Happy, healthy holidays: Can we predict the future?

“Mooom, what are you going to be for Halloween?” I laughed when my oldest daughter asked me this back in August as we walked out of Target.

Costumes and candy had already begun to line the seasonal aisles, and she couldn’t help but daydream about trick-or-treating. I don’t blame her! In a world where Halloween supposedly starts right after school begins, Thanksgiving blends into Christmas, and Santa seems to come earlier every year…we can quickly lose ourselves in the rush and pressure of what the world tells us the holidays are supposed to look like. But, how do you want them to feel?

If you could fast forward to the thick of the holiday season…how are you doing physically, mentally, and emotionally? Are you burnt out — or at ease? Lethargic and inflamed — or energetic and well?

Now, how about after the dust settles and the holiday season is over. Really just imagine five months from now…it’s February 2024. The holidays have come and gone, your kids are back in school, and you’re finally back in a rhythm at the start of a new year. How are you doing at this point? Better or worse?

I see it every year. You’re thinking about spring break or summer vacay and have decided that now is the time to quickly shed off all that holiday weight gain, so we’re on a consultation call. Motivation is high, but execution is all over the place.

When I ask about the challenges you’re facing, you explain, “…and then the holidays rolled around, I completely fell out of my exercise routine, had one too many glasses of wine at this party and that potluck, and I swear I haven’t eaten a vegetable since September! I am sooo bloated and stressed, and I just want to make sure I’m bikini-ready for this vacation.”

Now — back to the present day where it’s not even October yet! Do these sentiments sound familiar? Maybe it even happened to you earlier this year? If you can relate to this scenario, you’re certainly not alone.

But here’s the deal. You can create a better pattern. You can outgrow this way of approaching life’s twists and turns. Yes, you can feel confident in a bathing suit any day of the year (there’s no such thing as a “bikini body” so let’s clear that up right now).

The choices you make today actively contribute to the way you’re going to feel later on.

The pace you are striving right now for can make or break where you’ll be this time next year (too fast OR too slow).

“The holidays” really are a few special moments over a large chunk of time, and they can be wonderful and present and memorable — without causing your health and wellbeing to unravel. 🧶

😲 Seriously, friend. The holidays, celebrations, travel, and weekends do not actually have slow you down or completely stop your forward momentum throughout the year.

Maybe it is time to embrace an approach that actually works with your life, instead of against it. Maybe it’s time to learn new skills, master more helpful thinking patterns, approach eating and movement in a realistic way.

You can ensure that this old pattern is no longer in your future.

The way you want to feel in 2024 starts right now.

If the upcoming holiday season makes you nervous, let’s talk. -me