The Holiday Plan Of Attack

Happy Holidays!

I spent this past Wednesday driving down to NC with my husband where we'll be staying with my parents for about a week.

Our holiday traditions mostly revolve around food... we'll have a big "feast of the seven fishes" inspired dinner tonight for Christmas Eve, we'll have a big breakfast together for Christmas morning (complete with my grandma's recipe for a beautiful cranberry ring pastry - one of my favs!) and then we'll top it all off with a nice prime rib dinner together (at an hour when normal families have long since finished eating because we are perpetually running behind schedule on Christmas day!)

My point is - there is a lot of food coming my way. And I am going to enjoy every little bit of it.

I don't buy into the idea that restricting foods is the way to a happy healthy life. If you have a body that you regularly move and take care of well then there is no good reason to miss out on special events in pursuit of health, leanness, or almost any other endeavor. I believe that good food is an important part of a good life. If you have to miss out on that for your "diet" then what is the point anyway?

Who has ever wanted to be really lean and really unhappy? Nobody!

With all of that said I plan to start the new year feeling really good in my body and NOT drowning in guilt - and I want the same for you!

Guilt

Let's take a quick turn down psychology lane and talk about where all this food guilt comes from.

All of our habits, actions, and thoughts about good vs bad come down to our belief systems. What we've been taught to be the "right" thing to do. It's been said that the whole purpose of our frontal cortex as humans is to give us the ability to do the "right" thing, even if it's actually the "harder" thing to do. But I digress...

To boil this down to waaaay simpler ideas I'm going to say this: we've been taught as women that we "should" be smaller, we should be dieting, and we should be in constant pursuit of these things. There is no "you're doing great, how about we sit back and enjoy it" - there is only more to be done.

We base our worth in how we look and how other's perceive us.

I'm not saying this is wrong - I am simply saying this is out of balance.

I love a good compliment as much as the next lady, and I am not striving for mediocrity - I want to be above average in my fitness! But I have finally learned to value my OWN opinion of my efforts, my body, and my fitness above the opinion of others.

If you're heading into all these holiday parties without being able to value yourself on your own terms you are a lot more likely to feel guilty over your choices when Aunt Susan starts making comments about your body. (By the way, those comments have a lot more to do with Aunt Susan than they do you! A little "I'd rather not talk about my body" can be a really great way to diffuse this and move on!)

The bottom line: you're going to need to feel good about how you are balancing your goals and your choices over this holiday season if you don't want to feel guilty.

The best way to do this?

Create your plan of attack! If you have considered what is worth it to you to focus on and what isn't, you won't feel any guilt when you have the cheesecake AND cream puffs for dessert on Christmas day (which is 100% what I will be doing!).

The Plan of Attack

INTENTIONAL CHOICES.

It all comes down to intention. If you are intentional about how you make your fitness and nutrition choices you won't feel guilty because you'll know you acted in alignment with the intentions you set for yourself.

Consider how much movement/training you can commit to. If you can't do much, that's ok. Just be realistic! Even if you can't train, maybe you could get out for a walk. You'll feel good knowing that you've done all you can. And don't forget that if you're someone who trains hard regularly, a week of LESS movement might actually be the BEST thing for you!
Consider what foods are worth it to you! Don't restrict things. Restriction triggers that "last supper" behavior and usually leads to more overeating and feeling bloated and out of control. Just be mindful as you choose your foods and enjoy them.
Don't fall into the "well, I already blew it so what's the point?" trap. Here's the scenario: you over eat at one meal, you beat yourself up about it and think "well, might as well give up" and then you spend the rest of the week overeating because "what's the point anyway?" Well, overeating at one or two meals is VERY different than overeating for a week. Treat each meal individually and you'll feel really good a week from now.

If you remember my email about maintenance you know how much I value the "move more, eat more" method of managing energy intake. This is also referred to as energy flux, and it's most easily described as the athlete's approach to fitness and nutrition. You push your body in your workouts and you nourish your body well to help it recover from those workouts.

We already know there's going to be a lot of food around for the holidays, so why not embrace some extra hard training sessions? You'll feel great that you got some movement in, you'll help decrease some of the additional calories you're eating, and you'll get through the next week feeling stronger. You won't have to feel like you "gave up" because you didn't! You intentionally chose a plan that works for you.

Prioritize Your Happiness

Creating your holiday plan of attack really comes down to just thinking about what is going to make you feel the best a week from now and then acting in alignment with that.

For some of us that means taking a break.

For some of us that means finding balance.

For some of us that means not giving up on ourselves or believing we can't take any meaningful action towards our goals.

Whatever your holiday plan of attack is, I hope you spend the upcoming week feeling loved, feeling empowered, and feeling rejuvenated and ready to tackle 2022 with ferocity!

Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, and thank god we got past the winter solstice (yay daylight!),

Ash

PS: Are you lining up your plan for your healthiest 2022? I am here to help you if you are ready to have a fierce mind, body, and spirit no matter what is going on in your life!!!