142. The Two Ingredients That Make Holiday Eating So Much Easier | HOLIDAY EATING SERIES

If you have been waiting for a sign to start 2026 feeling strong, confident and actually in control of your body again, this is it. The New Year Reset Program is back and this year it's bigger and better than ever. Last year it was four weeks. This year it's eight weeks, eight live coaching calls, deep dive support, and you get lifetime access to my full Breakthrough program. All for the exact same price as last year. Why am I doing this? Because I do not want there to be a single reason you don't hit your body goals this year while still living a full, real busy life. If you're ready to get a custom plan, real support and results that actually last, go grab your spot now. Seriously, pause this episode and go over and join the New Year Reset Program with me. Head to mindinmymacros.com reset or or scroll on down to the show notes and I'll link it for you there. All right, let's get into the episode. Welcome to the Holiday Eating roadmap miniseries. Your 8 episode 10 minute coaching companion to help you get through the holidays with less stress, more intention, and without feeling like you're starting over in January. Every week in December, I'm dropping two short bite sized coaching chats designed to help you navigate real life. The holiday meals, the travel, the events, the stress, the low energy with confidence and clarity. These are the kinds of conversations I have with my clients when things get messy, busy or unpredictable. Except now you get to have them in your ears whenever you need a little guidance or grounding. And if you haven't already downloaded it, I created a totally free companion resource to go with this series called the Holiday Eating Roadmap. It's a beautifully designed step by step guide that walks you through balanced meals, enjoying the holidays guilt free, resetting after indulgent days, supporting your energy and ending the year feeling proud, not panicked. You can grab it for free down in the show notes. It pairs extremely well with these episodes so you can listen, learn and actually apply everything in your real daily life. My goal with this mini series is quite simple. I want to give you the tools and the mindset shifts you actually need to feel good throughout the holidays. Without the restriction, without the shame, and without feeling like the season derails your progress. Because it's not the holidays that throw most women off, it's the weeks of all or nothing that follow them. This series is here to help you break that cycle once and for all. So my friend, grab your coffee, settle in for the next 10 minutes and let's dive into Today's Coaching Chat Foreign. Welcome to well On Her Way the podcast helping busy women cut through the noise of today's wellness industry to focus on what really moves the needle. I'm Dani Merenberg, nutritionist, women's health advocate and mom, juggling it all right alongside you. I know how overwhelming it is to do it all and still find time for you Here. We're done with wellness that overwhelms each week. I break down the science, tune out the noise, and sit down with trusted experts to make health feel clear and doable for your real everyday life. You'll leave every episode with simple, sustainable steps you can use right away to feel your best and live with more clarity and confidence. Because wellness shouldn't feel like another full time job and you deserve to feel well on your way. Today's Coaching Chat is one of the most powerful and one of the simplest tools you can use during the holidays to feel more in control, less hungry, and way more energized. And I just want to preface this is actually a tool that you should be using all of the time for every single meal that you're eating. And that is protein and fiber. It sounds so basic, but it is actually life changing. This combo is the secret behind balanced blood sugar, steady energy, fewer cravings, and feeling satisfied instead of chaotic around food. So let's break it down in a way that makes sense, that's doable, and that's totally realistic for this time of year. So first I wanna start with why does protein and fiber work and why are most women undereating? Both if you struggle with overeating during the holidays, or feeling snacky all day, craving sugar, or feeling like you have zero fullness cues whatsoever. And this isn't again just for the holidays, but we really see it pick up during the holidays because of how much sugar really is around the holidays. This is not a willpower issue and it's not a discipline issue. It is a blood sugar issue. When you start your day with carbs and sugar alone, think like toast, pastries, fruit by itself, coffee with creamer that probably has sugar in it, leftover pie, holiday snacks. Your blood sugar spikes quickly and it crashes just as fast. That crash is what triggers cravings. It triggers hunger, mindless snacking, irritability, low energy, and the I can't stop eating today feeling. I've been there, right? And I'm sure you have too. But when you add in protein and fiber, everything stabilizes. You'll feel full sooner, you'll feel full longer, you'll crave Less your mood evens out, your energy stays steady and you naturally stop overeating. This is one of the most powerful things you can do for yourself during the holidays. And it requires zero restriction. In fact, it's just, just adding things in and maneuvering your food. So let me give you a little bit of a Blood Sugar 101, the non sciency version. This is the simplest way to think about it. Protein plus fiber equals your body's brakes. Then contrary carbs plus sugar is your body's gas pedal. You need both. But without the brakes, you're moving way too fast. Protein will help to slow digestion, it helps to steady hunger, it helps to build muscle, which in turn helps to increase your overall metabolic rate. Lots of great things with that right fiber. It adds volume, it feeds your gut, it slows the absorption of carbs. It also helps with elimination, which is also needed to keep everything kind of operating as it should. Together they help your meals last three to four hours instead of 45 minutes. If we're eating just plain carbs, if we're just looking at sugars and starches, that typically keeps somebody full on an average for 45 minutes. Whereas if you are intentional about eating protein and fiber in every meal, you can expect to feel fuller, longer for about three to four hours. And instead of that, 45 minutes. And when your meals last longer, everything becomes easier. You have fewer cravings, you experience better mood overall, you have better portion control, more energy, less overeating, especially at night, and less holiday brain fog. So this is how we work with your biology instead of against it. So let's share some simple ways to add in protein and fiber amongst all of the festive meals we have coming up. So to keep this insanely practical because I know your life is full and you don't need complicated, especially right now. Here are some of the easiest ways to add protein and fiber during the holidays. So let me give you some protein ideas. First, you can add eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese to breakfast. Turkey bacon, chicken, sausage. These are leaner protein sources. I love to add those to breakfast. Choose turkey breast, ham, chicken breast, shrimp or salmon as your mains at Dine Out Options. Or add chicken or beans to salads for some additional protein. Beans and lentils and legumes are just absolutely amazing fiber sources. Whenever you can sneak those in, I always like sneak those in. They're great fiber sources and, and they're also a plant based protein. Grab a protein bar on the go if you need to, but make sure to look at the ingredients. Some of them are chock full of sugars and artificial sugars, so make sure you're finding a really well balanced one. My personal favorite are IQ bars. Add a scoop of protein powder to your oats or your smoothies. But again, make sure your protein powder is one that is primarily whole food focused. You're not having the added sweeteners or artificial ingredients in it. Snack on things like deli turkey or beef sticks. I love. I'll post this down in the show notes because I have a discount for you, but I love the Paleo Valley chicken sticks. I'm not a big jerky girl, but their beef and chicken sticks are so good. They're not dry. They don't have that like gross texture or flavor look. But anyway, I'll post this in the show notes for you because these are amazing and I have them at least once a day as a snack on hand. Also, like I said with deli turkey, it's great. We're probably gonna have some leftover turkey. Turkey breast is always gonna be a little bit leaner. But also things like yogurt, putting yogurt snacks or like little yogurt cups. But again, making sure that you're looking at the ingredients and it's not overly loaded with sugars. Now let's jump into some fiber ideas when you're building your plate. First and foremost, I recommend that half your plate is filled with color. That's veggies, that's fruit, that's salad. That's gonna add fiber to your plate. Then things like berries, chia seeds at breakfast, super easy. Add very full of fiber. Berries, specifically when you're looking at fruit, are going to be one of the highest forms of fiber. So I love to add those. Choose roasted veggies at holiday dinners. Those are gonna have more fiber in them. Add like I said, beans and lentils to things like soups. Those are gonna be very fiber filled. Keep cut up veggies, apples, pears, oranges, things like that on hand. Just like in the fridge, you can easily grab and go. In our previous episodes we talked about having those staples, having those non negotiables. So maybe this could be one of them. Keeping some good fiber rich. Foods like cut up veggies, apples, pears, just ready to go in the fridge. Add leafy greens to bowls or to sandwiches. This is also gonna help to increase your fiber intake. So here's the key. You don't need to overhaul your meals. You don't need to restrict anything out of it. My simple little Tip for you is just add one thing, add one protein and or fiber and start there. Adding protein and fiber crowds in nourishment. So your plate naturally balances itself out. And this brings me to one of the most important mindset shifts when it comes to holiday eating. And that is crowding in versus restricting. So most women think staying on track during the holidays means removing things, removing the sugar, removing the carbs, having fewer desserts, having smaller portions. And that restrictive mindset always seems to backfire. Every single time I talk to a new client, it is because of this mindset. When? Come January. So instead what I want you to focus on is crowding in nourishing foods. Crowding in means adding in the proteins, adding in the fiber, adding in hydration, adding in color. When you add nourishment, you feel fuller sooner, you crave less and you naturally eat more balanced plates without feeling deprived. And it also signals psychologically not entering that like restrictive mindset that we talked about in the last episode. So restriction is reactive. This crowding in of food is a proactive approach. Restriction feels like punishment, crowding in feels like support. So when reaction makes you think about what you can't have, crowding in helps you think and focus on what your body needs and what you can add in. This one shift alone is enough to break years of holiday overeating patterns. I swear. So let me give you your single action step for the rest of this week. And that is aim for protein at every meal. Every single meal. Make that your non negotiable. You should not be having a meal or a snack or anything without protein in it. That's it, just one addition, not a restriction. Make sure you are getting in protein at every single meal. Even if it's a meal that's out. Some examples, eggs or Greek yogurt at breakfast. Chicken, turkey, beans, tofu at lunch, salmon, steak, chicken, shrimp, ground turkey, a protein rich pasta like a bonsa pasta at dinner. Also great for fiber. And then when you're going into each and every meal, ask yourself, where is my protein? And if the answer is I don't know, I don't see it here. Add some, add some. Even if it's a little bit, it doesn't matter. It's better than nothing. Your body will feel the difference within days. Hunger will steady, cravings will drop, blood sugar spikes and peaks and valleys will start to even out and your mood will improve. I promise you that this is your holiday superpower, but really it's your all the time superpower. So focus on adding in protein at every single meal and if you already have that piece down, add in fiber at every single meal. Get really serious about those two things and to be quite honest, it's very, very simple. You just have to know where are my fiber sources and where are my protein sources and how can I add them to my meals that I'm already eating or how can I build very simple meals to incorporate them? If you haven't downloaded your free holiday eating roadmap yet, grab it down in the show notes. There's a full page inside showing exactly how to build protein and fiber rich meals plus a list of easy swaps for holiday foods. In our next episode, we're talking about navigating holiday events without anxiety. The before, during and after strategy that keeps you grounded and present. I'll see you over in the next episode, but until then you are crushing it. I believe in you and I love you.