HHS-1: Food & Body Triggers

[00:00:00] So what if I told you that the biggest holiday trigger sabotaging your health isn’t the cookies or the wine or even the late nights? It’s the story you tell yourself when you decide, It’s just too much. I’ll start over in January because here’s the truth. Those little choices, the extra glass of wine when you’re already tired, the handful of candy you didn’t even want the night, you stay up wrapping instead of going to bed.

Those choices don’t just disappear on January. They add up and they’re the reason that you might feel bloated, short-tempered, and like nothing in your closet fits. When you actually want to be feeling festive and confident. So in today’s episode, I am gonna show you why this happens and why it’s not your fault, and most importantly, how you can change it so that you wake up on January 2nd feeling [00:01:00] proud and at peace instead of weighed down by regret.

So stick with me. You do not wanna miss this one.

Elizabeth: Welcome to the Total Health and Midlife Podcast, the podcast for women over 40 who want peace with food, ease in their habits, and a body that they don’t have to fight with.

Hey everyone. Welcome to the Total Health and Midlife Podcast. I am your host, Elizabeth Sherman, and I am so glad that you’re here with me today to talk about the holidays. Thank you for tuning in. So I have been working in the health and wellness space for close to 20 years now, and one thing that I’ve seen year after year is this.

My clients would be making amazing progress throughout the year. They’re building routines, feeling stronger, maybe even more confident in their clothes, and then November would hit. The holiday parties, the baking, the travel and family gatherings and all of their progress, [00:02:00] it just seemed to go right out the window and by January they were left feeling frustrated, beating themselves up, and feeling like not only had they undone all of the progress that they had made during the year, but that they had to start over from scratch.

So I don’t want that for you, which is why I created this special four-part holiday health series. My goal is to help you not just survive the season, but actually thrive even with all of the demands on your time. Energy and attention, and so you don’t need to listen to each of these episodes in order, but taken together as a whole.

They will give you the tools and perspective that will help you to have a more calm, more peaceful holiday, and just as important, they will help you to head into the new year without that heavy. Do over feeling that so many of us know all too well. [00:03:00] Now let’s talk about today’s topic, because although the holidays are supposed to be fun and joyful for many of us, they bring a different reality, stress, exhaustion, overeating, clothes that don’t fit the way that we want them to, and avoiding the camera because we don’t love how we look or feel.

This is the cycle I wanna help you step out of so that you can feel more at ease in your body, enjoy the celebrations, and still take care of yourself along the way. and I want you to know I have had this experience too. I have been there as well. I can remember plenty of Decembers when I’d start the day in a sparkly, festive mood.

Maybe I’d nibble on a few Christmas cookies while I was baking, or grab a handful of those red and green m and ms that just seemed to appear in every bowl. And it felt fun in the moment, like I was [00:04:00] soaking up the holiday spirit. But then by the time the party that we were going to rolled around that night, ugh.

I didn’t feel great. My stomach felt heavy, my energy was gone, and all of that cheer that I had earlier in the day had just fizzled out. And here’s the part that really stuck with me. I’d head into my closet to pick out the outfit that I had planned, only to feel frustrated and uncomfortable in, in everything that I tried on what had looked cute in my head.

I didn’t fit the way that I had imagined. I’d pull at the waistband of my pants or feel like the dress was too snug and I’d end up standing there under those bright closet lights, looking at myself in the mirror and feeling annoyed at myself. It wasn’t just about the clothes, it was about how I felt in my own skin.

Like I’d already blown it and the night hadn’t even started [00:05:00] yet, and it was that mindset. It was way too easy to say, well, F it. I will just enjoy myself now and deal with the fallout later. I know that place and I know how much it steals from your joy because instead of walking into the party feeling confident and lighthearted, you’re already battling with insecurity and what are they gonna think?

You’re battling with yourself before you even step out the door. And so that frustration, that push and pull of wanting to enjoy the season but not liking how I looked or felt in my body, that’s what first got me thinking that there has to be a better way to do the holidays. So let’s pause here for just a moment because I want you to really hear this.

If you’ve ever found yourself in that spot, overeating at a party, waking up groggy after [00:06:00] too much wine or hating how your clothes feel. It’s not because you’re weak or because you don’t have enough willpower. There are real reasons this happens, and once you understand them, you can stop beating yourself up for something that’s not a personal failing.

First, our bodies are changing in midlife foods that never used to bother you before. Suddenly they do sugar and flour hit completely differently. Now you feel the bloat, the crash, and sometimes even the joint aches after indulging. And don’t forget the cravings. Alcohol too. A glass of wine that once felt harmless can now leave you with a headache.

Feeling restless or a terrible night’s sleep or that heavy foggy feeling the next morning add in skimping on sleep and constant stress and your system [00:07:00] just cannot bounce back the way that it once was able to. And so on top of that, there’s this role that you play. For many of us, midlife means stepping into the role of the matriarch for our families.

So you are the one that’s coordinating all of the family dinners, the holiday parties, managing the travel, the plans, buying the gifts, decorating the house, and making sure everyone else is happy. It’s this invisible workload that no one really sees, but you carry like a backpack of bricks. And while part of you may love hosting, cooking, and being the glue that holds it all together, another part of you is just plain exhausted.

And here’s the thing is society tells us by our age, we should have it all figured out. We should have it all together, that we’re the ones that are supposed to glide through the holidays with grace, Smiling and organized and still looking great in every single [00:08:00] photo because we’ve had experience, right?

So when you don’t feel like you’re measuring up when you’re tired or when you can’t button those genes as easily, it feels like proof that you’re failing somehow, but you’re not failing. And you are human and you’re living in a body that is changing with responsibilities that are heavier than ever in a season that is relentless with its expectations.

Of course. It feels like a lot of course food and alcohol become quick ways to take the edge off. It makes perfect sense. And this is where I want you to take a deep breath and give yourself some compassion because you are not broken.

You are just running a marathon on fumes and no one can thrive in that state. So let’s talk about what happens when we don’t interrupt this cycle. Because if you’re like [00:09:00] most women, at some point in December,

you’ve probably told yourself it’s too tough. I’ll just start over in January and I get it. In the moment, it feels easier. You give yourself permission to stop caring, to go in on all the cookies, the cocktails, and the late nights, and the endless to-do lists. You think, I’ll enjoy myself now and then I’ll get serious later.

But here’s the problem with that. All of those choices don’t just disappear when the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. They actually accumulate. The stress, the poor sleep, the sugar highs and crashes, they compound. And by the time January rolls around, you are not stepping into the new year feeling refreshed or ready.

You’re dragging yourself across the finish line, exhausted, bloated, short-tempered, and full of regret. And it doesn’t just affect you [00:10:00] physically. It shows up in your mood and in how you show up with the people that you love. Maybe you’re a little bit more snappish with your partner, or you don’t have the energy to really enjoy time with your kids or grandkids because you’re completely preoccupied with everything that needs to get done.

The very things that you wanted to cherish. The laughter, the traditions, the connection, those get clouded by fatigue and self-criticism. And honestly, that all start January plan never really serves you because it’s built on the idea that your health can wait. That it doesn’t matter how you feel right now, but it does matter.

How you treat yourself today determines how you will feel tomorrow, your sleep tonight, your energy tomorrow morning, and your patience and presence at that family gathering next weekend. All [00:11:00] of that is shaped by the choices that you make in the moment. So if you’ve been telling yourself that starting over in January is the solution, I want you to know that it’s not.

What it really does is steal your joy in December today and set you up for an even worse January when it arrives and you deserve better than that.

So what’s the alternative? If I’ll start over in January, doesn’t actually serve you, then what does, here’s the reframe I want you to hold onto this season. Something is always better than nothing. We tend to think in all or nothing terms, right? Either we’re being good and following all the rules or we’ve blown it and we may as well just go all in, but real health doesn’t work that way.

Every small choice actually matters. That extra [00:12:00] cookie that you decided not to grab when you’re not even hungry, that matters. Choosing to pour yourself a glass of water before you automatically reach for another glass of wine That also matters. Shutting off your screens at 10 and giving yourself an extra hour of sleep instead of scrolling Instagram until midnight.

That matters too. None of these things are dramatic. None of them will feel Instagram worthy or like the perfect plan, but together they add up. They shape how you feel in your body, in your energy, and in your mood. They set the tone for how you show up at that party, how you engage with your family, and how you feel about yourself the next morning.

This is where I want to bring in one of my favorite questions, the one that I ask myself before holiday parties, before vacations, and during the [00:13:00] holidays in general, which is how do I want to feel when I get home? How do I wanna feel tomorrow morning? Or in a broader context of the holidays, how do I wanna feel when I wake up on January 2nd?

Do you wanna feel puffy, foggy, and like you need to go on a cleanse so that you undo weeks of bad choices? Or do you wanna wake up feeling okay, feeling good in your body, and proud, grounded, and actually ready to start the new year with energy and clarity. That future version of you isn’t created by a massive overhaul or by depriving yourself of joy.

She is created in all of the little choices that you make today, the ones that honor your health and allow you to enjoy the season, the things that you are looking forward to. This is the possibility. I want you to stay [00:14:00] curious about that. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing. You can enjoy the magic of the holidays and still feel good in your body.

you don’t have to be perfect, but you do want to take care of yourself, don’t you? Now when I think back to those years when I was caught in that cycle, feeling excited in the morning and overdoing it on cookies, frustrated in my closet before the party, I realized something. Every January I started to evaluate the season.

I’d asked myself what worked, what didn’t. What could I have left behind and what could I do differently next year so that I could actually enjoy the holidays without feeling like I had completely sabotaged myself? And little by little, I built a system, a way of approaching the holidays that let me enjoy the things that really mattered, that were nostalgic, that were important to me, the special foods, the [00:15:00] traditions, the gatherings, because of course we don’t wanna give those things up all while skipping the things that didn’t add any joy, like the handful of green and red m and ms that I could get any time of the year.

They didn’t make the holiday more meaningful. They just left me feeling meh. And so that process of reflection and trial and error is what eventually became the feel good holiday playbook. I created it because I wanted a guide that I could hand to my clients, a resource to help them to feel in control and supported through this exact season and not lose any ground on our work together.

It’s not about dieting. No one wants to go on a diet during the holidays, and it’s certainly not about deprivation, and it’s definitely not about perfection. It’s about rhythm, discernment, and remembering that your health matters just as [00:16:00] much in December as it does in January.

Now inside the playbook, you’ll find strategies, prompts, and simple tools that you can come back to year after year. It’s like a holiday survival kit, but one that’s designed to help you thrive, not just make it through. And if you’ve ever told yourself, I’ll start over on January, I think that you’re gonna find it incredibly freeing.

So here’s my invitation. If you want the holidays to have that special cheer again without feeling out of control around your food, give yourself this gift, not the kind that you wrap and put under the tree, But the kind your future self will. Thank you for Imagine waking up on January 2nd, feeling good in your body, and proud of how you showed up for yourself instead of weighed down by starting over.

That’s what’s possible for you this year. Now, I’ll put the link in the show notes so that you can grab your copy of the Feel Good holiday playbook,

[00:17:00] Or you can go directly to elizabeth sherman.com/field-good-playbook, and as you head into the holiday season, remember, you don’t have to be perfect. You just have to take care of yourself. One small decision at a time. That’s all I have for you today. Have an amazing week. Go grab your copy of the Feel Good Holiday Playbook and make sure that you tune in next week for the second installment of the Holiday Health Series.

I’ll talk to you then. Bye-bye.

Elizabeth New: The holidays can bring up a lot old patterns, food, noise, stress, expectations. Look, I’m not here to tell you to skip the stuffing or say no to cookies, but if you wanna feel good come January and not bloated, burnt out and full of regret, you are going to want the feel good holiday playbook.

If you’re craving something different this year, something that feels more intentional, more peaceful, more you, I want you to go check [00:18:00] out the Feelgood Holiday playbook. It’s not a plan, it’s a lifeline.

Get your copy at elizabeth sherman.com/feel-good-playbook, and let’s make this season different.