The Simplicity of Wellness Podcast
The Simplicity of Wellness podcast is about learning how to bring your body into balance so that you get leaner, stronger and healthier as you age. Each week I'll share thoughts and ideas that help my clients build the self-awareness, self-confidence and self-reliance to lose weight, shed inches, manage muscle mass and master their mind so that they can stop dieting and enjoy living at their healthy weight with optimal wellness.
The Simplicity of Wellness Podcast
Holiday Winning: A Season of Events not a Marathon of Indulgence
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Do you find yourself struggling to stay on track with your health goals during the holiday season? Join me on today's Simplicity of Wellness podcast, where I promise you'll learn how to transform the 62 days between Halloween and New Year's into a series of mindful, enjoyable events rather than a marathon of indulgence. Discover how to set personal boundaries and make smart choices with festive foods, all without sacrificing your long-term well-being. I'll share practical strategies and examples that will help you navigate the holiday season with balance and self-care, turning occasional indulgences into guilt-free moments of joy.
Reflecting on personal holiday struggles and feelings of being out of control can be daunting, but you're not alone. I encourage you to share your specific challenges, and I'll address them in future episodes. Hear about the success stories from my Hangry to Healthy weight loss coaching program, where clients have thrived through the holidays without compromising their health goals. This episode offers you a unique chance to start 2025 in better shape and comfort, with a free consult to discuss your individual goals. Don't let the holiday season derail your progress—tune in to take control and thrive.
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Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast. I'm your host, board-certified holistic nutritionist and professional life coach, amy White. The purpose of this podcast is to share information that you can use to become leaner, stronger and healthier by losing weight, shedding inches, maintaining muscle and managing your mind, all while living your normal busy life life in this modern, sugar-filled world. It's October, which means it's almost the holiday season. Did you know that there are 62 days between Halloween and January 1st? These 62 days are what I think of as the official winter holiday food season. It all kicks off with Halloween candy and then ends with the last of the festive food on New Year's Eve. I know people and I'm sure you do too who look at these 62 days and just give up. All weight loss and health goals, get put on hold with a vow to start again in January. Admittedly, there are other people who choose to stick with their weight loss plan and forgo holiday fun. It seems like it's one or the other You're going all in or you're holding back and keeping yourself from having the fun that you think is available. Both of these options fall strongly in the all or nothing zone and, as I've said before and will continue to say, if your approach to weight loss and long-term health has any all or nothing rules, you're playing a losing game.
Speaker 1:I think there is a long-term ingrained belief that the holidays are a time when we make an extra effort to put all the other people before ourselves, to be as generous as possible and give as much of ourselves as possible. I get this. I feel it. It's a joyous and special time of year for so many people and we want to share those feelings. Of course, we all try to do what we can when we can, all year long, but the holidays are a time when emotions run high and everything gets exaggerated. It's also the time of year that a lot of people really get burnt out. Everyone else comes first. Our needs tend to take a back seat. It's the perfect example of letting your own cup run dry and then not having anything left to give. If you're not taking care of you, you can't take care of the other people in your life. You can't be who you want to be.
Speaker 1:This year, think about dropping the all or nothing approach so that you can truly enjoy the holiday season, the whole season, without any burnout. Get clear on what you need for yourself. What do you need to do to stabilize your mood and energy. What boundaries do you need to set to make sure you get enough sleep? Here's the thing. I don't believe what you need to do for yourself has to make waves or seem weird or different. Putting yourself first will make it possible for you to be as generous and supportive as you want to be, without the burnout 62 days. There are 62 days between Halloween and January 1st, so let's put these 62 days into perspective. You will not be indulging for 62 days. Yes, it's the holiday season, but that doesn't mean there are events and parties every single day. Even if there are, it's very unlikely that you'll want to say yes to every invitation you get. This is where those boundaries come in. This is where you get to decide. I am going to enjoy the holidays, but I'm also going to be true to myself and manage my body and health goals. Realistically, you can do this. You can enjoy the holidays and be true to myself and manage my body and health goals. Realistically, you can do this. You can enjoy the holidays and be true to your body and health goals. You can actually get through the holidays and lose weight.
Speaker 1:The average person will probably have about four to eight occasions when they may choose to eat indulgent food, choosing those indulgent foods beyond their normal, most of the time foods. These are those rarely foods that I talk about. This is the perfect example of when rarely foods fit in, how you make them work for your body. These special occasions are when you run into a lot of those rarely foods the foods you love but that you know don't love you back. Those rarely foods, the foods you love but that you know don't love you back. Foods you're going to choose to eat or indulge in even though you know they'll probably make you regret it the next day. Nothing is going wrong. This is exactly why you have, most of the time, some of the time, in rarely foods. There are no forbidden foods. You manage all your foods in a way that work for you and your body. Having rarely foods rarely won't cause you to gain 20 pounds overnight. Yes, they may slow down your weekly progress, but when it comes to your overall healthy changes, your long-term goal, they won't have an impact. When you're enjoying rarely, it's not a problem. Your body can handle this.
Speaker 1:Change your perspective about the holidays. Stop thinking of a holiday season and think of individual holiday events. If you have eight, we'll call them fun food events. That means there are 54 days during November and December that are all yours Yours to manage the way you want to. Yours to eat and enjoy food that works for your body. So here's an example of eight fun food events.
Speaker 1:Number one Halloween candy indulgence, either on Halloween or the day after Halloween. Number two Thanksgiving. Number three your December holiday, whatever your family tradition is. Number four New Year's Eve the next four days, five through eight, are these optional fun food days. Number five Thanksgiving leftover day. Number six a business or office party. Number seven a friend's event. And number eight something extra, another kind of event. I'm inclined to remove the Halloween candy indulgence because you can absolutely have a few pieces of Halloween candy without it being a full-blown indulgent day. So if you can easily moderate Halloween, I'd drop that off the list and just add another fun food day. I don't know about you, but for me four to five indulgent days is usually enough. These fun food days tend to be fun in the moment, but they get old fast. Nothing takes the fun out of a day faster than feeling lousy.
Speaker 1:For me, a so-called fun food day tends to be a day when I choose to eat more of what I call my sometimes and rarely foods instead of my most of the time foods. I like the occasional party or outing where I know I'll be enjoying more of my sometimes and rarely foods, but when I do this, I know my most of the time foods will get crowded out. So, for example, instead of making sure my plate's filled with protein and vegetables, it out. So, for example, instead of making sure my plate's filled with protein and vegetables, I might decide I want chips and dip, I want some of the nuts, I want some of the sweet things before I have any protein. And, depending on how long the party or event is, I might then move on to the dessert table and start testing a few of the different desserts. Instead of my food being mostly protein, it ends up being mostly high calorie goodies. This is fine occasionally, but my body never wants this back to back. I will never do this two days or three days in a row. The day after something like this, my body craves my most of the time foods. My body wants to get back into balance.
Speaker 1:So talking about this reminds me of college. I remember knowing people. I still think of college. I remember knowing people. I still think about this. I remember knowing people who would drink a lot of alcohol on weeknights and even weekends, basically multiple days in a row, and I'm talking about a lot of alcohol. I was not one of those people. For me it was either Friday night or Saturday night, rarely both. I hated the way I felt after too much alcohol. Again, it was fun in the moment with all of my friends and whatever we were doing. But, boy, the next day I just spent the whole day trying to get back to myself.
Speaker 1:So now that I'm older, like way older, food knocks me down the way alcohol used to. I don't like the way I feel after eating too many of my sometimes and rarely foods. I don't like eating a lot of goodies. I feel hung over. Think about that. Do you know the difference between foods that make you feel really good and foods that kind of knock you down and hold you back from feeling totally engaged in life? That's what it was like for me after too much alcohol and now after too many goodies. I really, really dislike that feeling of waking up in a fog and then spending an entire day kind of trying to dig my way back to my normal self and feeling balanced and back in my normal life. I just I really dislike that. So I think I've explained the difference between what I call normal food days and indulgent fun food days, which brings me back to the idea of holiday food.
Speaker 1:This is the time of year we are presented with lots of those rarely food choices, things that don't commonly get put in front of us at other times of the year. All families have special treats that only show up at Thanksgiving or during December traditions. We all know the things we love but that our body actually hates. I also know I'm probably going to eat those things. What I'm not going to do is eat those things 62 days in a row, having rarely foods four to eight days out of 62, isn't going to bring my body and health goals to a complete standstill. Yes, things might slow down, but again, over the course of 62 days, any stall won't be that noticeable in the bigger scheme of my overall goals. I will still be making progress.
Speaker 1:If I decided to look at the holiday season as 62 days of treats and nibbles because I believed I had zero control over my food, then I'd likely hit January in a body that was very uncomfortable and much bigger than it is now. Don't let this happen. You do have control. Yes, you're likely going to find yourself four to eight times over those 62 days in situations where you will enjoy making some indulgent food choices. That's great. Enjoy. But know there are far more days during this time 54 to be exact that you get to choose what you want for you. Don't waste these 54 days. Make them great so that you feel amazing. Use these 54 days to support your body so that your skin glows, your hair shines and your fancy party clothes fit. You want your fancy party clothes to fit so well. You're relaxed and comfortable the entire time. You're having fun with your friends.
Speaker 1:Here are a few things that I do during the holidays that make it easier to manage my weight, energy, mood and body comfort. Number one I indulge and enjoy without guilt four to eight times between Halloween and January 1st. For me, these indulgent days are typically some candy on Halloween as I man the door at my daughter's house. Thanksgiving leftovers the day after Thanksgiving, maybe one party with neighbors in December. Christmas Eve dinner with the family and then Christmas Day New Year's Eve is a very normal day with an early bedtime in our house. Number two I prioritize protein as often as possible and stick with my most of the time foods.
Speaker 1:On the 54 normal days during November and December when we have family and friends at our house, we avoid putting out a bunch of nibbly food. Family and friends at our house we avoid putting out a bunch of nibbly food. We focus on the meals. I like to feel hungry when I eat, especially when it's a big, fancy meal. I want to sit down at the table excited to dig in. If I nibble all day, or even just nibble while I'm cooking, I tend to ruin my appetite. When it comes time to enjoy the big meal with my family and the other guests, I'm not very excited about participating. I've learned that this isn't unique to me, so skipping the appetizers and other little bowls of nibbles benefits everyone. When we go to parties, we bring food. Most of the events we go to are potluck, so everyone's invited to bring whatever they would like to share. We will always bring a protein-rich option and a dessert to add to the dessert table.
Speaker 1:During November and December I try to be as active as I can. I do my best to hit 8,000 or more steps a day and get three weight workouts a week. I don't always succeed, but this is my goal Basically. Aside from those four to eight days that include a bit of extra indulgence, I try to live my life exactly as I do the rest of the year as a whole. There's nothing special about November and December. Yes, there are a few festive days where we all tend to gather with friends and family for a shared experience. Make those shared experiences work for you.
Speaker 1:Let the holidays be a time where you tune in to how you feel. Make the decision to do what it takes to feel your best. Listen to your body. Do the things that work and skip the things that don't. There are no rules about what you choose to eat, except the ones you decide for yourself. Stop being the person who puts being polite ahead of your own needs. Don't choose to eat food that makes you sick, tired or worse, just to make someone else happy. Do what you can to make yourself happy. Have you ever heard that expression? You can only be as happy as the saddest person in the room. Think about that. It's actually very true. Don't let your food choices set you up to be the sad, uncomfortable person in the corner. Be the person who feels good. Be happy so everyone around you can be happy. As you up to be the sad, uncomfortable person in the corner, be the person who feels good. Be happy so everyone around you can be happy.
Speaker 1:As you listen to this podcast, what's coming up for you? What do you struggle with during the holidays? Is there anything that makes the holidays feel hard to you? Is there something specific that makes you feel out of control, that you don't have choices? I'd really love to know what it is that you struggle with. If you want to share, click the questions comments, shoot me a note link in the show notes and let me know I want to address your specific issues. Tell me where you need help and I'll follow up in an upcoming podcast.
Speaker 1:Holiday time is my favorite time to invite new clients into my Hangry to Healthy weight loss coaching program. I love to coach women through the holidays because I love the aha moments that happen as they realize they're losing weight, feeling great and not missing out. How would 2025 be different for you if, like my Hangry to Healthy Holiday clients from the past, you hit January weighing less, less weight, less inches and a totally calm appetite that feels easy to satisfy? What would it be like to never have to get beach ready, because beach ready is just your normal. What about going out to eat in clothes that feel comfortable and coming home realizing you didn't unbutton your pants in the car because your clothes still feel comfortable? This is what it's like when you go from feeling hangry to healthy. I only accept three new clients a month. If you'd like to take control of the holiday season so you start 2025 feeling and looking better, not worse, then click the schedule your free consult link in the show notes.
Speaker 1:I will be back in the next episode. Do you like the idea of eating for the body you want? Is there a piece of you that's eager to learn how to become leaner, stronger and healthier without having to overhaul your entire life? If this is you, then you're in luck, because this is what I do. I can help you reconnect and work with your body so that you can enjoy the body, comfort and confidence you deserve, eating foods you love. Click the free consult link in the show notes. Let's talk about where you are, what you want and how you can get there.
