Editor's note: The above video is from November 11.
The holidays, especially the ones in the latter months of the year, evoke images of plentiful tables and food comas on your couch after a swig or two of Pepto Bismol or a couple of Tums. Overindulgence tends to be a common theme during these festive days, both in food and alcohol.
Other common themes during the holidays are indigestion, heartburn, bloating, diarrhea, hangovers, and perhaps a pound or two heavier on the scale.
So what should we do to stop ourselves from eating a whole pie or drinking one too many glasses of eggnog or coquito?
Here is a list of the most sensible (in my opinion) tips and tricks on how to not make yourself sick during the holidays.
First, let's address the big one...no pun intended.
Holiday weight gain
Each year we hear or have grievances about holiday weight gain followed by a New Years' resolution to lose weight -- which let's be honest -- we give up on in mid-January.
But there is good news, it turns out holiday weight gain is actually not as horrible as we think.
According to a study, people rarely gain five or more pounds over the holidays. If you do gain weight during the holiday season, it's likely to be only about a pound and some. Luckily, that pound or so should be easy to shed with some physical activity.
The next set of ailments all have to do with your stomach.
During the holidays' people tend to overeat (myself included). There are so many scrumptious and mouthwatering options, many that are only available during holidays, that it's hard not to want to eat everything. And as you already know, if you eat everything you will pay dearly for it.
Running to the bathroom in the middle of the night to...evacuate, certainly ruins the holly jolly fun. And let's not forget about feeling like a balloon that's about to burst from all the bloating.
Or my personal favorite, feeling the previously tasty foods, with a touch of acid coming up your throat as you try to sleep. Fun times.
As hard as it is not to overeat, it's harder, and rather more painful, to deal with the consequences afterward.
Sure, you can take some over-the-counter medication to help alleviate your symptoms OR you can remind yourself that there will be leftovers and you will once again get to enjoy your favorite holiday treats.
And finally, for you 21 years and older crowd -- the dreaded H word. Hangover.
Many of us have that one time or two when we went a little too hard at holiday parties and ended up with the mother of all hangovers hours later -- the kind that takes you a few days to recover from.
People have all kinds of 'magical' hangover cures like katerfrühstück - a hangover breakfast from our German friends that consists of raw pickled herring wrapped around pieces of gherkin and onion. Yummy.
Some popular 'cures' include hair of the dog (curious of where this came from?), drinking Pedialyte (Okay, this one actually has some merit to it as it helps your body replenish electrolytes), and my personal favorite, eating spicy food.
But, if you want to avoid feeling like a dried out zombie (speaking of zombies, are you prepared for the zombie apocalypse?), you can try drinking one full glass of water before passing out for the night and even better if you can manage to eat a small something.
These things will help you feel like a human the next morning.
All in all, it is quite simple to avoid feeling sick and to stay healthy during the holidays -- you just need to put in a little bit of effort.
We can all manage even a small amount of self-control, and that small amount is better than none.
Some physical activity will definitely help you feel better especially after a big meal and it can be as simple as a twenty-minute walk around your neighborhood.
And you'll thank yourself for having a glass of water before bed after a liquor laden holiday party.