Fat Pants.
You know the ones.
Stretchy. Comfy. Expandable.
The holiday’s can be tough.
Especially if you feel like you lose control around food or hate the mirror because you are discouraged by what you see.
We all know what comes next…
Your favorite comfort foods, curling up and staying cozy in your warm bed, sleeping in, having an extra glass of wine or five, the parties, the horderves …. it all FEELS so good.
Until.
You face the mirror at the beginning of January.
It’s cold out, the bloat and heaviness leftover from the holidays sets in, you have been living in fat pants for days and want to burn them but you’re stuck because it’s all that fits and then the bitchy roommate voice comes out…
taking down your lack of willpower, your body’s endless flaws and your self worth.
You make a grand New Year’s resolution. Every radio station and tv commercial has a new lose weight, get fit special and you want to fit into that swimsuit NOW.
How long does a New Year’s Resolution last? Experts agree, nearly a third are derailed in the first month and more than half within two months.
That was me. This was my yo-yo path every year for decades.
Militant exercising, weighing myself several times a day and ridiculous food restriction was my best effort to shed the holiday slump but it didn’t work.
Not ever.
The fat pants were my best friends and I didn’t have to think about what I’d done to sabotage myself into feeling this way. The cost of the “holidays” was 10 lbs., my belly hanging over my belt and some boring cardio kick boxing videos every night while starving myself back to a number I felt better seeing on the scale.
I lost my why during the holidays. I gave myself the deserved-ness blanket, “I’ve been good, I deserve a little extra”. Extra of everything, snacking, parties, breaks from workouts, sleeping late, eating late and living in my fat pants.
Self-sabotage can show up in sneaky ways:
-I’ve been “good”, I deserve extra
-Something or someone is always more important
-I’m afraid I’m going to miss out, something bad will happen or I’ll let someone down if I don’t belong to these thoughts, behaviors, traditions, foods, people, events. Disappointing myself is easier than disappointing others or potentially having them think less than of me for being/eating/thinking different.
These are deeply powerful patterns that guide our decisions every single day but getting curious about your sabotage will create empowerment from their grip.
What if you didn’t have to go down the path of resolutions and sabotage AND you got to feel freedom around the holidays without the fat pants?
“You cannot hack your way out of a bad diet, you have to hack your way into a good diet.”
Here’s 7 ways I saved myself from the agony of a holiday binge eating, weight crazed, fat pants, ‘wake up shocked and depressed in February’ roller coaster:
1. Get the best version of you out where you can see it. Making giant elephant sized goals about anything lead to disconnect and overwhelm. Lose 20 lbs. or don’t eat any horderves are unrealistic and bound for getting blown off. Instead of lose 20 lbs. what if you committed to eating out less and adding in more veggies plus doing some at home 5 minute workouts (click here for workouts you can do at home with me!)?
Write down your health and wellness goals on post it notes and put them around your house, in your cupboard, in your fridge TODAY and make one tiny step towards it each day. Writing something down makes a contract with the Universe. It’s out there. It’s action in motion. You can push past the post it note but it’ll be much harder to knowing you’ve made a contract with yourself for the you, you want to be.
2. Eat for how you want to feel. I have had Type 1 Diabetes for 37 years, I make the choice to eat for how I want to feel because it feels worse to be on a blood sugar roller coaster. I STILL eat chocolate. I STILL drink wine. I STILL eat gravy. But my “diet” revolves around these things: the types of foods I eat, the timing of when I eat them and the amount I eat.
Which is why I don’t recommend following ANY diet, except the one that’s perfect for you (guess what, you can unlock that critical key to your health in my 12 Take Back Your Life Coaching Program, details below!).
Remember the last time you ate way to many appetizers before dinner and then ate dinner and felt completely stuffed like into the next day? Or you drank to much and you woke up feeling like you needed a greasy breakfast to feel better? Your body is trying to make enough insulin to create balance… the pain and discomfort you feel is total inflammation. Brain fog, sluggishness, low energy, high irritation, less motivation are all linked to inflammation caused by the foods we eat. Notice where your diet feels best by looking at the types of foods you’re eating, the times your eating them and the amount. Little changes can open big doors.
Drink half your body weight in ounces of water everyday. Many times we think we’re hungry and we’re actually dehydrated. When it comes to meals, fill your plate up with all the colorful fruits and veggies you can but make room for the comfort foods too! Glance at the clock before you sit down and tell yourself that you’ll eat slooowwwwww (at least 20 minutes), set your fork down 10 times throughout your meal and get rid of your plate when you’re done. In a moment of panic when you want to eat the entire rest of the pumpkin pie all by yourself, ask yourself what will having this do for me? Will I feel expansive or contracting from this choice tomorrow? What do I want to feel?
3. Are you a grazer? You know, every time you pass by the appetizers you grab something. My favorite thing is the rule 3B. Any 3 bites of anything I want before dinner. Total win/win because I’m not depriving myself, I’m consciously choosing what I actually want to eat and I’m not sabotaging my goals. Listen to your body, notice what totally satisfy‘s your cravings and what’s overkill. Notice if you are emotional eating or trying to numb out what really craves your attention. Find a new place to stand rather than right next the food. If you decide you want more you’ll have to make a conscious decision to go back to get more snacks. Relax and enjoy family and friends, laughs, stories and connections with each other rather putting your love and connection in the places or foods that drain you.
4. What triggers you to eat? Triggers can come from anywhere. Holidays are full of traditions, friends and family, social pressure, conversations, excitement, hurry, expectations and long days. What are your triggers and what happens when you’re in the throws of a downward spiral? Food is a quick silencer for what’s really going on below the surface in our lives such as a gut punch comment from a sibling, a temper tantrum from the kiddos, the grief of a loved one being gone or the absence of a few nights sleep. Knowing what trigger’s you is huge. Knowing what to do with those feelings (not including food) is freeing and empowering. This is one HUGE reason why I do what I do as a Certified Health/Life Coach. It’s never just about calories in and calories out. Food is SO much more than food. Emotional eating about what your really feeling or avoiding feeling. It’s about connection. It’s about love. It’s about needs being met. Click here if you are done being a victim of emotional eating.
5. If you don’t use it, you lose it. My college Spanish teacher was right when she said, if you don’t keep practicing, you’ll forget this beautiful language. It’s true. I can find the bathroom, order a beer and find a discotheque in Spanish but I can’t read the report I wrote on why education is important (it was my 20’s and honestly at least one of those was super helpful phrases 🤣). So, what are you skipping out on during the holidays? If you miss a workout or two, what will that do for you and your goals? Instead create a workout routine and stick to it, even if it’s 5 minutes (need ideas? Check out my 5 minute workouts here).
If you miss breakfast and lunch and show up at a party starving, what will that do for you and your hunger? Instead, pack containers of fruits, veggies or nuts to snack on throughout a busy day. If you say yes to absolutely everything and everyone, become overwhelmed and energy deprived, what will that do for you and your sanity? Instead honor your yes’s and your no’s, ask yourself what do you really have time for and where/who do you really want to spend it. Be the Queen of your calendar and leave spaces for what YOU really need to be your best you. Own that calendar like the boss babe you are!
6. Bring your own. Not sure if there’s going to be anything at the party not covered in gravy, salt, sauce or sugar? Bring something you love to share with everyone. Need ideas? Click here, I gotcha covered!
7. Create the you, you want to be and show up as THAT in some big or small way, everyday. On Thanksgiving, I’m thankful for the walk, bike ride or football game we do every Thanksgiving morning. Hot, cold, snowy, rainy… we go. And I so look forward to that tradition. The turkey’s just a bonus. I challenge you to make an “exercise” tradition with your family to look forward to. Hula hooping with Uncle Bob and Grandma Mary, anyone?! Ha!
On the cold days when I don’t want to go outside, I workout at the Studio or at home or turn up the music for a dance party. I show up because it feels good to feel good. What makes you feel good and where is that a priority for you? How can you make moving your body a “non-negotiable”?
On the days when I don’t know what I’m doing or I’m struggling, I can always go into my journal or reach out to my Coach or my Mentor’s and get clarity. I can sift through the clutter of what get’s in the way of me being the me I want to be. And most often we are our own worst clutter. We all need connection, support and accountability to uplift and remind us of our power, purpose and potential. Don’t spend time with people who enable you to sabotage yourself. Don’t spend time with complainers who steal your energy. Don’t spend time convincing yourself why you’re worth more than being stuck in fat pants. You’re worth knowing and understanding who you are being when you are around food. You’re worth your goals TODAY and TOMORROW.
On days when I don’t love my body or I ate foods that didn’t align with how I wanted to feel, I practice forgiveness and LOVE. I practice mindfulness around what the thinking is that will help me feel grace, patience and peace. I remind myself that there is no such thing as perfect. I remind myself that I will not wait to enjoy my life but I will find ways to enjoy every minute in the longest possible life I can live. I will find ways to nourish my body, mind and soul outside of food.
On those post January days, don’t put on the fat pants, burn them… put on a bikini instead and rock it. Even if you don’t feel like your rockin’ it. Practice feeling comfortable in your own skin. Judgement free. Embrace your birthright to be kind to yourself. Don’t let the media, your parents, your high school years, your scars or your perfection mindset steal another moment of your peace.
