Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Nutrition Tips for Athletes: Holiday Edition - Replay
3.2k Plays1 day ago
From the UA Pod Archives! We thought it was fitting to share one of our most popular episodes again in time for the holidays - updated with a new intro from Steve House, be sure to listen in! "In a special holiday episode, Alyssa sits down with Uphill Athlete’s new registered dietician, Alyssa Leib. The two tackle listener questions about fueling well through the holidays and the unique challenges athletes face. The questions range from how to handle comments about your eating habits to staying on track with training and nutrition during the holidays. RD Alyssa offers advice on adding, not subtracting with your nutrition choices as well as tips on approaching potentially stressful holiday meals. The two wrap with RD Alyssa’s words of wisdom including, eating consistently throughout the day, and practicing compassion and flexibility during the holidays. Listen along for great advice to help you through the stress of the holidays.
Special Offer to Listeners: Receive free four week samples of our most popular training plans, visit uphillathlete.com/letsgo
Write to us at coach@uphillathlete.com
Recommended
Transcript
Holiday Pressures and Nutrition Strategies
00:00:00
Speaker
For a lot of mountain athletes, the holidays can be a strange mix of celebration and pressure. your big meals, busy schedules, and sometimes body image baggage can kind of leave you feeling a little off track. In this episode of the Uphill Athlete Podcast, dietitian Alyssa Lieb shares practical, compassionate strategies to help you feel well, train smart, and keep perspective, no matter what the season throws at you.
00:00:23
Speaker
So please enjoy the timeless advice in this episode from the archive of the Uphill Athlete Podcast. Happy holidays.
00:00:41
Speaker
If you're enjoying the show and want to take the next step in your training, join our newsletter and receive a free four-week sample training plan. Head on over to UphillAthlete.com slash Let's Go, and once you sign up, you'll instantly get a link to try out some of our most popular training plans.
00:00:58
Speaker
It's a great way to get a feel for how we train our athletes for big mountain goals. Check it out UphillAthlete.com slash Let's Go. That's UphillAthlete.com slash L-E-T-S-G-O.
00:01:15
Speaker
Hi everyone, welcome to the Uphill Athlete Podcast. Our mission is to elevate and inspire all mountain athletes through education and celebration. I'm Melissa Clark and I will be your host today. I also have a little bit of a cold, so I apologize in advance. I'm stoked to welcome our newest addition to the Uphill Athlete team, registered dietitian, Alisa Lieb. Alisa, we're thrilled to have you on. I'm stoked to be here, Alisa.
00:01:44
Speaker
Sweet. And we were just saying our names are spelled exactly the same, but slightly different pronunciation. So in the document, i was just like, oh, yeah, I can't just write my name.
00:01:55
Speaker
It'd a little different. And I was reading through it, and I was like, huh, who is this? Who is this referring to? who's this Elisa or Alyssa? So glad we got that sorted.
00:02:06
Speaker
Same. I also just discovered, sometimes people call me AC, but I just discovered my married initials are the American Alpine Club, AAC. So I was kind of stoked about that.
00:02:17
Speaker
Very cool. New nickname. New nickname. We'll
Alyssa Lieb's Career Journey
00:02:21
Speaker
go with it. So I'd love to hear a bit about your background and experiences and then what brought you to Uphill.
00:02:29
Speaker
Yeah, absolutely. um So I grew up in the Appalachians in a hiking family. So the mountains have always been kind of something that was close to me. But it really wasn't until I moved to Colorado in 2016, which suddenly feels like a very long time ago, that that I really dove into kind of mountain sports beyond hiking and skiing. And as I got more into climbing and trail running, I just couldn't help but notice how prevalent under fueling was in these communities. um You know, I know in climbing, it's so common to hear this sort of light is better culture, lose weight so you can send harder, that sort of thing. And I know that that carries over into ultra running, that carries over into mountaineering to an extent.
00:03:16
Speaker
And that was ultimately what kind of spurred me to switch careers. um I was working in public health research at the time, and I just realized that I really wanted to play a role in helping athletes and really just my friends and members of my community to fuel their bodies adequately.
00:03:35
Speaker
to prevent injury, to perform improve performance, to feel good. And so I went back to school to become a registered dietitian. That was a very long process. But we're here. i started a private practice almost a year ago where I was working primarily with ultra runners, but then also with some climbers. And then I joined the uphill athlete team just a couple of months ago. So I'm still kind of getting my bearings, but it's been such a fun experience experience so far. I've gotten to work with such a broad variety of athletes already, which I think has been really fun. um i think most people hear the word dietician and just immediately think of weight loss, but that could not be further from the truth. And, you know, my experiences so far at Uphill have have really exemplified that.
00:04:27
Speaker
Oh, that's fantastic. Yeah. And I mean, just from... seeing what you've been doing I think it's so cool you've come at it from a multi-sport background um because I think that a lot of us like we get kind of in running kind of in different avenues and so you still have such a wide spectrum which is pretty awesome I think so too keeps things saying yeah I always say like primarily trail runner but more mountain athlete we'll go with that at least for myself
00:04:59
Speaker
Yeah, I, you know, and I think, I think we could talk for like ever about sort of identity as a multi sport athlete, because I think that's such an interesting topic. um And yeah, just the idea, the number of people who I've met who are like, Oh, well, you know, I climb three days a week, but I don't call myself a climber, um which is a whole other topic for another day.
00:05:19
Speaker
Yeah. And we have, I think, a fantastic topic for the relevancy of of the
Managing Holiday Nutrition
00:05:28
Speaker
time period that we're in. That was a horrible way of saying we're talking about holidays and we're talking about fueling for the holidays and just nutrition and kind of the body image. And it's just a really complex topic and can be a really tricky time for a lot of people. i know i feel sometimes the the burden of it and there should be so much joy surrounding it but it can also cause a lot of stress too um so how do you prepare your clients for this time period and just kind of being like okay everything's gonna be okay out there
00:06:05
Speaker
Yeah, you know, I think this is such an important question and an important conversation to talk about because holidays can be so challenging for so many reasons. You know, people are balancing, in this case, training with nutrition, with family obligations, which, of course, can come in with a whole bunch of body image issues, um,
00:06:25
Speaker
people feeling self-conscious about their nutrition, eating in front of other people can be difficult for people. So yeah I think this is just such an important topic to talk about because like you mentioned, you're absolutely right. like You're going to get through this. We're going to survive. um My approach that I take as far as preparing for this time of year with my clients, just like anything else with nutrition, does depend on individual goals. My nutrition philosophy in general is that mental health matters really just as much as any food you put in your body, just as much as nutrition. So it is really important to find that balance. So, you know, at the beginning of everything, I, of course, just encourage my clients to enjoy their time with family and you know, relax and enjoy a time off. And part of that does involve enjoying the meal that you're sharing. um So, you know, I think sort of general ideas, um reminding them it's just one meal or maybe a couple of days at the most. So whatever you've been working on as far as training, as far as your nutrition goes, you're not going to tank your progress after just a meal or a couple of days. um
00:07:34
Speaker
I also during this time like to encourage my clients and anybody I talk to really to focus on how they're feeling. So for example, ultimately you're going to feel better if you have some vegetables on your plate or if you include some protein. Eating three slices of pie while it might taste good, isn't going to make you feel very good. So just really focusing on that. And then you have the um ability, you have permission to make that decision and say, well, you know what? I know I'm not going to feel great if I eat three slices of pie, but it's really good. and
00:08:09
Speaker
That's totally okay, too. um But I would say ah kind of regardless of what their sort of overarching nutrition goal is, my strategy in working with clients is to help them come up with a game plan um for whether it's a big holiday meal or just figuring out nutrition while traveling, because that on its own, even without the holidays, can be really challenging for a lot of people. Um, so i think just coming into anything with a game plan, with a plan in mind can help improve people's confidence and just really empower them to make decisions that are aligned with their goals. Um, so for example, and this is something I personally have to focus on during the holidays is making sure you're getting protein on all of your plates. Um, I know when I travel for holidays and visit family, it's usually very easy to find carbs, um, Protein is typically a little bit more of a challenge to come across. And so a good strategy for that is, can you go to the grocery store when you get to where you're going and buy yogurt or
00:09:13
Speaker
canned beans or whatever makes sense so that you can have that on hand so that when breakfast is this gourmet pancake meal, you can say, hey I'm going to have some yogurt with this because it's going to make me feel better. It's going to better meet my nutritional needs. Kind of similarly, if I have a client who anticipates breakfasts being kind of a challenge for family reasons, maybe their family just isn't really breakfast eaters. And so they find when they're traveling to to visit that family member, breakfast just doesn't really happen. In that case, we're planning a portable breakfast, you know, maybe it's instant oatmeal and a protein shake, something like that. And then of course, a lot of people do face a lot of stress going into the holidays because of
00:09:58
Speaker
families, body image, all those things. And I know we do have a question about that from some of our listeners later on. So we can definitely dive more into that. But I think that that planning piece can really come into play there as well.
00:10:12
Speaker
Yeah, I love that. And I think that something i always do, because i love vegetables, And I am always like, if if say someone's doing a potluck, I always offer to bring a salad or to bring, you know, something that I know like, hey, at least I'm going to feel super comfortable with at least some of this and some, um you know, ah a variety. But like, I kind of make sure that that is there, which um has always helped me to, yeah, just feel better um rather than kind of like the, a lot of the brown, that tends to happen.
00:10:52
Speaker
I really like that idea. um I think my family, we've always like salad has always been a thing that we eat at holidays. But um as I've started doing holidays with my partner's family, I'm learning that's not always the case. So I think something like that is a really great idea where you can just make sure that whatever it is that you need to have on your plate to feel good is going to be there.
00:11:14
Speaker
Totally. And man, citrus salads are amazing. That's one of my favorite things. Yeah. And there's so many good ways to make it seasonal too. It doesn't just have to be this like summer salad.
00:11:26
Speaker
Totally. um So we had listeners send in some questions to help kind of further guide our conversation. And this one, gosh, I feel this very deeply, um is how to handle people making comments on how much you eat.
Dealing with Unwanted Food Comments
00:11:45
Speaker
Yeah, this is such an important question. and honestly, I think it's very telling that this is the first one that we're sort of diving into because I know this is such a prevalent issue. um It's something that I've had so many conversations with already this year. think this is something that everybody struggles with, not everybody, but most people. I think athletes in particular may face a separate kind of stress around this simply because as athletes we do have higher energy needs which means that often we are sitting down at a meal and eating more than family members and that can definitely you know result in some unwanted questions um this is also one of my favorite questions to answer um simply because there are so many different approaches that you can take when there is somebody whether it's a family member or somebody else commenting on what's on your plate um And I really think how you choose to respond just depends on your relationship with the person who's commenting, whatever the context is, you know, if you're sitting down at a large family meal versus you're sort of having a one on one conversation and more of like an office party situation. So couple of suggestions that I have. One is simply change the subject. So this could be a direct option where you just say, hey, I don't really want to talk about my food choices today. Have you been skiing yet this season? How's the snow?
00:13:13
Speaker
um Or you could take sort of a less confrontational approach and sort of ignore the comment while changing the subject. So if somebody is commenting on the food that you've chosen,
00:13:24
Speaker
You just say, hey, I saw the coolest bird on my run this morning. do you want to see some pictures of it? um Whatever it ends up looking like. um Another option is sort of the deflection option. And so this one, I think, is a little bit confrontational. um you know Definitely you would want to consider who it is you're talking to Maybe your boss at the office party is not the best option for this. um But if you get a question about, you know,
00:13:52
Speaker
hey, aren't you kit concerned about how much food is on your plate right now? You can just say, nope, I'm not worried about gaining weight from eating this extra slice of pie. And that's really all it takes. Another approach that I really like and I really encourage for people to have this sort of conversation if it's somebody who they're close with is just to be honest about how that comment makes you feel. So this could be something like, hey, I really don't appreciate you commenting on my food choices or my body right now. It makes me feel really self-conscious. I'm just trying to do what's right for my body, and this is what I've figured out is the way to do that. um
00:14:28
Speaker
And that one, of course, you know is a little bit more vulnerable, and so that can be a little bit trickier, but in the right context, I think can really drive home that you don't want to talk about this. um Yeah, and then another option is just to hit them with some science. So, hey, thanks for pointing out that I'm eating more food than you are. Everyone has different nutrition needs and based on my activity level and my metabolism, this is the amount that's right for me.
00:14:55
Speaker
um And then, of course, you always have the option to just dip out. You don't owe anybody an explanation for how much or what is on your plate. You don't owe anybody an explanation for what your body looks like or what size it is. And if if it feels right for you to just leave the situation, that's always an option for you.
00:15:16
Speaker
um So and I think if if you're concerned about this type of conversation or this type of comment coming up, I think it can be really helpful to try to do some planning ahead. um So just really anticipating, OK, who that I'm going to encounter? Am I really concerned about making a comment? You know, if.
00:15:36
Speaker
my aunt Sally makes a certain comment, what way do I want to respond to her? And coming up with kind of a cheat sheet to help survive these conversations, just so that you have those options in your back pocket to respond with, and you're not sort of stuck in that moment being like, hmm.
00:15:53
Speaker
So these are fantastic. And I can fully attest, I've been asked all of these questions and had people I think that commenting on what I eat and what I look like is a totally appropriate response, um which, yeah, it's not super fun. It's also, I guess what I try to do with varied success, um especially being a pro athlete, one of the things people find most interesting is what do you eat? And um I think that that I, so I try to come with a little bit of compassion, but it's a curiosity um of like, I think people kind of want that one fix or like, they're just really fascinated by it. And so I tend to be like, huh, well, everyone's super individual and like eat some carbs and some protein and some fats. And um it's really hard to say exactly what to eat. Cause guess what? It like changes every day and it changes of how hard my training is. And yeah, i don't really have a blueprint to share. that's when I'm being really nice. And then other times, honestly, I'll just be like, you know, I don't really feel like talking about this or I'll just kind of walk away. um
00:17:06
Speaker
Also, I think what's been really helpful, I have a family member in particular who is very invested in what I eat and what I weigh and makes a lot of comments. And my partner is actually one of my best um defenses, I guess, in that he understands how it makes me feel. So he's amazing at stepping in and advocating for me and just kind of taking the pressure off. So I think maybe having someone that has your back as well in the situation and can just be like, even if I step out of the room or I seem uncomfortable, they don't have to confront the person right then, but later they can be like, like he will go and say, Hey, stop commenting on what she eats. It makes her really uncomfortable. And that's been really helpful. Just knowing that he's looking out for me for sure.
00:17:57
Speaker
That's amazing that you have that kind of person on your team. And yeah, I think that's that's something that you know a lot of people really can bring into the holidays is just having a teammate who who can kind of have your back. you know Maybe if you don't feel comfortable changing the subject, maybe they can be the one who changes the subject at at the big family meal. Or yeah, maybe even something like that where they're actually going up and confronting somebody and saying, hey, the comments you're making, those are kind of inappropriate. Can you please stop? Yeah.
00:18:26
Speaker
So that's great. Thanks for sharing that. Yeah, no, I love your, I love these though. I'm definitely going to bring up I saw the coolest bird. that
00:18:38
Speaker
Everyone's going to walk away and think, oh, that, that Elisa, that new dietitian for Uphills is a bird watcher. There are some, yeah, there's some amazing birds though. been short did you Cool ones in Hawaii right now.
00:18:53
Speaker
They are super cool. Yeah, whenever I see a turkey that's kind of survived the season, I'm like, you go, dude. You won. Good job. I'm proud of you. You made it. Yeah. um So awesome. I think those are amazing tips. I hope that's really helpful.
00:19:13
Speaker
And I just feel like protect your space and hopefully people are becoming more self-aware. ah That's the hope, at least. i don't know if that's always true, but...
00:19:25
Speaker
um Yeah. Yeah. So another question that we had come in are what are some tricks to enjoy the holidays while progressing my training?
Balancing Training and Holidays
00:19:37
Speaker
Yeah, this is a really great question, especially, i don't know about you, but I think the kind of period in between Thanksgiving and New Year's all just sort of runs together as this sort of endless, oh, it's just the holidays, it's fine. um So this can definitely be a concern for athletes who who do have goals in mind. So i know I already mentioned this, but I'm just going to reiterate that this is only really a couple of days and nothing that you do nutrition wise or i imagine training wise is going to make or break your progress. And I think it can just be really helpful to have that at the front of your mind. Anytime you do start to get down on yourself and discouraged, just remember it's a very small drop in the overall training bucket and it's not going to make that much of a difference.
00:20:23
Speaker
All that said, I do have some pieces of advice to try to stay somewhat on track, whether it it whether it's for keeping up with your training goals or just for not feeling sluggish and kind of gross during the holidays. um The first one, and this I think is is good advice all the time, not just during the holidays, but really focus on what you can add rather than what you can take away. um so I have Thanksgiving on my mind because it's my favorite holiday, even though it already happened, but you it's my too it's the best. It's all about food. There's no presence. Like, yeah.
00:21:02
Speaker
I totally agree. It's just about being thankful. Yeah, absolutely. um But yeah, so like you you load your plate up with mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, rolls.
00:21:13
Speaker
That's awesome. Like your muscles are going to be very well fueled with carbs. So and in that situation, I'd encourage you to think about, okay, what can you add to get a little bit of protein on your plate? Maybe it's some turkey or some ham. What can you add to get some fiber and just a little bit of color? Like you said, it's the the brown foods. So maybe it is adding a little bit of that salad that you bring to the meal just to make sure that that exists. um You're not cutting out the potatoes, the rolls, the mac and cheese. You're just adding these other things to provide a little bit more nutrition.
00:21:47
Speaker
um I, in general, like to focus on a balanced meal being one that includes carbs, protein, fat, and color. So color being our fruits and veggies. um And I think it can be really helpful, especially this time of year when maybe you don't have as much control over what is actually going on your plate. to kind of use this mental checklist to build this balance plate that still has a lot of room for your sort of holiday staples and your go-tos.
00:22:13
Speaker
So just really sitting down and looking at your plate and saying, okay, I've got my carbs there. I've got my protein. What am I missing? oh I'm missing some color. Let me go add some vegetables to it to the extent that you can.
00:22:24
Speaker
I would say another piece of advice is eat consistently throughout the day. With these big holiday meals, I know it can be really easy to kind of fall into the trap of just not eating until your, you know, Christmas and dinner or whatever you're having. Whether it's intentionally trying to sort of save up those calories or if it's just eating.
00:22:46
Speaker
That's the the nature of the day. You know, everyone's busy cooking. Nobody really has time to sit and eat, whatever it ends up looking like. um For more stable energy levels throughout the day, I always recommend just try to maintain a normal eating pattern. So focusing on having three meals, maybe having two or three snacks that day. And this is going to give you better energy levels. You're not going to feel quite as sluggish. And you're also going to be less likely to overeat when you sit down for dinner if you've been nourishing yourself all day. If you go from the time you wake up until Christmas dinner at 3 p.m. without eating anything, by the time you sit down to dinner, you're going to be ravenous. And it's going to be really hard to not overeat and then feel like crap afterwards.
00:23:33
Speaker
on What else? You don't have to healthify your favorite holiday dishes either. I think i think this is a really important one. i cannot stand the thought of cauliflower mac and cheese. i do not like that. If you like it, great. But if you're just trying to do it to decrease your carbs, that is not the move. You can absolutely cook ay regular mac and cheese, but you can also cook sort of non-traditional holiday dishes. And so I think like that salad option that you mentioned is a really good option. Just a really good example of that. Like you don't have to stick to mac and cheese, ham, rolls. Like you can be a little bit creative to add a little bit and of nutrition to that meal. um I know my cousin brought one year when I was in high school, I think, to Thanksgiving, this amazing meal. It was like a salad and it had quinoa and pecans and pomegranates and And orange slices and I think it had shrimp in it too.
00:24:37
Speaker
And so it was so good. And it was very like seasonal, it it felt very in place with that meal, but it still was packed with all those nutrients so it made you feel good eating it. um Yeah, and then I would say like lean into the holidays to like all of these foods that are on your holiday plate are foods that are providing your body with something.
00:24:59
Speaker
um So, I mean, I think it can be easy to look at like a role, for example, and think oh it's just bread, it doesn't give me anything, but that's a great source of carbs. um You know, if you've got a run or some other training session planned during the holidays, that roll is an awesome thing to eat before you head out the door. That gives you your muscles carbs so that they can, you know, help you move your legs. I think that's great. um Yeah, and I think, Alyssa, I'm curious from your perspective, like this is obviously a really good question and involves the nutrition piece, of course, but also a little bit of that training piece. So i'm just curious from a coach's perspective, what are some tips that you'd give for kind of getting through the holiday season?
00:25:42
Speaker
Yeah, you know, I think there's a lot of factors that come into it. Because first off, I have kind of this like, okay, is your a goal coming up in January? Is it coming up in February? Like, do we kind of need to stay?
00:25:55
Speaker
pretty on top of things or it's your goal not to like may and we've got wiggle room and exactly the same with nutrition a few days off or like less structured totally fine like go have fun um it's not going to make or break your season if we're a little bit closer we probably need to think about being a bit more regimented um that being said with the regimentation that might mean um just maybe like getting up a little bit earlier or trying to fit those workouts in. But I also don't want my clients getting up at 4 a.m. to go get a workout in because that's like you're taking away from everything. But it might be like, hey, um you all are cooking. Like everything's good. I'm going to do the dishes. you mind if I get out my run? And you get out your run. I also find that if you leave it towards the end of the day, it's probably not going to happen. um So if you can focus on
00:26:54
Speaker
the training in the morning, then you have the rest of the day to spend time with your friends and family and you're not stressed about getting the workout in. And so you can focus on the quality time.
00:27:05
Speaker
um I think the other really fun thing to do, and I think I got lucky growing up with an athletic family is to go make the training part of sharing time with people. So whether that's going like bringing someone who's never been to the climbing gym before, like, Hey, let's go try to climb. let's go on a hike, like, let's go ice skating. And I think thinking of training, maybe be just slightly out of the box, um and making it a chance to get quality time, like, hey, we want to go on a run, we want to go on a hike, you know, that can be such a great way to get good training in or like a family core session. um I think that that's a super fun way to get the training in without feeling like you're missing out on something. And
00:27:52
Speaker
you'll probably feel better. You'll kind of maintain your routine. um And again, like it's just a couple days. Obviously if you go from Thanksgiving until new year's, that's a decent chunk of time. So we don't want to just be totally taking the the foot off the gas. But unless, you know, you understand like, Hey, during the holidays,
00:28:18
Speaker
i I just like want to soak that in. So we go, cool, that's your off season. And we're just not going to put you in a position where you would fail. um Because you can't devote a lot of time to training. And a lot of people do use this as more of an off season. So I'm totally fine. Like, most of all,
00:28:39
Speaker
I want my clients to be super honest with me. Like, Hey, can you get much training in during the holidays? Some are like, Oh yeah, I've got time off from work. Like I can train more. Other people are like, Nope, I have no time. And so for me, it's just understanding where my client is coming from and what's realistic.
00:28:58
Speaker
um Because i don't think, I think just the, the stress of everything and then add in, not getting your training in and feeling stressed about that like we just want to avoid that so we want people to feel like they're succeeding and able to fit the training in without losing the quality time I love that that's like not setting people up for failure and just really working with where they're at totally yeah yeah it's So I try to do and I try to make it fun for people of like, hey, can you go cross country skiing? Sick. Can you go skating? Awesome. Like make it enjoyable as well.
00:29:42
Speaker
Yeah, I immediately when you were saying all of that thought about like doing a turkey trot. That's like the ultimate family training activity I feel like during the holidays like the whole family goes out whether you do it all together you do it separately it's still a thing where yeah you're able to have that time and that connection and that experience with your family members but then yeah still get in some sort of sneaky training Totally. Yeah, i managed to push. I'd never pushed a double stroller.
00:30:11
Speaker
And this year i was pushing a double stroll. I was like, wow, this is hard. Oh my gosh. I got passed by somebody pushing a stroller at the turkey trot this year. I don't usually run fast and I was going kind of fast and that was a little disheartening. i was like, oh, you go.
00:30:28
Speaker
yeah no, people are impressive. um I would love to know. I'm sure it's out there. The numbers of people who run, it's got to be like a huge bump of people oh who run on Thanksgiving compared to the rest of the the year.
00:30:45
Speaker
would love to find that statistic. Yeah. mile Like they never run and then they do the turkey trot. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Yeah. yeah I'd be curious.
00:30:55
Speaker
But awesome. so our next question, what can we do to avoid gaining weight during the holiday season?
Approach to Weight Management
00:31:04
Speaker
Can you kindly share some proven and simple practices for the holiday season, but also in general? Is there some good and practical literature on this topic?
00:31:13
Speaker
How to maintain weight and compensate for holiday seasons, family events, late dinners with clients? Yeah, so this is this is an important question, right? So I am going to start by telling us what the research says, and then i am going to tell you what I think. um So what the research tells us is that to maintain weight during the holidays and even, you know, outside of the holidays, just in general. Some strategies are the first one, maintain exercise. So of course, like we just talked about, even if this looks different during the holidays, I think keeping up some sort of routine can just be a really good words.
00:31:57
Speaker
aye words mr good Okay. um Yeah. So I think even if it looks different during the holidays, keeping up some sort of exercise, activity, movement, routine, um i think it can be really good for your mental health as well as obviously the physical benefits, the training, the weight piece, especially if you're traveling. Yeah.
00:32:21
Speaker
So, you know, beyond just that weight management perspective, I think that maintaining exercise in some way or another can be so beneficial. Research also tells us that people who prioritize their food choices are more likely to maintain their weight. um So this could involve some of the strategies I already mentioned. So kind of keeping that mental checklist of food groups during your meals. just really focusing in on, okay, if I eat this second piece of pie, how is it going to make me feel? Maybe I'll stop at one and I can always come back for a second one.
00:32:53
Speaker
um Sort of related to that, research tells us that people who maintain their weight during the holidays are more likely to monitor their portion sizes. So whatever that looks like, whether it's counting calories or macros or actually measuring things out. These are things that, you know, are shown in the research to help people be successful. And then on a related note with that, just tracking food and monitoring weight.
00:33:20
Speaker
So that's what the research tells us. um And I think that there are some good things from this. You know, of course, as I already mentioned, that exercise piece, I think, is really important for so many reasons beyond just weight. um I think that prioritizing food choices to an extent can be beneficial just because it can really help you to feel better. Yeah.
00:33:43
Speaker
I don't know if I feel the same way about the tracking and the monitoring what you are eating piece during the holidays, and there are several reasons for this.
00:33:56
Speaker
First, like I already mentioned, the holidays are just a few days a year. If you are concerned about your weight, you're not going to gain 20 pounds from what you eat on Thanksgiving dinner, Christmas dinner. It's just not going to happen. um i looked up, I did some research on this because I was curious, and one study found people gain about three to five pounds during the holidays. And what they find is that typically when people then return to their regular routine, that weight comes back off. and So ultimately stressing about your weight during the holidays is really just bringing you a lot of stress.
00:34:32
Speaker
And it it really should be a time to just enjoy company, of family and friends and not be stressing about weight. So this kind of leads me to that other piece on of the question that just asked about how to compensate.
00:34:47
Speaker
And really, for those reasons, I don't recommend any sort of compensation. and I mentioned this earlier, but compensation could look like. okay, I'm going to save up all of my calories this morning so that I can eat them all in dinner tonight. And that often backfires. If you sit down and you haven't eaten anything all day, your body thinks it's starving. And so you're going to be more likely to overeat versus if you just spent that whole day eating on your normal schedule, eating consistently, nourishing your body, then you can sit down at dinner and maybe you'll eat a little bit past fullness, but it may not necessarily be that same sort of out of control over the top overeating like it would if you had tried to save up your calories for that meal. Um,
00:35:35
Speaker
I think the other kind of piece around compensation is that it really creates this idea that you have to earn your food. And that simply isn't true. the vast Even for athletes, the vast majority of calories that your body uses aren't going to exercise. They're going to existence, making your heart beat, helping your lungs expand, your eyes blinking, walking from the couch to the kitchen, whatever it is, that is really what is making up the majority of your body's calorie use. And so even if you're taking a couple days off from your training to to really lean into the holidays, you still need to eat. And by sort of looking at what you're eating with this view of, okay, how can I make up for this? How can I compensate? you are dismissing that important fundamental fact that your body needs food and you don't need to earn food. um You know, this can just be a really dangerous mindset. It can be a slippery slope into disordered eating, which can cause a whole host of issues to your mental health, of course, but also physical health and performance. I think this type of mindset also can set certain foods on a pedestal. So for example,
00:36:53
Speaker
And I keep coming back to this pie example, but I think that's because I have i really like pie. But thinking that too. Yes. um But yeah, thinking, you know, oh, I have to make up for that pie yesterday. Now what this means is pie is in your mind bad.
00:37:12
Speaker
And I'm using air quotes here. And then you were bad for eating that pie. And so what's going to happen now is that the next time you encounter pie, which realistically might not be until the holidays next year, most of us aren't eating pie very often. Now you're going to be more likely to overdo it because you have been sort of restricting yourself from eating pie and having this mindset of, well, i can't eat pie. Pie is bad. But of course, when Thanksgiving comes around next year, you're going to sit down, you're going to eat that slice of pie, and you're going to find it even harder to stop at one slice. And this this is a pattern that I see so often, not just with you know what we're eating during the holidays, but really with any kind of food that somebody really puts on this pedestal. And it's it's normally the foods that you are
00:38:02
Speaker
restricting It's the foods that you tend to overdo it on. um I've talked to so many people who say, oh, no, like I can't keep XYZ food in the house because I can't control myself around it. um And it's that same idea where it really isn't about control. um It's about...
00:38:19
Speaker
scarcity. It's about your views of is this food good or bad moralizing that food. So for all of those reasons, I don't really think that you should need to compensate or make up for what you eat. I think, you know, like I've said over and over, it's just a couple of days. And it's not going to make or break your progress on anything.
00:38:44
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, I think, So often it's so easy to fall into that trap and it really, it's just not necessary. And i think something I've really had to focus on as an athlete and it's changed it is, first of all, when there's uncomfortable situations, we can often just avoid them by not doing them.
00:39:09
Speaker
um And you have to eat. Like you have to eat. You cannot avoid it. You cannot just um you know walk away. i mean, you can, but that's not good. all like You need to eat to survive. and as you said, fuel all of these functions. And especially as an athlete, like that is how you perform.
00:39:31
Speaker
And so I think that that's just such a a good thing to remember throughout all of this. like The other day I was talking with my husband and um and saying, you know alcoholism, a lot of addictions, you can just stop doing them.
00:39:47
Speaker
And you can't do that with eating. And that I think makes it really hard. um But it's also like, it's such a beautiful thing. And like those memories are so important. And, you know, maybe you landed the deal when you went with your clients and that's awesome. And like, you know, maybe it was a few hundred calories you weren't expecting, but then, you know, you did something amazing. it's something you should be proud of. So yeah. Yeah, no, I love the, i love what you said and just how compensation is a ah definitely a rabbit hole that we can head down.
00:40:25
Speaker
Yeah. And I think it's, it's so important. You know, I loved your comment about comparing alcoholism with, you know, food and you can just give up alcohol, cold turkey. You can't do that with food, but I also think, you know, food provides so many things other than just energy, right? It provides a way to express your culture. it provides a social interaction,
00:40:51
Speaker
it's a comfort and it it tastes good. i mean, there, there are just so many things about food where if you try to distill it down to just, Oh, well, I need to control what I'm eating. So I don't gain weight. You miss out on all of those other things.
00:41:09
Speaker
I think that's just especially important during the holiday season. Yeah. Yeah. I, it's just, it's so complicated. And so I feel I feel for all the struggles, but I think it can also be such a beautiful bonding and amazing time to spend with your family too.
Food, Traditions, and Positive Memories
00:41:29
Speaker
Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. When I think back on growing up, like we had this tradition of making, you know, a bunch of cookies and candies and that was, that was such a vital part of the experience, like the chocolate chip cookie dough fudge and the bonbons and all of that. And it was just joyful. And so I think making sure that's a big part of it too. And also, gosh, I wish I had some cookie dough fudge because would be amazing for my next run. Yeah, that's something too. i The first turkey trot I ever did, um there was an aid station halfway through that gave everybody a spoonful of pumpkin pie. And I thought that was the greatest thing ever. And I think holiday foods can often lend themselves really well for like fueling workouts.
00:42:20
Speaker
Yeah, I'm actually a huge fan of Halloween because actually like like normal size candy is a little bit too much for me to take in at one time. But the Halloween size are perfect.
00:42:32
Speaker
You're so right. like Like a bite size Snickers. I'm like, boom, done, done. I love when it's Halloween for that. One of my favorite things about winter is that I can take little like individual packed chocolates with me on my runs and I don't have to worry about them melting.
00:42:51
Speaker
big fan. Oh, that's awesome. Um, so this has been amazing. Gosh, that I am so thankful that you're part of the uphill athlete community. I think we got really lucky. Um, so do you have any last tips that you want to share?
00:43:09
Speaker
Yeah. um And thank you for that comment. That's really sweet. it And i I'm very happy to to be here and get to have conversations like this. um Yeah, I think, you know, the the other tip that I would add is really that the holidays can be a really good opportunity to to practice compassion um and curiosity, I think. You know, we we always joke about this sort of, oh, after the holiday dinner, I have to unbutton my pants. But i think I think it's a good opportunity to just really tune in a little bit deeper and, you know, think about, okay, well,
00:43:51
Speaker
you know, would I am I judging myself for having eaten to this point? Would there have been a point earlier in that meal where maybe I could have set my fork down midway through and just checked in with myself? And, you know, and of course, you have permission to keep eating that food. But by kind of being compassionate about it, I think it can really help shift our mindset so that we can get to the end of that meal without just instantly feeling guilty or anxious about you know having to make up for things the next day. i think the holidays, while they can be very stressful for many ways, you know for those of us who do have a little bit more free time you know for having time off from work, it can be sort of a slower time to just really sort of practice tuning in and practice learning to listen to your body, practice showing your yourself compassion and just really taking advantage of that opportunity. Yeah, I love that.
00:44:52
Speaker
And probably the most important question of the entire podcast, what is your favorite pie flavor? Do we want to call it let's Say favorite pie kind.
00:45:04
Speaker
kind of Yeah, kind of pie sounds weird. Kind of pie. Thank you. um The answer is pecan. I will accept no other answer. All right. Wait, where in the Appalachian are you from?
00:45:18
Speaker
I'm from Virginia. Okay, that makes sense.
00:45:23
Speaker
Yeah, although I think, um I mean, we definitely had a lot of apple pie growing up and apple, apple pie is pretty good, but it's definitely pecan. Okay. What about you?
00:45:34
Speaker
Oh, I think I'm gonna have to say apple. Growing up in Vermont, we have a lot of apple orchards and a good Macintosh, Granny Smith combination. You get that tartness.
00:45:46
Speaker
Ooh, apple crumble or blueberry. Little scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. That's pretty good. The other day i was at a restaurant and someone said, what does la mode mean? i was like, I think I've known that since I was about two years old with ice cream. The only way. Yeah.
00:46:04
Speaker
Oh, Vermont. That's also the home of Ben and Jerry's. So we pack a lot of great things into a very small area. yeah Awesome. Well, thank you so much, a Elisa. This has been such a joy and, um,
Personalized Nutrition Coaching
00:46:21
Speaker
Yeah. Do you want to give a little, actually give the listeners an idea of what you're offering through Uphill right now? Yeah, absolutely. um So the main thing that I'm offering is nutrition coaching. So it is, you know, in a way similar to regular coaching that you do, Alyssa, where it's on a monthly basis. But as part of that, you would get two sessions in that month with me. So we would meet over Zoom or on the phone, whatever is easiest for you. and talk through your nutrition concerns, set some goals for you to work towards. And and then in between those sessions, you would also have some access to me over whether it's text or email, so that you can get that sort of continued ongoing support throughout the month. It is totally individualized. So I think a lot of people expect it to be a meal plan or, you know, for me to sort of go through this curriculum about this is nutrition for mountaineers or something like that, but it is entirely individualized. So whether you have some struggles with your relationship with food and you just want to feel a little bit more at peace around your food choices, we can work on that. If you are new to fueling running, we can work through strategies for that.
00:47:39
Speaker
I end up talking with a lot of people who have like GI issues on their longer run. So that's something we can talk about. Creating a fuel plan for an expedition, that's something it it really is, you know, if it involves food or nutrition, on it's something that, you know, we can probably work together on. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm trying to think if I have anything else to add to that.
00:48:06
Speaker
I think that's kind of the gist of it. Well, that sounds great. um Yeah, I think that will be that's really great for people to know what you're doing and what you can offer. so awesome.
00:48:20
Speaker
Sweet. Well, thank you for listening to the Uphill Athlete podcast. If you could rate, review, and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform, that really helps us to reach more athletes. If you'd like to write to us, please email coach at uphillathlete.com or visit uphillathlete.com.
00:48:38
Speaker
It's not just one, but a community. We are Uphill Athlete.
00:48:56
Speaker
One of the most common questions I get is, how should I get started with training? Well, they say the first step is the hardest, so let's make that easy. We are offering three four-week samples of our most popular training plans for mountaineering, trail running, climbing, and more.
00:49:13
Speaker
Go to UphillAthlete.com slash let's go to sign up for our newsletter and you will not only get monthly insights on training for uphill athletes, but you'll also get a sample training plan.
00:49:24
Speaker
It's totally free, so why wait? That's UphillAthlete.com slash L-E-T-S-G-O.