How To Have A Healthy Mindset This Holiday Season

“Lord, just singing about you makes me strong! So I'll keep shouting for joy to Jacob’s God, my champion. Let the celebration begin! I will sing with drum accompaniment and with the sweet sound of the harp and guitar strumming. Go ahead! Blow the jubilee trumpet to begin the feast! Blow it before every joyous celebration and festival.” Psalm 81: 1-3 TPT

Your mindset is everything.

Thanksgiving holiday can be a stressful time for many who are trying to reach weight based goals and maintain healthy routines. But, I want to encourage you with this fresh revelation God has graciously shared with me: enter into this season with thanksgiving in your heart!

I know that may seem silly, but isn’t this why we are gathering? To come around the table and eat with our loved ones who we cherish and reflect on the things we are all grateful for. Family can be stressful, but you control the atmosphere you want to have. If you want it to be “stressful” and “annoying,” then act on that attitude, however, if you take your thoughts captive like Scripture says and change your thoughts from negative to celebration it ultimately changes your heart which will change the way you speak and act which creates the atmosphere you are in. The atmosphere will shift only when your mindset does. With that being said, I want to share a mindset shift when it comes to this holiday that’s centered around the table.

No longer are we entering into the holiday weekend with the mindset of: starving, binging, and punishing when instead enter into the weekend with: celebrating, feasting, and resting. There is a big difference between feasting and bingeing. Binge eating is typically done in isolation and with shame / fear around the food you are eating when feasting is eating abundance joyfully in the presence of others. Diet culture has created an unhealthy mindset when it comes to holiday weekends and the biggest unhealthy behavior I see is the act of starving yourself 24-48 hours before Thanksgiving dinner only to binge eat everything in site to only punish yourself after the weekend ends by doing a 7 day juice cleanse and signing up for a membership at Orange Theory thinking this will surely makeup for all the damage that has been done.

I cannot stress this enough, be consistent with the things you are already being consistent with and prioritize rest after a holiday weekend.

Healthy do’s and don’ts this holiday weekend:

  • Do your morning routine

    • drink your large glass of lemon water with sea salt

    • spend time with Jesus by reading His word early in the am before the hustle begins

    • get a walk in with loved ones or solo

    • drink your Five - Thrive smoothie in the car if you have a drive or in the kitchen while your prepping food

  • Don’t enter into Thanksgiving starving

  • Do sample all the foods with the mindset of how can I make this plate and meal better not complicated?

    • better not complicated is celebrating the ones you are eating with

    • sampling all the foods with table spoon portions

    • enjoying more of the fiber rich veggies like Brussels and sweet potatoes and clean protein sources like turkey and ham

  • Don’t go in with the mindset of restriction or all or nothing

  • Do bring a fiber item to the dinner you are hosting or invited to

    • you know there will be lots of carbs and fats but little fiber and greens

    • my recommendation is to bring a fiber rich, seasonal veggie to the dinner like Brussels with garlic and onion tossed in balsamic vinegar roasted with fresh sage and rosemary or kale arugula salad with pomegranate seeds, goat cheese, walnuts, and shredded oven roasted Brussels with fresh rosemary and sage with balsamic glaze

  • Do listen to your body and honor the feeling of fullness

  • Don’t overdue it to the point of pain

  • Do rest after the weekend

    • prioritize physical rest especially if you hosted by getting extra sleep Sunday and Monday

    • enter into gentle movement like gentle full body sculpts on the mat with no equipment on the LWD app

    • give your digestive system a break from having to work harder than usual to breakdown all the celebratory foods that were consumed by:

      • drinking lemon water throughout the day

      • bone broth 3 x a day (1 c in the am, afternoon, then evening)

      • intermittent fast by enjoying a Five - Thrive smoothie then big raw greens bowl with lots of fiber, fats, and greens in the later afternoon early evening

      • do this for 1-3 days until you feel refreshed and bowl movements are back to normal

Sister, I truly hope this helps shine some light of encouragement around this time of the year. What you do consistently day in and day out is what really matters. If you feel you are struggling to make healthy lifestyle choices and stick with a consistent plan that works for you, then let’s schedule a consult. It doens’t matter that it is the holiday season. My goal is to simply empower you to feel your best and live the way God created you to thrive with healthy boundaries and tips and tricks along the way!

liv well daily