having a regular exercise is a very efficient health practice. Aside from making the muscles firm and strong, it is also good for the heart.

If you are planning to be one of the people who want to become healthy, then it is advised that you should follow proper health practices. By doing so, you are not only promoting healthy living, but also preventing the possible occurrence of disease and illness. A way to healthy living and healthy life starts with you.

The aging process and chronic illness influence each other in many ways. Elderly people are physically, socially, and psychologically more vulnerable to illness and its effects. Although individuals differ in timing and rate of illness, all elderly people face the stresses of physical, social, and environmental changes. Promoting health, preventing or delaying the onset of aging changes, is possible to some extent. One of the most common occurrences of the aging process is a loss of independence. Even some of the most basic activities of adults become major task for elders because of lack of income, ill health, and lack of transportation. Because of the limitations of elders and the barriers they must face, they have special needs, in regard to community facilities and services. If these needs are met, the lifestyles of elders are greatly enhanced. If not, they are confronted with anything from a slight inconvenience to a very poor quality of life. Meeting the cultural and religious needs of the elderly is also very essential. It is important to accept an individual’s beliefs without bias. In addition, promotion of physical health in later life requires attention to the same factors as at any age, for instance, regular exercise, a balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle. The situation with older people may be more complex as often manifestations of aging intermingle with symptoms of disease. The elderly are more prone to communicable diseases because the aging process lowers down the immune system. Using this as the basis, we can say that prevention from acquiring communicable diseases and slowing down the body’s degenerative process is vital for the elderly. When a disease or disability affects the functioning of the body, an individual may experience psychological problems. When this occurs in an elderly individual already stressed by other changes or circumstances, it can be traumatic. Many chronic conditions commonly found among older people can be managed, limited, and even prevented. Older people are more likely to maintain good health and functional independence if encouraged to do so and if appropriate community-based support services are available. Psychological changes can be major sources of stress in the elderly. As changes occur, the individual must learn to accommodate the changes and function in new situations. Providing care to the elderly can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It is important to remember that the needs of the elderly do not differ greatly from the needs of any other individual. They have the same physical and psychological needs as any person at any age. However, these needs are sometimes intensified by physical or psychological changes that disrupt the normal life pattern. Nursing care for the older adults should be based on two principles: most elderly are not impaired but are functional in the community, thereby benefiting from health-related oriented interventions, and older people are more vulnerable to physical, emotional and socioeconomic problems than people in other age groups and may require special attention for health promotion and maintenance. Freedom from abuse is an important aspect of care for the elderly. Abuse of the elderly can be physical, verbal, psychological, or sexual. Handling the elderly roughly, denying food, water, medications, yelling or screaming at the elderly and even causing fear are all forms of abuse. It is difficult to measure the incidence of elder abuse and neglect in the general population. Those being abused may not be able to report the crime because they’re mentally-impaired or may not feel free to because they’re dependent on the abuser. Frequently, the abuser is a family member or caretaker. Elderly individuals may want to protect the abuser or may even feel that they deserve the abuse. Another aspect of meeting the needs of the elderly is to respect and follow their rights. These rights assure the elderly individual a kind of care that is considerate and kind.

Therefore, health is indeed important for the elderly. Meeting the needs of the elderly is vital for them to enjoy life and continue to live for another day.