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#96: How to stay healthy and on track this Christmas
671 Plays4 months ago
In this solo episode of the Kate Hamilton Health Podcast, I chat all things Christmas and managing Christmas!
I share actionable strategies for maintaining your health and fitness progress throughout the festive season without sacrificing enjoyment!
As Christmas approaches, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, but in this episode, I explain that you CAN stay in control throughout December and how to avoid the all-or-nothing mindset and stay on track with your goals!
I also share tips for setting boundaries during holiday events to stay aligned with your goals.
Key Topics Discussed in This Episode:
- Why do drinking water, getting enough protein, and eating veggies still matter during the holidays?
- How to keep your energy up and feel good, even when things get busy.
- Two simple ways to handle calorie intake at holiday events without overthinking it.
- How to stay on track with your health goals while making the most of family time and holiday fun.
If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with friends who might benefit. For more health tips and updates, follow me on Instagram and TikTok @katehamiltonhealth.
Music by LiQWYD Free download: hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb [http://hypeddit.com/link/xxtopb] Promoted by FreeMusicPromo [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbycji-eySnM3WD8mbxPUSQ] / @freemusicpromo1
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Transcript
Introduction to Navigating Christmas Healthily
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of the Kate Hamilton health podcast. So today you just have me for this solo episode, which we are focusing all around Christmas. So apologies if you're listening to this later than that, save this episode as it comes closer to next Christmas, but anyone who's listening in real time, I hope this is going to help you.
00:00:33
Speaker
be able to relax and enjoy the Christmas period, but also protect the progress that you've made so far. So we're going to run through my thoughts on this whole process. Okay.
Controlling December: Focus on Manageable Aspects
00:00:45
Speaker
So the first thing that I'll say is December is 31 days.
00:00:51
Speaker
Christmas itself is only a few days. So at a push with all the different occasions, Christmas parties, family gatherings, Christmas day, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, New Year's Eve, whatever, we're probably talking about 10 days in total.
00:01:08
Speaker
of the whole month, which is only 32% of the month. So that means that about 68% of the whole month of December is very much in our control. So it's definitely not a case of saying, fuck it now until January. I know we're into December now. And as you're listening to this, you know, many days may have passed. That doesn't matter. There are still plenty of days left in December, even after Christmas, there's just loads of days before we head into January. So it is very much possible to focus on what you can control. Even with that 32% that might be a little bit more out of your control, it's unlikely that the whole day is out of your control.
Setting Boundaries for a Joyful Season
00:01:51
Speaker
So like, obviously apart from Christmas Eve, Christmas day, you know,
00:01:56
Speaker
In general, most of the occasions you're looking at are probably dinners out, Christmas parties, evening time things or lunch things. So the whole day isn't out of your control. In most of these cases, it's actually just one meal or one evening. So it's really important that we build clear boundaries around these occasions. And the reason why we need to build clear boundaries around these occasions is for two reasons. One is to protect our progress.
00:02:24
Speaker
We want to make sure what you've worked so hard for in the past few weeks, months, years, that we maintain that. We're not looking to burst through any more fat loss goals now at this stage in December. It is about protecting the progress. So putting boundaries around these occasions, it's going to help protect your progress, but it's also going to help you protect your fun. Because what is the point in life? If you're going to diet all year or train really hard or whatever,
00:02:53
Speaker
and then you can't relax and enjoy what's actually important with spending time with loved ones. Don't be the person who's in the office thinking of the beach and then the person on the beach thinking of the office. So what I mean by this is when you're enjoying your special occasions with your loved ones, be present and don't be obsessing over calories or feeling guilty for relaxing. You are allowed to relax. You are allowed to spend an evening not counting calories. Likewise, if you don't relax and enjoy these occasions, you'll feel hard done by and you'll be obsessing over food on your ordinary days too, trying to pull it back.
00:03:30
Speaker
So it is really, really important to get that balance.
Maintaining Progress: Practical Steps
00:03:33
Speaker
We all want to head into Christmas with some balance. Keep that in mind the whole time. So as far as I'm concerned, everyone's in, everyone who I work with anyway and anyone I'm giving advice to, we are in maintenance for December. December is not about fat loss. So by following this advice that I'm going to give you, these steps, you're going to be able to relax and enjoy your Christmas and not stress about gaining loads of weight in the coming weeks.
00:04:00
Speaker
And you can actually feel go through Christmas as well. Okay. So step one, drink at least two liters of water every day. No matter what you're doing, who you're visiting, where you're going, you can commit to that. Easy one.
00:04:14
Speaker
Step two protein source and some vegetables with every meal again that's easy to do if you're eating out if you're in someone's house you know you should be able to get plenty of protein and veg into your day every day into most meals. Step three focus on getting at least seven hours sleep each night for most of us I know not everyone for most of us Christmas could be a bit of a wind down time where the the work pressures are off a little bit some of us not so much but I know for a lot of people it is a time where you will be able to relax a bit more so really make sure that you're getting enough sleep. Step four focus on your walking okay so keep your movement high and it will make a huge difference
00:04:56
Speaker
Not only to maintaining your progress, but also to how you feel, your mood, your confidence, everything through the Christmas period. So if you can just commit to getting out for a walk every day, even if it's only for five or 10 minutes, depending on how busy you are, making these little commitments, like they really add up majorly to how you feel.
Training Habits: Avoiding All-or-Nothing Thinking
00:05:15
Speaker
And step five, don't abandon your training. I know things get busy, but keep your workouts in your schedule.
00:05:23
Speaker
I don't want you to think all or nothing here. If you're doing a three day program or a four day program and you can't get all your sessions in because you're too busy, that doesn't mean you should stop training for December. Or if you're doing a two day program and you can only manage to get one session in, that doesn't mean you should just stop training because you can't do it perfectly. You need to drop the all or nothing mindset here. One workout is always better than no workout. So even if you can't get them all in, still make time to do some workouts.
00:05:49
Speaker
So those five steps, I cannot stress enough the importance of keeping those habits in place throughout this month. And the reason is that it's the building blocks of your identity. We're building habits for life here. So, you know, if you want to lose weight, get fitter, get stronger, whatever your goals are.
00:06:07
Speaker
If you want to reach a goal and be able to keep it, it needs to become part of your identity. You might be further along in your journey where a lot of these habits are already automatic, which is great. If you're earlier along in your journey, it might to still take a lot of cost for planning an effort to get these habits in, but this is the perfect time to do it. Rather than focusing and stressing over what you can't control, focus on these five things that you can control.
00:06:36
Speaker
Get your water in, get your protein and veg, get seven hours sleep each night at least. Get out for a walk every day. And if you have started training, keep it up as much as you can, as irregular as it may be, don't abandon it through December.
Balancing Comfort and Health Commitment
00:06:50
Speaker
So with all of these habits, this is going to make sure that you don't abandon this new identity of yours as a person who looks after their health for a few weeks of comfort. And those few weeks of comfort aren't going to make you feel good.
00:07:06
Speaker
And with this approach, you'll actually get to have the best of both worlds. You'll be able to relax and really be in the present moment, plenty of comfort, but also committing to yourself and doing the habits that you know make you feel good. And there is one final step to follow this Christmas if you are tracking your calories. If you've been tracking your calories and you have lost weight and you want to protect your progress, I have two options here in order to do this.
Managing Calorie Intake During Holidays
00:07:34
Speaker
But before I get into it, let me just say absolutely nobody should be tracking food on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Give yourself a break, enjoy the holidays. Like I said, it is about maintenance for the next couple of weeks.
00:07:51
Speaker
And don't worry, I will be all over the place giving you advice in the new year to pick things up and push towards your goals at 2025. But in the meantime, we do all deserve to chill a little bit. So have a think about which option you think will work best for you.
00:08:07
Speaker
So this is step six, option one, bring your calories up to maintenance. Okay, so this means increasing your deficit calories, whatever your daily calories are by 400 each day. So for example, if your deficit calories are 1700, then they'll be increased to 2100 per day for the next few weeks.
00:08:26
Speaker
If you go with this option, you will need to still track your special occasions too. Well, except I'm not talking about Christmas Eve or Christmas day, but all the other special occasions. But with the more calories, it'll be easier to, to calorie bank. So you could save 200 calories each day for meals and drinks out. So you get the idea, you know, if you're on 2,100 calories for maintenance, then if you eat at like 1900 every other day, and then you'll have an extra.
00:08:52
Speaker
800 to 1000 on your special occasion day you'll have more calories but still what you will want to do is look up the menu, plan ahead and guess to make the calories. So some people have been like, oh dear God, no, do I ever get a break from it? And some people will like to do this, okay? Some people enjoy having the feeling of control and knowing where they stand and it just helps them feel good. Other people will be like, this is stressful. I feel like I'm not getting a break from it. So if you were someone that you feel that you like that sense of control, definitely this is the option for you.
00:09:25
Speaker
If not, option two, step six, option two, you remain in your deficit calories. You don't change your calories at all. And then on your ordinary days, when you've no special occasions, you know, that 68% of the month you stay within your deficit calories.
00:09:43
Speaker
Then on your special occasion days, you set a clear boundary around the occasion like we talked about earlier. If it's dinner out, you keep your breakfast and lunch the same and then go to your special occasion, relax and enjoy. Don't track and then just get straight back to it the next day. So that's going to give you that freedom, that break from tracking, that switch off time and just stay in your deficit on your ordinary days.
00:10:08
Speaker
You just need to be careful here around alcohol. So if your your boundary range or occasion is, you know, going on the session, you know, having loads of drinks, you need to be careful. A hangover binge day, the following day doesn't work in this plan. Okay. So you need to be organized for the following day. Overall throughout the month, sticking to your deficit calories 68% of the time and don't track 32% of the time will keep you at maintenance and you'll still be feeling good.
00:10:35
Speaker
So this is ideal for anyone who knows that they can get straight back to us and who'd like a little break from tracking some days. So whichever option you do choose to go with, please just remember what's important in life. How you feel and quality time with loved ones. So how do you feel keeping those six steps in place is going to manage how you feel through Christmas.
00:10:59
Speaker
and quality time with loved ones. Having that switch off time and that little taking the pressure off yourself during this time is extremely important also. By keeping some structure we can make sure that you are feeling amazing through Christmas. Don't let fear, guilt or stress over food ruin all of those precious memories that are there to be made.
Reflecting on Joy and Presence in Christmas
00:11:20
Speaker
I hope everyone has a fantastic Christmas and wit this step-by-step approach through Christmas, you will head into 2025 feeling amazing, ready to continue on your journey and be ahead of yourself heading into the new year, which I think is really important. So have a wonderful Christmas, relax, be in the moment.
00:11:44
Speaker
enjoy this special time with loved ones and do things that you know is going to make you feel good. And if you would like some extra support on your journey heading into 2025, we will be opening spaces for our online coaching service in the days after
Kate Hamilton's Coaching Services
00:12:02
Speaker
Christmas. So if you'd like more information on that, you can reach me on social media, on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, wherever you follow me at Kate Hamilton Health.
00:12:12
Speaker
Or my email address is KateHamiltonHealth at gmail dot.com. If you want to message me the word coach, I can get all the information over to you on coaching and you can get yourself set up ready to start in January, pushing towards those new goals. Happy Christmas, everyone. And I will talk to you all soon.