Ep: #30 - Bossing Christmas - Health

Faye Casement Author

Oct 19, 2022 |

A quick look at how you can reduce stress and manage your weight this Christmas.

What are your thoughts on your health this Christmas? 

Are you:

• Bossing it
• Ready to boss it or
• Waiting until the New Year?

I went live this week in the Wellness4Women Facebook Group to start a 3-Week series on “How to Boss Christmas”.  Want the replay to the live leave me a #replay in the comments.

Over the next 3 weeks before Christmas I am going to cover the 3 biggest life coaching areas…HEALTH, WEATH & RELATIONSHIPS and how we can boss them all at Christmas.

I think they tend to come up for most people in one form or another over the Christmas period. 

First one I am coving is HEALTH touching on Stress Management and Weight Management this holiday season.

Any thoughts or questions along the way drop them in the comments below.

Ok so I was thinking about health at Christmas and how it can play out for us all.

Are you feeling any kind of stress or pressure yet or think you will do in the lead up to Christmas?

• Maybe you are not sure what to buy as presents for people?
• You are hosting for the family so have to plan and execute THE BIG CHRISTMAS meal?
• You are finding your calendar is harder to manage due to all the extra social engagements?
• Maybe work gets extra busy at Christmas for you? Or maybe the opposite it is dying off and therefore you are having to look for work.
• Maybe you are already thinking about the school holidays and how to entertain the kids or you have to find childcare?

Is any of this resonating? Let me know!

For me the gift giving one resonates every year…

I so desperately want to be someone who gives amazing and thoughtful presents but then get in a panic as I realise I have no clue what to buy.  I set up my expectations too high and so then agree not to buy anything and feel like a right royal Scrooge! Christmas is officially ruined!!!

This is certainly something that plays on  mind and can increase the stress levels.

The thing is with an increase in stress levels is not only can it feel like crap you will also release cortisol which then can impact:

• Food cravings,
• Weight management.
• Your immunity,
• Sleep and feeling fatigued,
• Your digestion
• Concentration

So it is worth trying to reduce the stress and cortisol levels where possible.

I have some tips to share though so do not fear 😊

Sleep

Prioritise your sleep.  Do you have good sleep hygiene where you try to keep to a regular routine or are you all over the shop? I always recommend this to my members. Getting to know and working with your natural rhythms can help.  I know I get super cranky and make unhelpful decisions if I don’t have enough sleep and also it can lead to be getting migraines. Not good!

Movement

Try to get some movement in daily, even better if outdoors subject to your medical needs of course.  Those endorphins are natural mood enhancers.

Recognise thoughts that create stress

This is my jam and where the journaling and visioning which I have talked about in previous lives can come in to it. 

Not seen those and want the replay links let me know in the comments. 

We go deep on this topic in the Triple A Way Membership as we know that all of our emotions and actions start with a thought. 

I know for example that if I think “I am too busy” I panic…I then want to buffer or “procrastasnack” and guess what happens….

I end up feeling more stress and pressure due because I lose more time procrastinating. 

This kind of awareness can be super helpful as once I catch that thought I can do something about it.

Breath work

It’s a funny one this one…you would think given the fact it is something so fundamental we would be better at it… right! 

I’d love to know if you have a practice of this already or if any of you practice meditation which would also be a good tip too. 

I really notice again when I feel stressed that my breathing becomes shallow, so I like to sit up super tall and really take a few deep breaths. 

Again, you may have heard me say I like to follow Brendon Bruchard and I do a modified version of his “release” meditation.

I basically take deep breaths and say release whilst pushing it away from my body…wanna try it now?  If so close your eyes, breath in deeply and as you breathe out say “Release” whilst pushing your hands away from your body.  I do this a few times and it really helps.  I do it when I need to relax to sleep too and works like a charm.

Water

Another fundamental life necessity but one many neglect.  It is helpful for flushing through the cortisol but also regulating the body by staying hydrated.

I aim to get a minimum of 2 litres but ideally aim for 3.5.

How much water do you drink at the moment?

Nutrition that helps with cortisol

I am not going to go into a ton of nutrition facts here but I can drop you a link out if you want a useful resource in diet and cortisol. 

I do not advocate in the membership any particular nutrition or method of weight loss.  

What I teach is how to build your own path based on your body and needs.  The aim being to move away from “old diet rules” that do not serve you and a way to find lasting change.  We do this by trying different things and seeing how it fits with your body, health and life as long as it is not harmful of course!

How does this all sound?

Going to think about trying any of things? Let me know!

This segments me nicely into the other part of health I wanted to cover which if for any of you looking to manage your weight in some way over the holiday season.

As you know I came to life coaching via my weight loss journey where I have lost over 65lb but the principles I advocate can be applied to any journey which is why even if I do say so myself my Triple-A-Way method is unique.

Anyway Christmas….

• The mince pies are being bought!
• The obligatory chocolate tin that nobody is supposed to touch is on the side!
• There are Christmas buffets!
• Christmas parties and gatherings!
• Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Years Eve and New Years day!
• Carol from accounts with her bake-off idea!

That’s before we touch on the multiple bottles of baileys in the fridge, crates of beer and bottle of wine and gin!

Where do we start!

Possible not where you would think from a life and weight loss coach!

I am not here to say don’t eat these things…

Does that shock anyone?

Why!

A number of reasons…

1. It’s not my place to tell anyone what to eat it is your life, your body and your choice.  You ultimately know best.
2. I don’t believe feeling restricted in your life and weight loss journey is helpful to long term lasting change.  If you restrict you can end up in a binge and restrict cycle which ultimately keeps you stuck in yo-yo dieting and is why any of the old diets you have tried won’t have worked!

So what do I want to share?

Firstly, decide how you want to show up and own that decision.

If you want to go knee deep in mince pies this is your decision but own it make sure you are genuinely happy with the decision and won’t then beat yourself up on the 1st of Jan. 

Our brains are sneaky!

• “We say things like it doesn’t matter! It’s Christmas!”
• “I’ll start in the New Year but do you reaaaallly mean it?”

I would encourage you to check in with your thoughts on why you want to do this. 

Are you happy with the reasoning?

Will you still be happy with that reason 1st Jan?

If so fabulous!

If not, why not and what do you want to do instead?

Maybe you’re the opposite

You could even be quite fearful of Christmas and the possible weight gain.

What thoughts are coming up for you?

• I can’t enjoy myself like I want to?
• I can’t eat that mince pie or else I will gain weight?
• All my hard work will be ruined?
• I can’t go to that party?
• I can’t go to the party and drink?

This route you are going to feel a bit frazzled and these thoughts are going to make you feel very restricted.

What I would offer is maybe we want to take the middle road!

The Goldilocks approach not too much and not too little.

I strongly believe that you can find a way to get the result you want if you follow the Triple-A-Way.

Get AWARENESS about the situation. By planning and assessing and mind ninjary.

Decide on the ACTIONS  you are willing to take and make small shifts.

Hold yourself ACCOUNTABLE with the support of others.

I shared in a post the other day on my Facebook Profile how these are the 3 pillars I have used to lose my 65lb.  I apply them at Christmas time too. Christmas week I was able to lose a lb and I know I can do it again if I chose to.

How did I do it…I planned my week out knowing what events I had coming up and planned around it making levels ups as I went rather than going in to fuck it mode.

My program is all about intuitive style eating methods so there was no restriction I just ensured I was super dialled in to my hunger scale.

Most importantly though I ensured I enjoyed everything I did, and I watched the mindset. 

Mindset really is the key to lasting weight loss hence the life coaching part of what I do and encourage.

If you are having thoughts that start with “can’t” you are likely to feel restricted.  Feel restricted you will overeat and then repeat the overeat/restrict cycle,

So, you need to take the temperature out of those thoughts and release the pressure.

This doesn’t mean total allowance and telling yourself it will all be fine as it’s Christmas it means making a decision and honouring yourself and the boundaries you set yourself aka accountability.

So how has this landed with you? Let me know in the comments.

Want to get started on losing weight for the last time? 

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Categories: : stress, Weight loss, Wellness