We are doing a quick 2 part series on a Podcast episode Rachel Hollis did recently about 6 Hacks for a Healthier Holiday. She is coming from a place where she really wants to help you/us get through a season with so many emotions and come out the other side a little less scathed. Where we can enter the new year without shame and exhaustion and emotional baggage that will only hinder us moving forward.
But she can say some problematic and triggering things, so I thought I would do you, and her, the favor of going through her suggestions and making them a little bit more real woman friendly.
- Indulge
Aunt's!! Have fun, indulge, go to the party, enjoy the food, enjoy the yummy themed drink, look for the fun!! If you avoid all the good stuff it's like pulling yourself out of quicksand, the more you resist and wiggle the more likely you are to end up at the bottom of a 2 dozen cookies.
Rach adds to indulge with intention. and YES also agree, be mindful. Be mindful of your body, your stress, your energy, and how foods affect your body, your GI system, your ability to think clearly, and your carb crashes. So when you get to that party or a plate of cookies is left on your counter let yourself enjoy it while it is enjoyable. Notice all the things. How sweet the cookie is, how hungry you are when you get to the cookies (hint, hint, if you're starving cookies will taste better and you'll eat more - no judgment on that, it just is what it is). I also like to notice how fast I'm eating. If I'm SHOVING foods into my mouth, ie: chips, I know I'm too hungry and that is a sign to me that I need to drink some water and add some more nutrition to that bowl of chips or I will feel really sluggish after I finish eating half the bag.
Notice I highlighted I and me, I can't tell you how you'll feel, YOU need to notice it and qualify for yourself and how you might need to adjust what you're eating to feel a different way.
BUT --> Now, here is where Rach goes a little diet culturey on us. She takes a few minutes to discuss processed foods and inflammation and being good all week so you can have fun on the weekends. Those are some red flags. I personally like homemade foods better than store-bought ones, but my kids have a school that only allows store-bought snacks for allergy reasons. I also live in a world where people have multiple kids with multiple activities and parents are working multiple jobs and may need to get something quick at the store. I am going to choose to eat any foods presented to me based on whether I like them or not. I like Stouffer's mac and cheese, but I do not like Kraft mac and cheese. I like chunky chips ahoy, I don't like famous amos. I like Heinz turkey gravy, but I don't like my husband's Aunt's, homemade gravy.
EAT WHAT YOU LIKE AND WHAT MAKES YOUR BODY FEEL GOOD.
If you only eat processed food, and you take an honest look at how your body feels, you won't feel your best. If you only eat carrots directly taken from the ground you also won't feel great. Once again, notice your hunger and your fullness cues, your brain fog, your energy crashes, and your hydration, then choose with those factors in mind in addition to foods you actually enjoy.
Lastly, she suggests adding protein and fiber to your plate to help you feel your best. YES!!! We need a variety of nutrients to help us get through the days. Make sure you are filling your plate with lots of color and protein sources and again, notice how you feel when you're adding those things and how your body functions differently than just on carbs alone.
- Bring the Thing You'll Actually Eat
YES!! She tries to make the statement that you should bring the healthy thing to the event, and I don't like that, but what she goes on to say is that you should bring the foods that you want to eat. So maybe that is bringing a vegetable that isn't covered in cream sauce, or it is a protein source also not covered in cream sauce and gravy. Or maybe you just have a lot of intolerances and you want a baked good you can enjoy without fear of gluten nuts or milk protein in them.
I am going to a Cub Scout Pot Luck tonight and I am bringing a salad, I'm that person, and that's ok because I WANT greens to go along with all the mac and cheese I want. But bring the thing YOU want to eat, not the thing you hope someone else likes and gives you compliments for. But also acknowledge you want the compliment (that's me) but might not receive it.
- Stay Active
Questionable. Rach talks a lot about adding EXTRA activity into your day, above that foundational movement for each day. And at first, it's all good, with all this stress we need a place to harness our cortisol levels and let it out. It would be really helpful to get our heart rates up to release that, help us sleep better, help our GI systems, prevent bloating and constipation with all these different foods we might be eating, and help our immune system and our brain power. Yep, it definitely would be good. BUT do we have time for that? Do we actually have the energy each day to take care of the kids and make the things and talk to the people AND do 30 minutes of cardio? I don't want to assume that for anyone.
She also swerves into dangerous territory by saying we need this extra movement for all the extra calories we're taking in. RED ALERT RED ALERT. Nope. We do not need to earn calories, we do not need to work harder because we ate something.
What I will say about staying active, what I have noticed for me, is when I'm feeling sluggish and I don't want to do anything and I don't have the energy for it, I KNOW scrolling my phone is NOT going to make me feel better. I KNOW that I either need to take a nap or get up and move. If I can't take a nap I will put on LOUD fun pop music and I will dance like a crazy banshee and get my blood moving. I will jump up and down I will act like the craziest person you ever saw. And it helps, I can get the things done, the music and warming myself up DOES make me feel better and ready to do the next thing on the ever-growing to-do list.
So NOTICE your body, and how movement might make you feel better, and how to add that into your day when and how you need it.
- Mindful of Hidden Calories
RED FLAG RED FLAG. UGH... I hate that she ends here. Rach, come on!!
She takes a lot of punches at fancy mixed drinks and flavored lattes. She goes on about how much sugar and how many calories are in these drinks and you should indulge but indulge mindfully, but mindful isn't about being scared of all the calories.
This all comes down to wording and perspective.
Let's take a Peppermint White Mocha (my personal fave)
What is true, without judgement? It has caffeine, it has cows milk - 12 ish grams of protein, it has carbs, simple sugar from syrups to add flavor.
We can judge it - and say 'oh my god all that syrup all that added sugar do you want diabetes and inflammation and AHHH' Then after a long day of holiday shopping you're stressed and hungry and overstimulated and say 'fuck it' and drink it anyway and feel shitty both mentally and physically.
OR I can notice how it makes me feel. I can say after all this Christmas shopping and all these mall people I am going to have my favorite holiday drink. I am going to get fewer shots of the syrup, I personally cut it in half, NOT because of grams of sugar but because I hate when I get to the bottom of the cup and it's sludge. I also know that I sometimes have a carb crash after I drink one, so I might get one of those protein boxes with it, or have a cheese stick in my purse, and I probably should drink some water before I chug this drink because that mall air is so dry I'm more than likely dehydrated.
Which one of those ways feels more in control and mindful to you?
She then goes on to make a lot of arguments about balancing daily calories and going light at the beginning of the day, adding the activity so you can indulge in the evening. She's just not there yet, she's not in a place to give this kind of nutrition advice in a way that doesn't continue to promote disordered eating and disordered body image.
When it comes to balance, let's balance our days based on the activities we have to do. If you have a long day of interacting with people that do not necessarily give you energy let's balance that with things that do fill you up. If you are making all the cookies and all the food and cleaning the whole house for people who will not appreciate it, balance that with taking yourself out for a date. If you did a cookie tour at your kids' school and you are feeling bloated and sluggish, then think about if a salad or a soup might make you feel better.
Again, I love Rach, but she is human, she's not going to get it right every time and I know she just wants to be helpful, so I guess I am just a translator for her. What she means to say is take care of yourself this holiday season so when everything calms down in January you can give yourself the biggest hug and know that you did the best you could with the things you had.
Quick Recap of Part 2:
- Indulge on the foods you like in a way that makes you feel really good. If you are shoving foods into your mouth or eating super fast because you're starving/stressed/angry/overworked, that is the time to take a breather and say to yourself food is delicious but it's not going to solve my problems, let's slow this down and start over
- Bring a dish or drink you want to drink, even if no one else even tries it, if you have something you know is going to fill your cup then it is worth it.
- Notice your physical body. Would a little bonus movement help energize you or clear your head? Would a stretch or warm bath help you relax after a long day volunteering? Would a nap or an early bedtime help you be more cheery when you start again tomorrow?
- Don't judge your food. Be mindful of yourself as a person and how the foods/activities/people/information coming into your face every day might impact you. Then make a plan to survive and perhaps even enjoy that particular event.
