The holidays are a time for celebration, family, ornaments, and a whole lot of eggnog. With the busy schedules, extra family time, irresistible cheese plates, and excess sugar, the time meant for celebration can quickly turn into a time of stress, guilt, and regret. Here's my definitive survival guide for everything you need to do to enjoy, stay present, and relish the holidays without any uncomfortable bloat, post-meal sluggishness, or high stress levels:

Have a ritual before eating.

Holiday meals are proof that we don’t just eat to survive or because something tastes good; we eat for enjoyment, social connection, ritual, and celebration. Whether you're eating a meal that your mom cooked for hours or getting takeout from your favorite restaurant, pause for a moment to internally reflect on the food. Pour love into the meal, practice gratitude, and remind yourself that food is something to be enjoyed, not stressed over.

Prioritize self-care

Whether the way you best care for yourself looks more like 20 minutes of meditation, dry brushing before a steaming hot shower, or approximately five different face masks, spend some extra time making yourself feel pampered and cared for. Remember that stress and guilt after eating are worse for your body than pumpkin pie or a glass of champagne could ever be, so fit in extra self-love if you’re feeling regretful or out of control. Take a bath, read a book that makes you happy, DIY a spa day, or stare in the mirror and giving compliments to remind yourself that one meal (or any meal) doesn’t change how worthy you are. Detox your thoughts; your body’s already got you covered.

Hack your hydration.

Water seems to be the cure-all for everything, and with good reason. Staying hydrated can improve energy levels, detox the body, relieve digestive discomfort like constipation, and overall help you feel your best. Especially if you’re feeling hungover (whether it’s a food hangover or a real hangover), drink lots of water to ensure your body stays hydrated so that it can do all that repairing it’s meant to do. Make your water work harder for you by adding lemon, ginger, or chlorophyll for added detoxification, antioxidants, and a variety of health and beauty benefits.

Set intentions.

Even though we want to fast-forward to 2022 after a busy season, it's still the end of an entire year of your life. Focus your energy and attention on how you want to look back and define 2021, or what note you want to leave it on. Are you aiming for abundance, staying present, or just feeling gratitude? Maybe your theme is self-love or human connection. No matter what you need a little bit more of or want to focus on this December, set intentions and then repeat them every single morning, before every meal, and upon entering every room you walk into.

Move in ways that make you feel invigorated.

If you're forcing yourself to get on your mat and get in some exercise instead of looking forward to it, you're not doing it right. Or maybe worse, you're wasting a time of year that's meant to be enjoyed. Put on a playlist of your favorite Christmas music or winter jams and dance around, go on a jog and enjoy the crisp, cold air, or do something seasonal like ice skating or sledding (plot twist: sledding is great for the glutes–AKA running up hills–and takes some serious core muscles to hold on going downhill). Move your body everyday and consistently throughout the day, but make sure you're doing it in ways that make your body feel alive, not drained.

Rules are meant to be broken.

When we put a moral value on foods, what’s meant to nourish us becomes associated with guilt. Of course, some foods have more nutritional value than others. A plate of spinach will provide your body with more nutrients than peppermint bark, but you’re not “bad” when you do want to eat a peppermint bark. Also, just a relevant FYI while we're on the topic: screw your low-carb diet. “Carb” is not a dirty word; it’s actually an important nutrient that the body needs for many crucial functions like energy. Rid yourself of guilt-ridden food rules and listen to your body to decide what you need (not what you “should” or “shouldn’t” eat). Plus, when you're nourishing your body with foods from the earth most of the time, another Christmas cookie, spiked eggnog, or plate of fettuccine won't harm your body.

Keep up with the supplements that make you feel better (including leafy greens).

No matter what you're doing this holiday season, you can probably know and expect that your diet, routine, and stress levels will be different than normal. One of the things you can stick to that will help you feel normal? Supplements. Which ones make you feel best? If you're unsure, start with a few of my favorite basics: a probiotic for gut health that can help keep your digestive system on track, a B-Complex for energy, vitamin-D for mood (especially if it's cold and cloudy where you live), and magnesium for digestion, stress, and hormone regulation.

Also, leafy greens and vegetables count as supplements, too. In fact, they're the most important nutrients you can give yourself, so think of a starter salad or veggies as a pre-dinner snack (even if you're not hungry). Eating veggies first ensures you can enjoy any foods you want, but you’re still getting in the nutrients your body needs. Plus, you’ll eat less of the stuff that doesn’t make you feel good because you'll already be filled up on the nutrients your body needs.

Skip what you feel meh about.

If a dish or treat doesn’t excite you, skip it. There's no holiday rule that says you have to eat the lackluster pretzel mix your neighbors dropped off on your door or that you have to eat the cranberry sauce with your meal. If you can take or leave the dinner rolls, skip them so you have more room for veggies that will load your body with nutrients, or the foods and treats that you're going to enjoy every bite of. Eating what you truly want, rather than what's in front of you or eating out of tradition, will actually allow you to enjoy meals more (while still filling your body with nutrients that make you feel good).

Remember that joy is a nutrient.

Health is not a two-part formula of diet plus exercise, and joy is a nutrient too (even more effective at keeping your body healthy than protein or vitamin A). What we listen to, the people we spend our time with, the accounts we follow on Instagram, the way we speak to ourselves (and others) are all things that feed us too. If you're worried about eating junk food but not mindful about junk food for the brain, you're missing the key piece of the puzzle. Instead of stressing about food, pour yourself a glass of Pinot Noir and reassess how your relationships nourish you, the compassion you’re giving yourself, and how you’re spending your free time to truly be your healthiest self, through 2021 and beyond.