Every year around Christmas, a strange set of unwritten wellness rules suddenly appears:

• Don’t eat too much.
• Don’t drink too much.
• Don’t skip your workouts.
• Don’t ruin your routine.
• Don’t start January “behind”.

We’re somehow still meant to enjoy ourselves while quietly tracking every bite, every glass, and every late night. It’s exhausting, and it’s not actually doing your health any favors at all. You’re punishing yourself instead of allowing yourself to relax and have fun!

So how about letting a few of those rules go this year? Not because wellness doesn’t matter, but because real wellness looks different during the holidays.

Rule #1: Food Isn’t the Enemy: Stress Is Doing Most of the Damage

Enjoying your food isn’t something to feel guilty about. You can enjoy a yummy Christmas and dessert without undoing months of healthy habits!

What causes digestive issues for most people isn’t always the food itself; it can also be the stress around eating. Rushing meals, eating while anxious, or feeling guilty switches the body into stress mode. And digestion simply doesn’t work well in those circumstances. Basically, your digestive system isn’t built to perform under pressure.

This is where support matters. Using supplements like digestive enzymes (the Digestive Catalyst is a good call here) with heavier meals helps your body break food down properly, especially when meals are richer or you’re eating later in the day than usual. It’s not about fixing anything; it’s about giving your digestion a hand so you can actually enjoy what you’re eating without any guilt or consequence.

Rule #2: Skipping Meals: Sounds Clever, Usually Backfires

We get that it sounds logical to skip meals to “make room”, but it almost always backfires. Skipping meals actually lowers your blood sugar, increases stress hormones, and reduces stomach acid and digestive enzyme production. So when you finally sit down to a big Christmas meal, your body is not prepared, which leads to an onset of bloating, heaviness, and discomfort.

Eating regularly keeps your digestion switched on. And again, digestive enzymes can really help here when you’re out of your normal eating rhythm. They help to stop food sitting too long in the gut, which is often the real reason behind that bloating.

Rule #3: Bloating Doesn’t Mean Your Body is Broken

Bloating at Christmas is incredibly common. It doesn’t automatically mean you’ve suddenly developed a food intolerance. Late nights, alcohol, disrupted sleep, richer foods, more fibre than usual, and higher stress all stack up and stress your digestive system out big time! So your digestion slows down, food sits there and ferments, and boom - you get gassy.

Supporting digestion can help prevent that post-meal bloat spiral without cutting foods out or panicking about ingredients. Even if you don’t have any digestive supplements to hand, things like ensuring you’re getting some fiber in your meal and having a cup of peppermint tea afterwards can make a big difference. Sometimes the body just needs support rather than restriction.

Rule #4: You Don’t Need to Earn Your Food

You don’t owe anyone a workout because you ate. And whoever made that idea a thing needs to have a good look at themselves in the mirror. This reward-punishment system is absolutely the worst mindset to have around food and exercise.

Of course, movement can support digestion and mood, but come on - it’s the holidays. Give yourself a break (unless you’re really looking forward to that workout, in which case you get a pass!). Christmas isn’t the time for making yourself work out simply because you had a few chocolates. A gentle walk with your family after dinner, stretching, fresh air, or simply moving your body (FYI: dancing around the kitchen totally works too) because it feels good will support your nervous system far more than pushing yourself out of guilt. It’s in your best interests because a calmer nervous system always leads to better digestion!

Rule #5: Your Routine Didn’t Disappear Forever

Christmas disrupts routines. That’s not a personal failure - it’s just reality. You sleep at different times, probably do a lot more socializing, daylight drops, and your schedule goes all out whack. All of this affects energy, immunity, and mood. Expecting your body to function exactly as it does in a normal week just isn’t realistic.

This is where foundational support really matters and one of the best things you can do is try to increase your vitamin D levels - this is something that’s especially important during winter months when sunlight is limited. It’s not known as the “sunshine vitamin” for no reason! It works hard to support immune health, mood, and overall resilience - three things your body is leaning on heavily at this time of year. Add some vitamin K2 to the mix and you’ll ensure you get maximum absorption from your vitamin D supplements, and if you want to level up even further go for the fast-working liposomal delivery system which you’ll find in our store here. If you need a stop-gap at the moment until you can get a vitamin D supplement, try increasing your intake of foods such as: oily fish (like salmon, mackerel and sardines), egg yolks, liver, fortified dairy or plant milks, and fortified cereals.

Your routine will return to normal in the new year, or even improve - depending on your goals. Supporting your body through the disruptions around the holiday season is what matters now.

Rule #6: The ‘Fresh Start’ Panic is a Myth

There’s a quiet pressure that starts brewing around Christmas. It’s the (ridiculous) idea that as soon as January hits, you need to overhaul your entire lifestyle and become a brand-new version of yourself from Day 1. The reality is that your body needs time to recover from the holidays, which is best done with gentle and consistent support. We’re talking about simple things like adequate nutrients, digestive support, keeping those vitamin D levels topped up, hydrating like a boss, and resting. All of that combined and done consistently will do far more for you than any extreme cleanse.

So what are we prioritizing instead?

• Enjoyment.
• Flexibility.
• Digestive support when it’s needed.
• Immune support through winter.
• Nourishment over restriction.

Christmas wellness isn’t about doing everything “right”. It’s about letting your body feel safe and supported and letting yourself enjoy the season. And that’s the kind of wellness that actually lasts well beyond the holidays

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