Holiday Pep Talk

The holidays can be a stressful time. For many people November to January seems like a blur and it is easy to feel out of control when it comes to your nutrition and goals. In this quick episode we hope to  help you have a new perspective and mindset around the holidays and offer some advice to help keep you feeling grounded during the holiday chaos.

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Featured Mocktails:
Recess - https://www.instagram.com/takearecess/
Just Ingredients - https://www.instagram.com/just.ingredients/

Click play, sip back, and be empowered.

Transcript

Baylee: 0:23

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to this week's episode of Mocktail Minutes. This is Bailey.

Brianna: 0:28

And this is Brianna.

Baylee: 0:29

This week, I am drinking a Recess. It's okay. It's

Brianna: 0:37

is it?

Baylee: 0:40

Black Cherry. It has like a, it's almost like a spice at the end of it. It's like, oh, this is kind of good. And then it's like, what is that?

Brianna: 0:49

Look at the end. Oh, I've never tried that one.

Baylee: 0:51

But it does have adaptogens in it. And let's see what it is. Oh, I mean, it's L theanine, lemon balm, and ginseng.

Brianna: 1:01

Okay.

Baylee: 1:01

It's the ginseng I'm tasting.

Brianna: 1:03

Yeah. That's what I would say. I, well, I just have peppermint tea right now, but because what I really wanted to share, I can't drink right now because you're supposed to take it before bed. And I don't need to be falling asleep.

Baylee: 1:16

Yeah.

Brianna: 1:16

I want to clock in the afternoon on my, on a Monday, but I have been, I finally got the chai, the just ingredients, sleepy time chai or whatever. It is. It's so good. And I feel like it helps me sleep. Again, that could be in my head, but I don't think so. It has like tart cherry, magnesium.

Baylee: 1:33

Oh, yeah.

Brianna: 1:34

Yeah, I think it has L theanine. And I can't remember, but it's actually really good. And it's actually really sweet. But it doesn't have added sugar, but yeah, like I know a couple of people were

Baylee: 1:44

That monk fruit in it?

Brianna: 1:46

I think, yeah, it probably has mung fruit or stevia, but a lot of people were saying, like, the Just Ingredients hot chocolate, they felt like it was, like, lacking some sweetness. I don't feel like that with the chai. It's almost, like, too sweet for me personally, but it tastes very good, and I know they're having, well, I don't know if they're still having their Black Friday, Cyber Monday, whatever, so, but,

Baylee: 2:07

but when the episode airs,

Brianna: 2:08

Yeah, one of that would air. So maybe I'll share it on my story today so people can get it because I know it's that's one that sell that often. So I finally got it and I was like, Oh, now I see why it's only sold out. It's really good.

Baylee: 2:19

Yeah. We need to do some episodes, like breaking down some ingredients in these like type of drinks, like the L theanine and just like explaining what it is. I think that would be a good idea. So if you're interested, DM us and let us know.

Brianna: 2:32

Yeah, that's a good idea. Actually.

Baylee: 2:34

Today we are giving you a holiday pep talk. We're coming off of Thanksgiving going into Christmas. It's that sugar season we talked about. So we're going to do a short and sweet episode on, we're just going to give a good rundown of tips, strategies, tricks. Mindset things that are going to get you feeling good coming off of Thanksgiving and also going into whatever holiday events you have coming up because I don't know about you guys, but I have a some type of holiday gathering every weekend until January 10th.

Brianna: 3:08

Yeah, no, same. And on top of that, it's Cade's birthday is right after Thanksgiving. And then my husband's is like December 11. So like we're doing holidays and birthdays. So there's There's a lot going on up until the beginning of February. And then we die down a little bit, but it's like, it feels like a lot. So when people, you know, comment or DM or like even my one on one clients, when they talk about feeling like overwhelmed, like there's just so much going on, like I get it. There, there is a lot going on. There's a more fun food. You have a lot more fun things happening. And I feel like for a lot of people, that's really stressful. Yeah. Yeah.

Baylee: 3:47

I always want to like, when we talk about these types of things, I always think about the people's magazines where it's like the celebrities are just like us while the dieticians are just like you as well, where we have lives, we have gatherings, we do all these other things. We aren't just these robots with our waters and cutting cucumbers and whatever it is. So we go through these situations as well, but we're going to dive into pieces around the holiday. So first thing, and we talk about this a lot, but why we talk about the all or nothing thinking. Holidays especially feel all or nothing because there is an abundance of food. There are lots of traditions and there are social obligations. And it can make it harder to balance that indulgence and structure because it's like, oh, yeah, there is no structure. We are also not used to meals where you have like 10 different starches to choose from. Like, if you make dinner, it's like you have pork and you got potatoes, you got carrots, that's dinner. It's not like, You have the meat plus 12 sides that you can also choose from. You're basically given an entire menu that you could choose to eat all of it, or if you want to, but it's already prepared. So you don't have to like special order. So that makes it harder. And then I think we always get stuck in the idea of, I'll just deal with this in January. I'll worry about this next year. It's almost the year anyways. And that's. Also, what's going to lead into overindulgence, because why would we focus on something if we're constantly just telling ourselves, don't focus on this? And it's going to make it harder because we're fighting against ourselves at that point.

Brianna: 5:24

I know. And I always wonder why that's like a common theme. It's almost like everything stops during the holidays. It's like, it's the holidays, it's the holidays. And it's like, like, you know, it's like normal to like gain weight during the holidays. And when you like, think about it, the actual holidays themselves. There's two major ones. There's more if you celebrate other ones, but well, usually if you're celebrating other ones, you don't celebrate Christmas, you know what I mean? And I just feel like, yeah, I mean, there's parties and there's stuff going on, but we make like a huge deal out of one meal, like for Thanksgiving, for example, I'm like, it's really one meal and yeah, there's a lot more fun food at it, but I don't know what it is about our mindset of just like, None of this counts. None of this counts. We'll deal with it later. Everything goes out the window and that because all that does is it makes you feel really horrible come January. Right.

Baylee: 6:16

day, you are wiring your brain to act and behave that way. So you can choose which way to wire it, but yeah, I think it's a good point, like, your life or your healthy habits don't have to stop because of like, enjoying your time. And I think it's just like a dieting thing. We just get stuck in this idea that We're going to diet so that way we can enjoy summer. We're going to diet after the holidays. Like we always just try and choose downtime where you don't have to follow a specific diet. You can just kind of take care of your things and it's not this pass or fail the holidays. It's really like an opportunity to practice balance and self compassion, like give yourself some self respect and having the excuse of I'm too busy to do this. It's a lousy excuse. Honestly, I think if you're really committed to yourself at doing it during a busy season can pay off in the long run, because you can do it now. Imagine how much easier it's going to get. If you actually feel like life is going to get not as busy, which you hardly.

Brianna: 7:19

Exactly. And I think that's like, you hit it on the head. We have this like mindset of just like, this is what we do during the holidays. This is what we do. I feel it. It happens with people too on like vacation, right? If you're someone Like I just drink all day on vacation. I like do what I like. It's like everything out the window. Like you're going into that feeling like this is what I do on vacation. It's similar to like, this is what I do during the holidays. I overeat sugar. I under move my body. I get less sleep. I indulge more like, you know, so I feel like if you just have the mindset of, I do my healthy habits every day, or like, I'm someone who does X, Y, Z every day, it's much Easier because if you go into it thinking like, oh, it's the holidays, everything's out the window. Well, you're going to act as such, you know what I mean?

Baylee: 8:08

exactly. The next thing I would say, like when it comes to cravings, so cravings definitely intensify, I think during the holidays because of the stress. Lack of sleep and it's just availability. I mean, there's just more, there's so many sweets with the holidays. And then it's like baking is the gift of love too, which isn't a bad thing, but you have to find that balance for yourself. So working to continue to balance the protein, the fiber, the carbs, all of the pieces, that's what you're Then you're going to be a little bit more in control of those cravings and just kind of like mindfully enjoying them, not scarfing your face with it. Just be like, I'm going to sit down. I'm going to put this on a plate. I'm going to make it like an actual thing and enjoy it rather than standing at the kitchen counter eating three cookies.

Brianna: 8:55

right. And I feel like the people that are doing that it's most of the, I mean, there's men out there too, but I mostly see women, women who are like, I'm not going to have any, like, I'm not going to have any, there's all these fun foods in the house. I'm just not, I'm just not. And they try to like avoid it. And then what happens is they end up kind of grazing like, Oh, I just ate a couple bites off my plates of it, or like walked by the cookies and I'm just going to have like one bite when I put it back. And like, they're just grazing and grazing. Whereas it's like, if you just give yourself permission to like, yeah, I'm going to have this, but I'm going to do it in a goal supportive way. Okay. Portion it out, have it with a meal or pair it with, you know, other nutrients, put it on a plate. Like you said, sit down, actually enjoy it. Instead of having the mindset the whole time of like, Oh, I'm not allowed to have this. Yeah, I'm having it. I'm being goal supportive. I'm enjoying it. And then moving on, you'll actually eat much less and have way less cravings if you do that. But if you're constantly just like trying to avoid, avoid, avoid with all of it in your face, and then you're constantly just kind of like grazing, it's going to backfire.

Baylee: 9:52

Yes. And that's another thing I think we can kind of get stuck in the thinking of like, Yes. We enjoy desserts, but you're also like, you're not supposed to enjoy desserts. You're not supposed to enjoy eating food. Like, no, you shouldn't enjoy eating food. You should enjoy your favorite desserts. When you do that, you're going to, I mean, you're going to enjoy it. You're not going to feel so deprived all the time.

Brianna: 10:13

Exactly. So have it in mindful portions. Enjoy it, allow yourself to have it, do it in a goal supportive way. And I always tell people to like, you know, do what feels good. Because a lot of times people overdo it on desserts. They just truly don't feel good. Like you don't feel good in your body. You feel kind of like gross. You feel like, you know, maybe a little nauseous, whatever it is. You just don't feel great. Well, I tell people then like. Okay. You probably overdid it. We need to figure out why number one, because there's lots of reasons why, but if you just go into it of, I want to be goal supportive, maybe not even about weight loss, but I want to feel good in my body later. It's much easier to make those food choices or to say no, or not feel like I need to have two slices of pie after I just gorged myself at Thanksgiving. Like you could have it later, enjoy it. You know, I think we're just like, or I need to get rid of all the cookies because they're here. It's like this weird mindset, like it's allowed to be around. Like, imagine if we thought that way about vegetables. You know,

Baylee: 11:12

That'd be pretty cool. We'd eat a lot more vegetables

Brianna: 11:15

just like, Oh my gosh, look at these cucumbers. I got to eat them. So they're out of the house. I just, it's, you know, and we talk about this a lot, a lot of it goes with mindset. And then if you're thinking about too, just the holidays in general, it could be an emotional and stressful time. And maybe you're struggling with emotional eating or stress eating, or, you know, maybe there's a lot of those other things coming into play. And so I would. Challenge you to kind of figure out, like, what are my habits around these foods? Like, why do I feel this way around the holiday? Why am I so stressed out about these meals or going to holiday parties or having cookies in the house? You know, like that's much better to figure out and understand about yourself. Then anything else, because that's going to help dictate how you navigate those things later. Cause that's the issue is like your mindset around it or like why you do the things you do, you know? And

Baylee: 12:07

stress. Stress is, as always, a huge thing, but especially something that peaks during the holidays. I definitely encourage everyone I work with to kind of do a stress audit, like identify what is actually stressing you out. Is it the fact that there's pumpkin pie, or is it the fact that you feel like you have no control? Like identifying what it is there, I think helps to decide, okay, how do I want to get my mind set differently? Because if you're just like, I'm stressed about the food, okay, we need to get specific about that stressor. So that way we can identify that barrier, break it down, and have you be more confident going into that event. Stress is also pinging at this time because we have like the extra responsibilities that we feel like pile up with like, you know, like, Shopping, hosting, attending events. And it's like, like I said, they pile up quickly. We have lots of things going on and I enjoy it. Like it does not bother me to go around to family gatherings. I feel like it's a natural instinct to be like, Oh, it's a stressful day. Like it honestly isn't stressful for me. I love to do it. I love the fact that I have a family that we both have family that we can go and see all day long. So identifying like what is actually stressful and that's how you break down the stress. So things like Recognize when you're over committing to things. So pay attention when you are saying yes out of obligation rather than desire. Overloading your schedule is going to make you feel exhausted. It's going to make you feel just like overwhelmed and just like, I don't even want to do this, but I'm here. And then it's like the things that you even want to do. Now you don't have energy to do that. So recognizing when are you over committing yourself, how to set those boundaries. You have permission to say no and also like delegate different things. You can literally just say, Hey, thanks, but I just can't make it this time. You don't have to give everyone a reason. I mean, you can be like, thanks, but I just want to sit on my couch. And I mean, it's fully up to you, but you also can just like, thanks, but I can't make it like, and that's just it. You don't have to explain yourself.

Brianna: 14:08

I think that's a hard one for people. And I know for me, especially in the past, like I definitely struggled with that. Like I need to, you know, make every event and make people happy. And like, it's going to be a make it or break it if I don't be there. And it just like, wasn't filling my cup. And I'd say like, learn that earlier. In life, like what, especially if you have really young kids, like what brings you actual joy or kids of any age? Like, what do I actually want to do? What are the family traditions I actually want to have? Like, how do I want to spend this time and allow yourself to do it? Because it's not going to be fun if you are just stressed out and you will have a harder time managing the food, managing the alcohol, you know, all that sort of thing. So. Give yourself boundaries, allow yourself to do it. And then also think about yourself during this time. I see this often this time of year, like I just don't have time for myself. Like, so we kind of drop all that we're doing. Like, we're not trying to relax. We're not deep breathing. We're not, you know, moving our body stretching. We're not journaling. We're not doing anything. We just feel so overwhelmed with everything we have to do. But this is the time where you really should be doubling down on the stress management, like fine little windows for yourself. Five minutes here, five minutes there. Doing things that actually fill your cup and not add to the stress, you know, and kind of checking with yourself, like, Am I doom scrolling more? Am I, you know, watching TV later? Am I just, you know, am I doing all these weird things to check out? If so, you probably need to do more stress relief and you probably need to set some boundaries.

Baylee: 15:42

No, I was, I don't know. It was on a movie. I mean, I'm sure someone else has said it before this, but they're always like, no, it's a complete sentence. I'm like, yeah, I don't have to explain myself. And that's

Brianna: 15:54

No, and it's okay. And I think, you know, a lot of times, and this is even when, you know, like talking about food pushers, this could be all the, the same thing about talking about time pushers, right? Like people's responses to you and what you're doing is mostly on them and how They're feeling and you don't need to take that on,

Baylee: 16:13

I had one of my clients the other day, she's like, it really amazes me about your generation. How like my, how much attention you guys are putting on stress management. She's like, my generation was raised on like, yes, you say yes to everything or you're rude. She's like, I love it. And I'm like, let's go. And I feel like we learned from you guys then to not do that.

Brianna: 16:36

right? I know. Okay.

Baylee: 16:39

yeah, like so many women I work with need stress management to help them lose weight.

Brianna: 16:44

Yeah. I can't tell you enough. Like how often that is a thing and people, they want to ignore that. But I'm like, let's work on that stress management a little bit and see what happens.

Baylee: 16:54

Mm hmm.

Brianna: 16:55

Amazing. You know, there's like a reason why people lose weight when they get out of relationships. They're unhappy and right. Like, okay.

Baylee: 17:03

Yeah.

Brianna: 17:03

Weird. How did that happen? You know, I'm not saying, Oh gosh, if you're in like, not a great relationship that you're doomed forever. I'm just saying like, you know, a lot of people are like, Oh, you had a glow up. It's like, well, maybe they're just not as stressed,

Baylee: 17:13

Yes.

Brianna: 17:14

know? Like maybe they're just, yeah. They're liking what they do with their time. But I would say the big other thing around holidays specifically is going to be alcohol because I think this is a time where people are just like, I'm surrounded by it all the time. I mean, it really is every event you go to, whatever you're doing, people have cocktails, drinks. This is the time to really, if you think about it, it's almost like that perfect storm of like inflammation, right? You're eating more sugar, you're a little more stressed, you're getting less sleep, maybe you're moving your body less. It's the time to The last thing you need to do is just pour on alcohol all over that and just be like, well, we'll see what happens in January, you know, like it's not going to be good. So definitely have a boundary with this. We have episodes on this, but definitely have a boundary, you know, and decide when do I actually want to have a cocktail? When do I not? And I promise you it's going to be okay. Like you can pass up on it. I'm sure someone will ask you why, if they do, just be like, I don't want it. Okay. Like,

Baylee: 18:16

That's just it. I just

Brianna: 18:17

I mean, you can just be like, I'm driving, you know, I don't know, or you can mess with everyone and tell them you're pregnant. Just kidding. Don't do that, but you know, like figure out what you want to do, because, and this is how I help people navigate this too. One on one is like. If this is a very stressful week and you're doing a lot of extras, I don't think this should be the week where you're just like, I'm going to allow myself to drink multiple nights a week.

Baylee: 18:38

and a lot of times we do that in response to stress, but it's not, it's really not helping your stress. It's making it worse.

Brianna: 18:42

it's just like pouring gasoline on the fire.

Baylee: 18:45

Yes,

Brianna: 18:46

Literally.

Baylee: 18:47

yes. Oh, well, then I guess I will say too Sleep sleep is another big thing that lacks on holidays because we try to do all these things And we're like, oh, we'll just sleep in january. I don't know But your lack of sleep is what's making it harder to manage that stress So making sure you have a calming bedtime routine. You want to limit the caffeine and alcohol and just aim for consistency Really try and keep your sleep schedule on a schedule every day.

Brianna: 19:15

Yeah. Same with like movement too. And I know it's getting colder and I saw this, it's kind of like a popular Instagram account. So you might've seen it too. But this girl was talking about like, how do you still reach like 10, 000 steps when it's cold or whatever? And it's like, Oh, it takes about seven minutes to get a thousand steps. I don't know where she's getting that. Maybe it's accurate. I don't know. But she was like, set a timer for seven times throughout the day. Or 10 times throughout the day to go for like a seven minute walk or do like your walkie pad or just like some sort of movement. I feel like that's helpful. So think about it in that way, like little pockets, your schedule looks different around this time of year. That's okay. But what needs to not be different is your non negotiables. Like sleep is my non negotiable movement and my non negotiable, like prioritizing myself non negotiable. It may look different, but I still need to do it. I think, I think that really helps. Yeah. Yeah.

Baylee: 20:07

That's probably about right. Cause I think it's a mile is about 2000 steps around there. You should, I mean, obviously it's going to depend a little bit person to person, but yeah, it's good little gauge.

Brianna: 20:18

You know, so just think like these little pockets for myself, like, do I have five minutes running from here to there to like, do some breath work or just sit in silence? You know, do I have five minutes to take a walk? Like just thinking like, it looks different, but I still need to have the non negotiables regardless of how my schedule looks. I think that's helpful. And really just thinking in terms of like. Cause again, we do this where we're like, I need to do everything or I'm going to feel deprived. That's not always true because if you do all the things you just end up feeling deprived anyway. So, you know, I want to feel fulfilled, you know, give yourself permission to enjoy the day, focus on the experience, focus on what you're doing while you're doing it. Try to live in the moment, realize that one party, one meal, all that it's just one, maybe take it day by day or meal. You know, and then allow yourself to, yeah, have fun, but also think I still need to be prioritizing myself. What does that look like right now? Because it, it doesn't look like going to bed at 2 a. m. drinking wine every night. Eating 14 cookies before going to bed. It doesn't look like that. That's not prioritizing yourself. That's a little bit of self sabotage. So we're not doing them.

Baylee: 21:33

want you to know that you can trust yourself to make decisions that make you feel good. The holidays don't have to just be about like food. It can be about connection and just making memories. You also don't have to choose between enjoying yourself and staying healthy, so be intentional, be flexible, be able to count on yourself, have confidence to go in any situation. And you'll be good to go.

Brianna: 21:57

I think that's a good, good one to end on is the be intentional,

Baylee: 22:00

Yes,

Brianna: 22:01

be intentional with what you're doing with your time, how you're spending it with your family, what you're putting into your body and why

Baylee: 22:10

absolutely.

Brianna: 22:11

I like it. Bye.

Baylee: 22:13

We hope this was helpful coming off of a holiday and maybe going into some new holidays. If you have anything else specific around the holidays you want us to dive deeper into, just let us know. Otherwise, we will be back next week with a brand new episode. Have a great week, everyone!