Halloween is the official start of the holiday season. Yep, that’s right … Halloween! This is often the trigger where someone thinks, consciously or unconsciously, “Well, I’ve never been able to stay on track before, so why even try. I’m just going to eat whatever I want and deal with it in January.”
Enter guilt, shame, weight gain …
Listen up! You can enjoy the holidays, AND curtail weight gain with strategies that eliminate the all-or-nothing approach to food and self-care. After all, when the holidays kick in, you have less to take care of yourself, right? When you put more time into one thing (preparing for the holidays), that time has to be taken from somewhere. The most common places? Your own self care – sleep, eating nutritiously and relaxing your boundaries.
And you know where that’s headed: Burn out!
- Stick to your routine and schedule your priorities first – Do you usually workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday? Go to your book club on Thursday evenings? Do something special on Friday nights? Go! Put these on your calendar in pen!
- Define your “bare minimum” – While you might typically go for a 4-mile walk several times a week, what is the smallest amount you can do, no matter what during this busy time? 10 minutes? Great! You can apply this to exercise, meditation, your morning routine … anything that needs a holiday revision.
- Take a daily time-out with no phone, no agenda – Unplug from the world. Ten minutes every morning makes a huge difference in how you face the day. Could be a walk, meditation, drawing, a crossword puzzle.
- Cut down on emotional eating – Identify exactly what you’re feeling before you take the first bite. Are you hungry? thirsty? tired? stressed? sad? happy? Give it a name, and then choose to eat it. Choose each bite. It takes the “power” away from the food.
- Eat more often – Yep, more often! If you find yourself skipping meals, craving carbs and overindulging in goodies, your blood sugar likely needs to be balanced. Every few hours have something with healthy fat, protein and complex carbs, such a nutrient-dense smoothie, avocado with a sprinkle of olive oil and sea salt, or hummus with your favorite raw vegetables. You could even eat leftovers as a mini meal.
- Don’t skip your grocery shopping – have food in the house. An empty fridge leads to unhealthy grab and go foods. Don’t have time to cook? Take shortcuts – buy veggies already cleaned and trimmed, make easy soups that will last for several days (lentil soup is my go-to), batch cook to intentionally create leftovers.
- Eat your veggies! — Rather than thinking about all the foods you’re trying to avoid, focus on adding as many vegetables as possible to your day! That will naturally “crowd out” the foods you’re trying to minimize.
- Create a nightly tranquil self-care routine rather than plopping in front of the television. Consider taking a hot bath, and surround yourself with fragrant candles and your favorite music. You might even “unplug” from all electronics. Gasp, I know!
What we’re really talking about here is …. Slowing down. Slowing down enough to honor your needs. Slowing down enough to eat “good enough” and slowing down enough to breathe.
And, if you really want to lose weight, the coach in me says, “Don’t wait until the New Year. Make it your best holiday season ever. Make it about you.”
Consider checking out our new Weight Loss Program. Our director of weight loss, Macaulay Kerr, and I have banded together to create a program that incorporates Semaglutide therapy (you’ve probably heard of Ozempic) with coaching that focuses on helping you get on track and stay on track. No more losing weight and then gaining it all back.
Want to learn more?
Already a Patient at Blum Center?
To learn more about the program and whether it would be right for you, simply message your provider or call the office to make an appointment with the director of the weight loss program, Macaulay Kerr, PA, who will review the program with you and help determine your next steps.
New to Blum Center?
Inquire about our Weight Loss Program by calling 914.652.7800 or request a phone or Zoom appointment with our New Patient Coordinator, to learn more. Once you are ready to move forward, the first step is to schedule your 60-minute consultation with our Weight Loss Director to ensure this is the best fit for you.
About Melissa Rapoport: A skilled listener, Melissa empowers her clients to achieve their goals by working together to create tools and strategies that are unique to each person that walks through her door. Her passion is to look at the whole person and, like a detective, find their keys to success, incorporating health goals with topics as diverse as dealing with stress, eating healthy while managing a busy life, increasing joy and creating powerful self-care practices.