In my telehealth functional medicine clinic, I spend a lot of time talking with my clients about the holidays. This time of year is typically centered around unhealthy food that can cause people to feel anxious and overwhelmed about staying on track with their health goals.

It's time to reclaim the holidays for your health. Instead of stressing yourself out this time of year, let's reshape our mindset. There should be a grace and lightness to wellness. By practicing mindfulness we can help create a sense of peace and acceptance about what comes our way this season, including the food we are surrounded by. You may even find that with a renewed focused, you can eat that single piece of pie guilt-free - or not at all.

To help bring you back to the present moment this holiday season, I've compiled five mantras from my book The Inflammation Spectrum.

1. "I am in perfect balance, and I trust my gut."

During the chaos of the holidays, many of us can feel off our game and out of touch with our intuitions. Add this to the inflammatory, gut-irritating foods abound during the holidays, and you can feel knocked out of balance. Enter: “I am in perfect balance, and I trust my gut.” Repeating those words will help you feel more in control. Ultimately, you know what is right for your health. These words will encourage you to listen to your body and what it's trying to tell you.

2. "I allow my body to return to its most natural state of thriving health. I am cleansed and pure."

Too much sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and dairy can take a toll on our systems but it’s important not to beat yourself up or feel shame. That’s why I love this mantra so much. It reminds us that things will always return to normal, even when we’re feeling overloaded by food, emotions, or stress. 

3. "My thoughts are aligned with perfect health, and I become clearer and happier each day."

Brain fog can be a not-so-fun side effect of too much unhealthy food and stress. This mantra can help refocus your thoughts toward your positive health goals and stay motivated to make healthy lifestyle choices. 

4. "My blood sugar is balanced; I am balanced. My insulin and leptin hormones are balanced; I am balanced."

Stress + the holidays = a major sugar high. If you’re trying to keep your sugar intake in check, repeating this mantra to yourself can help you stay balanced when it comes to sweets and really, in all areas of your life! 

5. "My body is powerful and constantly restores itself."

Remember, even if you do end up stress eating or overindulging during the holidays, your body is incredibly resilient. It’s intricately designed to heal and wants to restore itself to optimal health, even after a few too many cookies and cocktails. The next day, repeat this mantra, move your body, and treat yourself to some bone broth or green tea to show yourself some love. 

I recommend picking one mantra and repeating it aloud for 5 to 15 minutes while sitting quietly without distractions. These mantras will help you cleanse your body and mind of negativity, doubt, and shame. When you focus first on your mindset and how you talk to yourself, you may find that you not only recover from unhealthy foods quicker — you don’t find yourself reaching for them as often in the first place. 

Whatever direction your holiday ends up going, as you practice these mantras this month, remember that health is not a destination, it’s a constant, evolving journey. There should be a grace and lightness to wellness. And when we are so focused on rigid goals, it can lead to shame and anxiety during the holidays when, really, they should be about gratefulness and time with loved ones. 

As one of the first functional medicine telehealth clinics in the world, we provide webcam health consultations for people around the globe. 

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