140. How to Create a Flexible Holiday Eating Routine So You Can Enjoy the Season Without Stressing About Weight Gain | HOLIDAY EATING SERIES

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Hello my friend. We're back with our second episode of our Holiday Eating Roadmap series. And today we are talking all about flexible structures. How to create routines around meals and movement and rest that give you momentum without feeling super rigid, restrictive or unrealistic during the holidays. Because the truth is that the women who feel calm and confident during the holidays are are not the ones who follow perfect plans. They're the ones who create flexible frameworks that bend as life get busy. So that is what we're going to build today. So let's start with this. Your body, it loves structure, but your life needs flexibility. That is why holiday plans that rely on perfection obviously just do not work. You know, the ones that have the strict meal plans, intense workout schedules, the no sugar rules, or they're trying to micromanage everything. That's probably why you're never signing up for a program in the months of November and December. But the kind of structure that you need is one where a last minute party comes up. You have a sick kid, you have an unexpected dinner, a late night, or even you're just tired. You need a flexible structure that fits that. And it's not about doing everything right. It's about having enough consistency that you don't lose momentum when you when life gets chaotic. And it's the middle ground that actually works. So if you take one thing away from this episode, let it be this. Consistency is not built from eating perfectly. Consistency is built from having something reliable to fall back on. And that's what anchor meals are all about. Anchor meals are simple. They're repeatable, they're satisfying, and they require zero decision making. They're the meals that you can default to when you're busy, when you're tired or you're eating unpredictably the rest of the day. Think a protein forward breakfast that you love or a go to lunch bowl that you don't really have to think about that you know, has 40 grams of protein or a dinner that you can make in 15 minutes with just what you have in your pantry. Because you have pantry staples, you don't need five star recipes. You just need two to three options for each meal that keep you grounded. Here's why anchor meals work so well. They stabilize your hunger, they keep your blood sugar steady, they reduce overeating later in the day, they eliminate decision fatigue, and they give your metabolism a sense of that rhythm that your body craves. This alone can prevent 80% of the chaos that makes women feel off track during the holidays. So I want you to ask yourself, what are two to three meals that you can rely on that make you feel good, full and steady during this season? Pick two to three breakfast, lunch, dinner options and make those your anchors. Focus those around protein, fiber, healthy fats. Try to aim for a good, you know, 40 grams of protein per anchor meal and just have those in the back of your mind in the fridge, in the pantry, there to quickly whip up. These are going to be your anchors that are going to help you through the season. Now let's also talk about movement because this is where a lot of all or nothing energy shows up big time. During the holidays, the weather is honestly quite crap. Outside it's cold, we don't want to go out. But we also find a lot of time indoors, whether it's with parties or family. I know for me personally, the holidays usually are a very loungy time. So it can really get you out of a routine. And rhythm that gets it really hard, makes it really hard to get back into afterwards. And a lot of us think if I can't do a full workout, then it's not worth it. Like I'll just, you know, pick back up later. But the body doesn't think in workouts, okay? It thinks in overall movement. And movement is cumulative. So a flexible structure here is choosing something that's realistic and repeatable. Again, in our last episode we went into the three non negotiables. Those three anchor habits. Maybe that's a 10 minute walk in the morning or after your meals. Maybe we do two strength training sessions a week or a move my body daily rule and stretching counts. Doesn't matter, you're just moving your body. It could be as something as small as parking further away at the grocery store and getting in A few extra steps, taking the stairs, a 20 minute backyard workout. Whatever it is, it does not matter. Consistency isn't built in 60 minute workouts. It is built in the small frequent movements that keep you energized and connected to your body. So during the holidays, your goal is not intensity, it's just continuity. It's just that continued movement, it's just that continuous showing up for yourself. Because again, your body is not looking at workouts as workouts, it's looking at overall consistency. The last key piece here that a lot of us ignore is that rest is also an important part of a flexible structure, especially this time of the year. Because sleep recovery and downtime determine how hungry you feel, how much sugar you crave, your stress hormones, your mood, your ability to regulate energy and your overall consistency. And when we try to push harder through fatigue, that is when we actually need more restoration. So adding some sort of flexible structure around rest can look something like a consistent ish bedtime, a wind down routine that tells your body, okay, we're done for the day. Maybe this is, I know for me it's, I'm starting to do my skin care, I'm very thoughtful with it. I'm not rushing through it, I'm actually enjoying it. I'm glamorizing it. I'm having that time for me and that's my signal to my body that we're winding down for the day. Then I get in bed, I read a book, setting boundaries around late night snacking or late night scrolling, saying no to events that drain you, and trying as best you can to prioritize, you know, quietness, whether that's in your mornings or your evenings. Rest is not a luxury, it is a strategy. And the more rested that you are, the more naturally consistent everything else becomes. The biggest takeaway I have for you out of this episode is that you need to build a plan that works with your life, not against it. This is the biggest shift of all. And this is why most dieting programs and like dieting mentality in general just does not work. Because we're trying to fit into this square when we are a circle. And if you can master this shift, this is the biggest shift that you can make. Instead of trying to fight the holiday chaos, you should just plan to work with it because let's be honest, that's like your control trying to come into play and there's so much out of your control. So when we acknowledge that, we just plan with flexibility. If you have a party at night, anchor your breakfast and your Lunch, make sure that you're getting a high protein, really nutrient rich breakfast and lunch. So then you're not worried about what comes at night. If you're traveling, anchor your hydration and your protein. If you have a heavy food day, hello, we just had Thanksgiving. Anchor your movement and your bedtime. Anchor in getting back into consistency the next day. If your week is just totally unpredictable, anchor in those non negotiables in those anchors that we built in the last episode. And if you haven't listened to that episode, go back and listen to that episode because it builds on this one. And when you approach the holidays in this way, everything is going to feel so much lighter, so much more calm and way more doable. So again, I want you to take a moment. I'm going to do a little check in with you right now. In our last episode, you chose three anchor habits, three non negotiables for your days. How are those going? Let's revisit it. What were your three non negotiables? And have you been over the last two days or however many days since you last listened to those and established those? How many days have you been able to accomplish those? Again, these should be very low barrier to entry, very low hanging fruit that you can implement every single day. That makes it feel like a win. And, and I don't care if you're like, oh, it doesn't really matter, it's so small. That's not true. That is not true. That mindset is what's keeping you stuck. So think of your non negotiables as your life jacket this season. Even on the busiest days, those three things are going to keep you afloat. So if you haven't already, go back, listen to that episode, write down your three non negotiables, put them in your phone, make them visible, whatever you need to do to do those every single day for this month. Now, if you haven't already downloaded the free holiday eating roadmap, definitely grab it down in the show notes. There's a full template inside to help you choose your anchor meals. Also to help you define those non negotiables and to build your December framework. In our next episode coming out next Tuesday, we're going to talk all about how to approach holiday events without anxiety, including what to eat before you go, how to build your plate, and how to enjoy everything without spiraling. All right, friend, you're doing amazing and I will talk to you in the next episode.