We’re smack dab in the holiday season, and in true American fashion, we’re surrounded by treats, holiday specials, and all sorts of indulgences everywhere we look. Heck, I could swear Christmas decor went UP in September this year. What we want to do during this time is help you feel empowered instead of overwhelmed.
Not just surviving but ENJOYING the holidays
Just like we plan our food for the week, we want to plan the holiday season too. Overwhelm happens in your head, with a jumble of thoughts that need sorting. The best way to manage this is by transferring these thoughts onto paper. I created a form to help you work through all of these thoughts and feelings as we head into full on festivity mode.
This is an exercise in personal reflection. Your goal here is to think critically and with reason, to recognize yourself as an individual with unique history, goals, and challenges. We don’t want you making decisions because of arbitrary rules, but because you care about your journey and understand that it can look different from anyone else’s. It’s about honoring your body and making decisions that reflect what’s best for you.
Introducing ‘Planning your pleasure’
We don’t want to feel controlled by the treats around us. The goal is to make intentional choices that align with our unique goals. This might mean opting out of certain treats, planning for special ones, or recreating healthier versions. There is no wrong answer here. The point is, it’s your choice, giving you back your power.
Here are three options to consider:
Option 1: Plan to avoid
For some, avoiding treats during the holidays by setting firm boundaries is the best way to stay focused on goals.
This approach usually works best for people who feel that indulging might quickly lead to that cycle of cravings or throw off your momentum. If you know that having ‘just a taste’ doesn’t feel satisfying or tends to open the door to more, this plan can be a great way to avoid that temptation altogether. Avoiding treats isn’t about restriction; it’s about setting yourself up for success by protecting your progress.
Tactics for Avoiding Temptation
Identify triggers, such as candy bowls at home or holiday treats at the office. Knowing where you’re most tempted allows you to reduce exposure or find alternatives. At home, bring certain foods or snacks that support your goals. In social situations, think of alternative ways of rewarding yourself, like a hot tea or a fun sparkling water with muddled fruit or something that makes it a little more interesting than water.
Other than that, consider non-food activities like games or engaging conversations at gatherings. Focus on the people you’re engaging with and have some good, stimulating conversations. Also, remember you DON’T have to stay through the end of an event. It’s OK to drop by, mingle, and head out.
Above all else, remember that you’re NOT depriving yourself of something. You’re CHOOSING something different that aligns with your values and priorities.
Now, we have to talk about the pitfalls of this choice:
Social pressure: You might feel the need to explain your choice to others, leading to uncomfortable conversations and feelings of isolation. If you made this choice because you WANTED to and it felt right for YOU, then other people don’t need to have a say in it. You can politely handle this. If you are working with a coach, let them know you struggle with this and we can get you coached up around this.
Broken promises: If you decide to avoid a treat but find yourself indulging later on, it can feel like you’ve broken a promise to yourself. This can lead to guilt and frustration, making it harder to enjoy the treat when you do have it. So then, what should have been ENJOYABLE wasn’t. If you are going to indulge, we want to pull every single ounce of enjoyment from it, my word. We want to make it WORTH it.
All-or-nothing mindset: This approach can reinforce an all-or-nothing mentality. If you do end up having a treat unexpectedly, you might feel like you’ve failed, which can lead to negative self-talk and extreme course-correction after the fact, or continuing to indulge because you “blew it, so you might as well.” One treat, just like ONE SALAD, won’t significantly impact your progress. It’s what you do (and how you feel afterward) that will.
Option 2: Plan to partake
If you feel that an occasional treat can enhance your holiday experience, then by gosh, plan for it. I give you enough content on here to rework the way we interact with food, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t have an amazing relationship with food and still enjoy the occasional treat.
Planning ahead gives you the freedom to enjoy what you love while still being mindful of your overall goals.
Plus, there are two ways to partake. You can enjoy the actual treat as it is, or you can recreate it using ingredients that can minimize inflammation. Ultimately, the choice is yours. The choice is ALWAYS yours.
We are considering which treats are going to be really worth it for us. Because when you are losing weight in a calorie deficit, you do need to pick and choose how often you do this to stay in your deficit.
My personal approach is to let that one dessert or treat to pull you OUT of your deficit for that one day. Because when you start pulling REAL food out to “make a dessert fit” you start the cycle again. If you allow the extra calories, you will probably just go to maintenance or a little over on that day, which is fine. In the long run, it’s a MUCH WORSE idea to head into the indulgence-underfed cycle where you skip meals to fit other things and end up eating MUCH MORE than you planned.
Mindset Tip: The ENTIRE point of planning ahead is to ALLOW the indulgence and ENJOY it without spinning out of control…either ruminating over “I shouldn’t have done that” or spinning into “well I blew it so what else!?!”
Keep in mind:
- Indulging can sometimes lead to increased cravings for more treats, which might pull you away from your healthy habits and make it hard to plug right back in.
- The scale. It can do some crazy things. So YOU need to consider your relationship with the scale during this time. Weighing yourself daily is a part of our program, and you have a choice here. Will you weigh in over the next few days after including treats? The scale may not even show an increase, which can be good for you to see! But if it does go up, can you remind yourself that it could be due to temporary factors like inflammation rather than permanent changes? If you decide to AVOID the scale altogether, ask yourself how that might impact your accountability. Will stepping away make it harder to stay plugged in? How much do you rely on logging your weight for accountability? It’s all about what feels right for you, so take a moment to think it over….and PLAN for that.
Option 3: No plan at all
This option may suit those who have reached their goals and want to be more intuitive.
Not having a plan can be appealing if you want to take a more relaxed stance and see how the day unfolds, or if you are working to loosen some of the boundaries that you had during the weight loss phase. Maybe you feel that you need to learn how to be more intuitive and spontaneous.
When you choose to wing it, the key is to stay aware of your emotions and intentions throughout the day. Acknowledge that you might have some candy or treats, and that’s perfectly okay. The focus here is on being present in the moment and enjoying the experience without overthinking it.
If you do indulge, remind yourself that this is just one day and does not define your overall journey. Perform the MYLF bounceback. Instead of viewing it as a failure, reframe it as part of the experience of living fully. You worked really hard to achieve your goals. By now, you know exactly what to do because you have shown up daily and have a long history of proof. You are still good!
Allow yourself to appreciate the treat without attaching negative feelings to it. Recognize that it’s a choice you made in the spirit of enjoyment. You’re still on track with your overall goals.
Planning your pleasure puts you in the driver’s seat
Planning your pleasure is about taking CONTROL of how you enjoy treats without regret. Each option we discussed today allows you to make an intentional choice that aligns with your personal goals and lifestyle. Whether you choose to avoid, include, or wing it, always emphasize what feels right for you, and where you are in your journey.
And let’s not forget the real meaning of the holiday season in the grand scheme of things. You have options, you have the tools, and you have the power to decide what feels best for you. Approach your choices with confidence, knowing that you are in control of your decisions and every choice is an opportunity to learn and grow.
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