holiday season Archives - Diet Free Radiant Me | Intuitive Eating | Emotional Eating

4 Ways to Uplevel Your Self-Care This Holiday Season

There is a ton of pressure around the holidays. Pressure to be merry, pressure to spend time with family, pressure to buy presents, the list goes on and on. It can be easy to lose yourself and put your body’s needs on the back burner until the holidays are over.

This is a problem that many people face in December. A time that is supposed to be joyous becomes a stress-fueled season. It can be hard to find a minute to breathe between all the holiday parties and gift exchanges. This constant state of going can put a lot of stress not only on your physical well-being but also on your mental health.

When you finally do get a moment to yourself, reflect on how you are feeling. Are you finding it hard to unwind, even when all your to-do list items are crossed off? If so, it is time to take a break and focus on your self-care.

For some, relaxing is opening the fridge and grabbing a comfort food or perhaps opening a bottle of wine. The problem with this is, you start to form unhealthy coping mechanisms to stress. You are numbing a problem instead of treating it. Instead, find healthier solutions that will allow you to unwind and hopefully de-stress.

Here are 4 Ways to Saying Uplevel Your Self-Care this Holiday Season:

Take a bubble bath, but not just any bubble bath

This may seem like a very simple response to a bigger problem, however, sometimes that’s all it takes. Soaking in the tub will give you the time to reflect on how you feel. While you’re there, practice some mindful meditation and reflect inward. You may even try breathing exercises to help your body de-stress.

Engage in mindful body movement

As you may know, exercise releases the feel-good hormones, endorphins. The key is finding an activity that you enjoy. Try a new group class or even find a workout video online that you can do at home. Or simply, bundle up and go for a walk!

Spend time with family

You may feel like you are stuck in the kitchen for the whole holiday season, I know that I do. Instead, plan a day with a family member or close friend and don’t bring your to-do list. Go grab dinner or catch a movie; but whatever you do, stay fully present and enjoy every moment.

Ask for help

If you are still feeling overwhelmed, ask for help. Either reach out to friends or a licensed professional. You are not alone and there are many great resources out there to help you.

Enjoy the holiday season in a way that works for you!

The Secret to Avoiding Weight Gain Over the Holiday Season

You love the holidays but dread the anticipated weight gain typical of the holiday season. Instead of stressing about how much weight you might gain and then setting your New Year’s resolution around finding a diet to drop the weight, why not try a different approach this year.

The secret to avoiding the expected holiday weight gain is to focus on weight maintenance.

Maintaining weight can be achieved by following a few simple strategies.

Three is key

This represents three meals, which means don’t skip breakfast and don’t overeat at the midday holiday meal in anticipation of skipping the last meal of the day. Skipping breakfast can potentially cause your blood sugar to drop, as well as your mood, and lead to overeating at the holiday meal. The key is to start your day off with a healthy breakfast and have lunch and/or a snack before guests arrive or before heading out to the party. Tune in when you eat and let your body’s internal signals guide you.

Indulge in your favorites

Don’t avoid your favorites that come around once a year. Avoidance can lead to caving in and then to overeating. It is much better to eat a small portion of something you really want than to give it up entirely. Choose those treats that you don’t typically have year round such as Aunt Susan’s green bean casserole, Momma’s roast beef with gravy or Grandma Sarah’s holiday sugar cookies. Take one portion one time without guilt.

Survey the buffet

Take a walk around the buffet table and see what food offerings there are. Choose 3 to 4 items that you absolutely want, making sure that they include a protein, grain and vegetable at the very least so you have a balanced plate.

Keep hydrated

Drinking lots of water helps to keep you hydrated! Ensure that you are drinking at least eight (8 oz.) glasses of water each day. Start your day with 16 oz. before breakfast, have another 16 oz. with lunch and dinner, and one glass mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

De-Stress

The more you stress, the greater the surge in cortisol, you primary stress hormone. This sets you up for sugar cravings and weight gain. Commit to practicing deep breathing every morning before you get out of bed, every evening before you lay down, and any time during the day that you need it. Include yoga, Pilates, meditation in your daily/weekly schedule to help with stress relief.

Daily Exercise

An important element in weight maintenance over the holidays is continuing with your exercise routine. Incorporating interval training and strength training has been found to be just the right to help you keep your weight in check over the holiday season.

Weight maintenance throughout the holiday season is a realistic and smart goal. These tips will help you enjoy the holidays without the worry of weight gain. Start the New Year off with a new mindset. You will feel the difference!

Are you looking for something to help you make it through the holidays and use these tips? Come on over to our private Facebook group to take part in a 4 Week FREE Challenge “Enjoy Your Holiday Festivities and Sweets without Guilt.”

I’ll post a challenge each day, and ask you to post your action and results! Let’s shine through the month of December and enjoy all the celebration while feeling great!

Starting December 5, 2016

Week 1: Self-care during the holidays
Week 2: Navigating holiday parties
Week 3: Eat Your Sweets without Guilt
Week 4: Party into the New Year

This challenge will be happening in our Private FB Group! Join here!

Simple Solutions to Stop Stress Eating in its Tracks!

Thanksgiving is only one week away. Yikes!

Cleaning, shopping, cooking, preparing the house….there is so much to do!

Does all the stress and overwhelm of the holidays cause you to go into a tailspin? How will you accomplish all that you need to do? And, of course, you still need to go to work, tend to your usual house chores, take care of the kids etc.

What happens when you get stressed and overwhelmed?

For many, they cope by turning to food to “ease the stress”. Ahh, that piece of chocolate melting in your mouth is melting away all the stress too. That is, until you try on your favorite holiday pants and they don’t button.

Sound familiar?

Listen, I know you want to overcome stress eating. The holidays that are upon us are just one time when you might find yourself coping with food. But what about all year round? Is life hectic with little time for yourself?

Deep down in your heart and soul, you wish there was a way for you to learn how to manage the stress and overwhelm without eating. Actually, you wish you could better handle all that life throws your way so you aren’t overwhelmed.

There is a way!

I am excited to bring to you a brand new program called Stress Less EAT LESS™.

Read all the way to the end to learn about the Holiday Special I am offering you.

In this program you will discover:

How to develop a calm mindset by better managing your time and priorities so you can be more mindful in how you handle kid stress, job stress, life’s stresses.
What changes you need to make in your daily health and nutrition habits so you feel physically and mentally ready to deal with a stressful situation without caving to the ice cream and cake.
The two most important steps that you need to take when you are in the midst of overwhelm and it seems easier to turn to food to numb.
The ONE practice you MUST learn to stop stress eating in its tracks and turn you away from the cookie jar and drive-through.

I originally created this program as a “Do it Yourself” program. But I realize that you could probably use some extra support during the holidays, so for this time only, I am offering this program with LIVE group calls a private Facebook group and more!

Click here for all the details and to sign up.

There are lots of bonuses for you once you sign up. The sooner you sign up, the more bonuses you get.

Oh, and share it with your friends and loved ones who could use Simple Strategies to Stop Stress Eating in its Tracks.

Here’s to a STRESS FREE Holiday!

Holiday Parties? No Problem!

Whoa, can you believe it? Thanksgiving is in one week. Where has the time gone!

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love cooking for the Thanksgiving feast and spending time with my family. I especially love when my daughters stand side by side next to me and help me cook. One year, they made name tags and wore them around their necks that said “Assistant Chef”. So cute!

Many of my clients start to get nervous when the holidays arrive. Well, to be really clear, these clients I am referring to are just starting to see me and who still have a dieter’s mindset. They feel “uh oh, how will I handle all the food at all the holiday meals and parties I am going to? Maybe I should wait to begin our nutrition coaching sessions until the New Year”.

Ding, ding, ding. This is how a dieter thinks and speaks.

This is not how my clients who are on the intuitive eating journey think and speak. They have successfully been shifting their mindset and moving away from the “all or nothing” dieter’s way of thinking. They are not worried about the holiday meals and parties because they are learning how to honor their bodies and giving themselves permission to eat.

Now, having said that, I still think it’s important to set up your environment for success and to have some tips in your back pocket for when you head out to your parties.

I’ve put together a video for you with 3 tips for before you head out to the party and 5 tips for when you are at the party.

Just click the image below to watch. Then come back and let me know by commenting below which tips you will implement this holiday season.

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