Healthy Living with Jilisa Ghareeb: 5 Ways to Spread Christmas Cheer

Happy December! You know this happens every year and it still sneaks up on you (or is that just me?). Christmas is just a couple of weeks away and there are a billion things to be done. But really all the shopping, cleaning, and baking does not matter. Your friends and family will not miss that silly old tie, or the tree shaped sugar cookies and they will not mind that you have a pile of papers on your counter or dirty dishes in the sink. They want the same thing as you…time. Time to spend with loved ones having fun and laughing. They want you to be truly happy and healthy and that is what you want for them. Really, that is what we want for ourselves. I implore you to not stress about all the things. A friend of mine says “don’t worry about it until it is on paper and has signatures.”  I am quite sure that I will be applying that to everything in life!

Realistically I know that just telling you to not worry and stress is not going to keep you from doing that. You are still going to fuss to make sure that the dish you prepare for the family get together is simply perfect. Because cousin Eddie cares that you have 17 croutons on your salad instead of 20. Seriously though amid all the stress you need to pause and find joy. Christmas time is about smiling, and smiling is my favorite (points if you know what that is from)!

Here are 5 things you can do any time to spread Christmas cheer and bring a smile to your face and maybe someone else’s as well.

  1. Pay it forward. This is one of the best ways to warm your heart. When you stop for your coffee, double the dollars, and pay for the next person’s drink. If you cannot pay for the whole thing leave a couple bucks and put it towards the bill. They will wonder why their usual $6 bill was only $3. Pay for someone’s groceries or hide secret money inside packages at the store. Ask someone what their favorite color is and no matter what they tell you, reward them with some cash. The possibilities are endless.
  2. Put peppermint in everything and then share it with everyone. It could be added in your tea, hot chocolate, coffee, cookies, pancakes. I do not think that there are endless possibilities with this one but at Christmas time it seems like it. Peppermint just makes me happy.
  3. Put up Christmas decorations. Twinkle lights make everyone smile. Sync them up with music and watch faces light up. Find some funny decorations and make people laugh. Go a little crazy!
  4. Bake your favorite dessert or cook up your favorite dish from childhood and share it with your neighbors. Tell them why you love this dish so much. We all have stories to share and people really do like to hear your story.
  5. Spend time with someone. It could be family, a friend or maybe you can go to a local nursing home and spend time with someone who does not have anyone. I know this is hard to do in the world we live in now, but it does not hurt to call and check.
House on Washington St, Lowell. Beautiful lights timed to music. How can you not smile?

I know a few things on this list might seem silly, but it is not silly if it makes you or someone else smile. Spreading Christmas cheer is not just about spending money, so it does not have to be just paying it forward. This is about acts of kindness. People are just floored by acts of kindness, and it restores their faith in humanity. Sometimes it feels like we live in a world of negativity and even the smallest thing can be the biggest thing to someone. Even just smiling can change someone’s entire day. The other day at the store I was waiting in line to check out and spent about 2 minutes trying to get the toddler in front of me to smile. I finally succeeded and it made me smile even more. I also gave a mama a couple minute break to take a deep breath, which helped her smile.

Now that you are smiling, I would be remiss to not mention taking care of yourself with your nutrition and exercise. Hardy har har, get that smile back on your face! You have to take care of you in order to take care of others. If you are not healthy and happy, you will not be smiling and then you will not be able to share that beautiful smile. Keep enjoying those treats but work toward that 80/20 rule for the week. 80% of your meals on point and 20% not so on point. Take 30 mins of your day to intentionally move your body. Even in the cold weather there is still a lot you can do. I work out at home 6 days a week and have 100s of workouts to choose from. If you want to join me virtually, send me a message and I will let you know how!

Speaking of moving, how about the move of the month…donkey kicks. There are several ways to do donkey kicks, you can stand or take it to the floor. Whether standing or on the floor you are going to work your gluteus medius (side glutes), but they also help to strengthen your hips and stretch your hip flexors. Let us start with the standing donkey kick.

Stand with your feet together. If you are not steady, please hang on to a chair or use the wall. You are going to kick your whole leg back. The key is to kick back like you are pushing something (like a heavy cinder block) out of the way. Do not just whip your leg back and forth. Go slower and create our own resistance. It is hard to show this in pictures!!  Take a look at the last me in the picture, my back is very arched, this is not how you should look. You want to look like the middle me, back straight. You want to feel this in your butt, not your back.

The other way to do a donkey kick is on your hand and knees. Bring your leg up with a bent knee. Your foot will be up toward the sky. From here you will lift your leg up, pushing your foot up. As I mentioned above you are going to create your own resistance. Go slower and feel the muscles you are using. Pretend that you have that cinder black on your foot. Squeeze your checks. Again, you want to feel this in your butt, not your back. That last me has a very arched back and you do not want that.

To kick it up a notch add a band around your ankles and push that leg back or up and with the same resistance pull it forward.

This month I do not have a recipe for you. My suggestion is to find something to add peppermint to. Or head over to Sweet Seasons in Lowell and grab a 16oz Peppermint Mocha and a peppermint mocha cookie! So delicious! Sweet Seasons understood the assignment!

Merry Christmas to you! My prayer is that each and everyone of you has a happy and healthy Christmas!!  Many blessings to you and your family!

Jilisa Ghareeb has been a Beachbody coach for 6 years.  Her favorite part of being involved with fitness and nutrition is watching her clients change and open up a whole new world.  As a coach, she is able to help others by introducing them to a change that is often scary, intimidating, and full of “what ifs” to an encouraging and inspirational lifestyle full of “I cans”. She uses her own story to show others that everything is possible with hard work and determination.  If you’re interested in reaching out to Jilisa for more information you can contact her via email, on Instagram, or Facebook.

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