Five Tips for Dealing with Holiday Stress and Diabetes

By Donna Moodie, RD CDN and Miryam Kajatt, CCE Diabetes Outreach Worker

Coping with diabetes during the holidays can be difficult especially when our lives are overfilled with parties, shopping and cooking added to our already busy lives.

Here are some tips to help you stay healthy while enjoying the holiday season.

1. Watch your stress levels; Don’t feel the need to say yes to every holiday party/dinner invitation you receive. Save some weekend time just to be with your family and maybe go for a hike in the woods, play board games or just sit around the fire and reconnect with each other.
2. Plan ahead for holiday events, bring some healthy appetizers or main dish to share with family and friends, this way you know there will be something at the party that fits your meal plan.
3. Take a power nap when you need it. Research has shown that napping or just resting for about 20 minutes can improve your mood and make you more alert.
4. When hosting a party have everyone bring a dish to cut down on the work you have to do. If they ask what you would like them to make, have a batch of healthy recipes ready to share. By everyone bringing a dish, there is less work for you and you get to enjoy the party too.

Don’t forget to keep active, taking even a 15 minute walk every day can help relieve stress, lower blood sugar and blood pressure and help to keep off some of those unwanted holiday pounds

Donna Moodie is a Registered Dietician and Diabetes Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at dm258@cornell.edu

Miryam Kajatt is a CCE Outreach Worker with Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County’s Family Health and Wellness Program. She can be reached at mgk24@cornell.edu