31. “The Holidays Are So Challenging”

Nov 17

Steps to Make it Through the Holidays

Schedule in Your Workouts
Set Realistic Goals
Stick to Them

Navigating the holidays doesn’t have to be as stressful and challenging as you think it will be. It comes down to having a plan, scheduling that plan into your calendar, setting realistic goals, and actually sticking to them. We’ve got this!

Listen to Episode 31 Here

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The Chief Complaint: “The Holidays are So Challenging”

The holidays can be such a stressful time on their own, but when you add your own health and wellness goals to them, they can be downright daunting. Making it through these challenging weeks comes down to three things: having a plan, setting realistic goals, and sticking to them.

How to Approach Exercise and Food

It’s so easy to want to relax and not do much of anything over the holidays. If this is what you want to do, that’s okay, because it’s your decision. But if you want to maintain a workout regime, you need to be realistic.

You might not have the time or energy to keep up with the workout schedule that you’ve got going on right now and that’s okay. So what you need to do is figure out how much time you will have to exercise. Schedule into your busy holiday calendar, and now here’s the thing: you need to stick to these meetings with your body.

This approach is similar to how you get through the challenges that holiday food presents. It’s absolutely okay to eat more than you normally would and it’s also okay to eat just what you have been eating. What matters is your mindset and approach to your food.

If you decide to indulge in something outside your regular eating habits, I want you to accept that and, even more importantly, not feel guilty about it. Flexible eating and eating to nourish your body absolutely have a place over the holidays, but without the guilt.

What About Alcohol and Your Family?

The next challenge we tend to experience over the holidays comes down to alcohol. Whether you regularly drink alcohol or not, there is a lot of pressure surrounding it at this time of the year. I think especially because alcohol can sometimes cause weight gain, even if you’re eating well otherwise.

Your approach to alcohol should be similar to your approach to exercise and food with one extra caveat. If you do intend to drink to excess, because yes, that can feel good in the moment, prepare yourself for the next day’s hangover, especially as this can impact all the plans you worked hard to set up.

Finally, we all know what it’s like to have family and friends make unwanted comments to us over the holidays. Whether these are well-intended or borderline snarky, they’re almost inevitable. I talk you through the three choices you have when it comes to a few specific scenarios and how you can approach these conversations.

Homework for Women Physicians

What are you most worried about this holiday season? What are you looking forward to? Let me know in the comments below!

In This Episode

Why you need to schedule your exercise time in your holiday schedule [4:00]
What happens when you approach the amount of food over the holidays from a place of gratitude, rather than a place of fear [7:00]
Why we gain weight when we drink alcohol [12:30]
Why you should plan what and how much you’ll drink over the holidays [14:30]
What three choices you have when it comes to negative comments so common during the holidays [18:30]
How some comments aren’t actually about you at all [29:00]

Quotes

“We’re so used to all the elaborate ways to work out that we forget that walking works.” [5:22]

“Focus on the “G” that we use in my program: Get Hungry First. This holiday season, I want you to think about, ‘Am I hungry?’ and if you are hungry, I want you to take a look at the food that’s available and I want you to make a great decision for what your body is saying it wants and needs.” [9:30]

“Own it ahead of time so that you can enjoy it. That’s the key. I’m not saying with your plan that you have to be restrictive. What I am saying is that you do have to have a plan so that you can feel really good about it.” [15:55]

“You are going to have the holiday that you deserve. You’re going to do that by just being you and showing up as you and not believing that you are responsible for everyone else and their actions. You get to do you.” [29:29]