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By Amber Ellis Johnson
The holidays are upon us! You have been putting in so much effort, consistently, day after day, week after week. You are beginning to see signs of progress! Your clothes are fitting a little better, you are feeling stronger, you are finally getting the hang of tracking what you eat.
The holidays loom in the near distance like a storm cloud you know will approach but you are not feeling confident that you know how to manage, or how to keep your habits up.
The holidays bring many feast days, parties, pastries and cookies, and lots and lots of fatty yummy foods high in sodium. Gravy. Cheese and cured meats. Enough said.
How do you navigate having fun, tasting the beautiful charcuterie, fawning over Aunty Mae's famous pie, and also keep your goals and progress intact?
There are a few different ways to approach this time. All are valid ways of hanging on to what's important to you.
You make the biggest party/feast your Super macro day (the day you plan weekly to consume the most calories) and commit to sticking to the plan the rest of the week!
Pre plan your feast day in advance. Imagine the types of foods you will reach for, and find a reasonable entry in your food tracking app. it doesn't have to be 100% perfect in order to be helpful as a guide.
Eat lighter and leaner earlier in the day to make sure you have space in for the feast calories that are sure to be abundant, especially fats. Eat the highest amount of lean protein you can 40+ grams.
You can decide in advance what you think is "worth it" and what you will pass by. For example: I think pie is 100% worth it! But I can pass on gravy on my plate. It is yummy, no doubt, but I'd rather enjoy my fats in pie crust than in a sauce. Your choices may be different.
You could also decide on only enjoying one big feast day per week during the holidays and NOT TRACK that day. Just enjoy the festivities worry free, and get right back on track, logging your food and paying attention the very next day and the day after that. One day does not derail your progress at all, friends.
Commit to paying close attention to what you eat the rest of the week!
Workout! Don't burn off the calories in anxious worry, USE THEM TO BUILD MUSCLE! Hit the gym for resistance training, your WOs will feel awesome! Prioritize getting there even if family is in town, even if you have gifts to wrap, even if it's tricky. Wake early to get it in. Do it at a meal time, squeeze it in. Make it important.
Walk! Invite family to walk after meals and catch up. Park father away from every store. Get all the additional tape and ribbon and a drink of water yourself instead of asking someone to get it for you. All those steps add up over the course of a day.
Finally, celebrations are full of fun and meaningful memories NOT because of the food, but because of the people. What you eat doesn't matter one bit. If you decide navigating the feast is too hard, you absolutely have permission to bring your own food from home! No one cares. Really-- they love you, not what you put on your plate. It is okay to say No thank you to the pie, cookies, gravy and all the other foods you are unsure of. Your own sense of autonomy, control and peace is worth everything.
Enjoy!
And Your body will thank you.
Love, Amber
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