A HEALTHFUL HOLIDAY GUIDE: MATCHING EXPECTATION TO REALITY
We’re a week into December, and there is a good chance your holiday season is starting to pick up – that is, if your schedule hasn’t already started to have less wiggle room. This time of year can come with a tension of wanting to stay aligned with goals and wanting to fully participate in the season, and then some confusion about how to navigate with these conflicting thoughts. There is a different rhythm to December, and if we can acknowledge this (the fuller schedules, more/more frequent gatherings, more emotions, more travel, more food, more alcohol…the list goes on) we can set ourselves up for a season that feels more successful (and hopefully less stressful).
But…how?
This guide is about closing that gap, so that your expectations actually fit your life, not a fantasy version of December with unlimited structure, perfect sleep in your bed only, infinite time to cook and shop and wrap gifts, and regulated emotions. (If you know a December like that, let’s chat! I’d love for you to teach me your ways.)
Let’s walk through what it looks like to match your goals with this season, specifically around nutritional phases, tracking options, eating and drinking with intention, and stress + sleep.
MATCHING EXPECTATION AROUND YOUR NUTRITIONAL PHASE + GOALS
Before you continue reading, I want you to pause and think about the next few weeks. Before you look at another menu, accept another invitation, or pack up to travel, I want you to ask yourself a question: “what do I realistically want from this season?”
So often we choose a goal around a nutritional phase (maintenance, fat loss, muscle building, optimizing performance) without asking if the current season can actually support it. I say this with love (as I say to all my clients at this time of year): December may not be the month to layer on the strict rules that come with being in a calorie deficit. It is likely not the time to think about behaving more rigidly. It’s probably not the season to audit and overhaul routines. Instead of thinking about pausing a fat loss phase for the season or postposing it until January, reframe your current maintenance as an investment in your current self (and current needs), and future fat loss efforts as a gift you are giving yourself when you are able to be more attentive to and efficient with your efforts.
Instead of fat loss, it it very likely the month/season to embrace being in maintenance, identify your baselines and bare minimums (and determine when you can implement each), and really, truly embrace consistency over perfection.
When your expectations match your bandwidth, your reality can begin to feel like a choice that you are actively making, instead of a too-high-hopes-plan that you’re constantly missing the mark on. Later nights, travel, kids out of their routines, more social events, more decadent food, stress, colder weather, fewer daylight hours…they are all going to shift your routine, and with it, can make everything feel harder. So instead of pretending like they don’t exist and plowing ahead, your goal is to adapt.
TRACKING OPTIONS
Food is macros and calories, yes, and it is also enjoyment and connection and nostalgia and tradition (and many other things). If you are in a season of tracking your intake, it doesn’t mean these qualities disappear, but you might need to be willing to make some trade-offs. Before an occasion like a family gathering, office holiday party, or happy hour, think about what approach you want to take as far as your tracking is concerned (there’s no one “right” choice, and your approach will likely vary depending on the occasion).
Some approaches:
Track breakfast and lunch, and let dinner be mindful yet flexible
Track protein only
Pre-log when possible
Use hand portions instead of logging in an app
Don’t track at all
Matching expectations to reality might mean accepting that tracking is a flexible part of the season, too. And reminding yourself that tracking is meant to be a helpful tool, and not a be-all-end-all habit.
EATING AND DRINKING WITH INTENTION
Cutting right to the chase: skipping meals to “save room” for a larger meal later can often lead to reactive eating later. If you want to feel grounded going into a meal (this goes for outside the holiday season, too!), success starts with going into that meal with a base.
Eating enough earlier in the day can help to support better decision-making, prevents the urgency spiral that comes from being ravenous (or hangry), and can reduce cravings.
Alcohol can absolutely fit into your holidays, too, with intention. To matching your expectations and reality with alcohol, it helps to be reflective and honest about how alcohol affects you.
To support your decisions around imbibing, consider:
Enjoying the drinks you actually want, as opposed to just what’s handed to you or passed around on a tray
Alternating alcohol with water (at least a 1:1 ratio, if not more in favor of water or non-alcoholic beverages)
Setting a personal boundary (like “I’ll feel best with 1-2 drinks tonight,” or “I’ll stick to wine over mixed drinks”)
Including food with your drinks
This post isn’t about the pros and cons of alcohol – that’s a conversation for another day. This post is a reminder that you don’t have to avoid alcohol entirely; you should put some thought into how you want to enjoy it so that it doesn’t deliver any surprises around your sleep and energy, especially if you’re already stretched thin.
And speaking of sleep…
STRESS + SLEEP
When expectations and reality are misaligned, stress usually goes up. And when stress increases, sleep decreases. With more stress and less sleep, everything gets harder. Your hunger and fullness cues change and cravings can feel more intense. Your patience with others and with yourself dips, and energy tanks.
This isn’t failure, it’s exhaustion. Again, with love: December already has enough going on and doesn’t need additional self-imposed stressors. Show yourself some self-care with actions like going to bed 10 minutes earlier, giving yourself a break between commitments, being picky about what you give your time, energy, and “yes” to, and getting some fresh air and sunshine when possible. If you don’t give yourself breaks, life has a way of making sure they are forced on you.
SO…
The holiday season doesn’t require you to choose between enjoying your life and supporting your goals. It does, though, ask you to recognize the reality of the season so that you can adjust your expectations to meet it. When you chose alignment over pressure, or flexibility over perfection, or awareness over all-or-nothing thinking, you are giving yourself the gift of moving through the holidays with yourself, and not against yourself.
Shifting your habits, softening your expectations, and taking care of yourself doesn’t pause your progress and doesn’t move you further away from your goals. Instead, it moves you closer to them by creating habits and living in a way that can exist in any season.
YOUR NEXT STEP
Does this blog post resonate with you? At Front Porch Nutrition, I coach real people through real-life nutrition — thinking through what your wants, needs, and goals are, and working together to make changes that last not just in the moment, but for the long haul. Get started with 1:1 nutrition coaching today!
