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Ah, yes. The holidays. A time of joy. A time of cheer. A time to enjoy =
the finer things in life: family, friends, to reminisce on all the =
things that we should be thankful for, and a time to stuff our faces. =
The holidays have become a reason for us to completely lose control, to =
forget about all of our personal goals, and to sabotage our efforts. =
When did this happen? We literally talk ourselves into it. =E2=80=9CI =
deserve that piece of chocolate cake. You know, you got to live a =
little. I have been eating clean for at least two months now, come on. I =
just love my candy, cookies, crackers, pies, everything else, sugar, =
flour, fat.=E2=80=9D Yeah, we've all and the excuses, right? I know I =
sure did and I also used to tell myself it'll just be this one meal just =
this one time, just this little indulgence. We think we're going to have =
a little indulgence and it turns into a huge indulgence. I mean, really, =
how can you fill your body up with thousands of grams of sugar (yeah, =
that's the legal form of ***) and not come off that high, come =
crashing down and want a ton more? I mean, it's just how the body works. =
One meal turns into three leftover meals, which turns into 15 leftover =
days, and then the next thing you know weeks and months have gone by and =
you're completely out of control. One meal? Yeah, right. Only =
Thanksgiving? No. So if, again, as an innocent indulgence turns into =
days, weeks, or month of regret and self-loathing. Don't let this happen =
to you. And I know you've been there because if you haven't you wouldn't =
be watching this video. Now, what I'm here to tell you is that this =
Thanksgiving was completely different for me. You know, it's taken me =
years but I've learned the tips and tricks not to fall off the wagon, =
not to go on a complete all-out binge, and make sure that after the =
holidays I feel really good about myself still. So after years of =
figuring things out, today I'm going to share with you my five top =
secrets for, not just surviving the holidays, but actually thriving and =
really enjoying them. Tip number one: you need to retrain your brain. In =
our cultures we tend to think eating junk food that's filled with sugar, =
and flour, and salt, and all these really high glycemic index foods, =
stuff that just adds fat to our body like crazy, we tend to think of =
those foods and associate them with celebration and feeling good. We're =
taught that from a very young age. Think about when we're young. We have =
birthday parties. We're stuffing our faces with cupcakes, and cakes and =
candy, and ice cream. We're taught at a very young age to associate =
celebration and junk food. You need to retrain your brain. You know, not =
every culture is like that and it is possible to make different =
associations. You got to start thinking about how you feel afterwards. =
Most of us feel pretty darn crappy after we fill our bodies full of that =
junk. Our stomachs hurt, we have diarrhea sometimes, we're gassy, we're =
bloaty, we feel lethargic, we feel swollen, we don't sleep well. I mean, =
there's just a whole bunch of side effects that are terrible with eating =
junk food and how we feel. The key is to start associating that junk =
food with how you feel afterwards, not the moment that you eat it, not =
that 30 seconds that it's being put into your mouth and consumed. You =
have to start thinking about those hours, days, and weeks, even =
sometimes, afterwards that you just feel crappy. Make that association =
and make sure you do so long before the holidays. Start now. Start =
making those associations before you have to face the Christmas dinner =
at Grandma's house. Number two: if you can, cook for yourself. If you're =
lucky enough to be the one that's actually hosting either Thanksgiving, =
Christmas dinner, or New Year's dinner, fantastic. You've got it made. =
Go ahead and make up all your clean eats and plenty of them for yourself =
when you're cooking all the other stuff for your other family members =
because then you have everything you need and you can stuff your face =
full of that. You know, one big clean eating meal is not going to =
sabotage your efforts. And, candidly, even one big non-clean eating meal =
is not going to sabotage your efforts either, but just as I said before, =
it's really hard for us to have just that one meal, fill our bodies with =
this legal form of ***, and not fall off the wagon. And if you're =
lucky enough to be able to eat that one big indulgence meal, which I =
don't even like calling it that because for me indulgence and feeling =
terrible afterwards don't go together, but if you're lucky enough to be =
able to do that, well, then all power to you. Do it because, you know, =
one big indulgence meal isn't going to sabotage your efforts. The truth =
is that most of us can't do that. Most of us wind up coming off the =
high, right? Because your body wants more and we crave sugar after those =
meals. It's really hard to get back onto a clean eating pattern after =
you've been indulging in that way. And, likely, you've tried all sorts =
of other tips, right, to try to eat just a little bit, or "I'll only =
have one." Well, we know that doesn't work, right? So if you're lucky =
enough to be able to cook for your family, then go ahead and cook up all =
your clean eats. Make an incredible turkey. Cook up my super top secret =
vegetable stir fry. Bake some delicious sweet potatoes and cut up a =
bunch of fruit for dessert. Because you know what? When you eat clean =
like that and you eat tons, especially of vegetables, you're not going =
to feel bloated. You're not going to have the sugar high crash the next =
day. You're not going to feel terrible. If anything, you're going to =
feel just the opposite. You're going to feel amazing. Number three: eat. =
And eat a lot. Now, what I mean by that is go ahead and eat your meals =
like you normally do. You know, if you are part of FAB University then =
you're probably going to have at least two or three meals in you before =
you go over to a relative's, or friend's, or wherever you're going to =
eat for your holiday. Make sure that you eat more than you normally do =
of your clean eats before you go to your destination so you're showing =
up full. Now, I know that flies into the face of conventional wisdom. =
What we've been taught is not to eat at all before we go out because we =
want to save up those calories, right, for that big meal. But that's =
actually precisely the wrong thing to do because you know what happens? =
Your body gets really, really, really hungry, especially if you're used =
to eating multiple meals in the day, and your brain tells you: I need =
something now. And when the brain does that it craves sugar, something =
that's going to give it that quick energy. So you want to do exactly the =
opposite. Make sure you eat your meals beforehand and even eat a little =
bit more. Cook up that stir fry, that vegetable stir fry that we talked =
about, and eat mounds of it so that you're pretty stuffed by the time =
you get to your location. And then when you do get to your location you =
can make smart choices there. Now, if you want more information about =
how the body reacts when it goes into that starvation mode when we =
actually do starve it and how it craves sugar, go ahead and check out my =
video, the FABulously Fit Friday on the starvation diet. Number four: =
just say no. There's nothing worse than Grandma showing up with her =
super family, awesome, chocolate chip, freshly baked cookies that she =
does every year for everyone. They are simply irresistible and so is =
Grandma. And when the pressure is on, when she's handing them to you =
saying, "Honey, please, here's some chocolate chip cookies for you," and =
when the pressure is on it's hard to resist. I mean, nobody wants to let =
Grandma down but when it comes to you and your goals, you're just going =
to have to do it. You've got to remember: it's your life. It's your =
body. You have to be the one to live with your decisions, not Grandma. =
So one of the best ways to handle this is to head it off way ahead of =
time before you get to your destination and have to face Grandma with =
the chocolate chip cookies. So one way to do that is give Grandma a call =
or go over to visit her if you're able to do that, or even an email, and =
tell her ahead of time that you love her chocolate chip cookies, you =
appreciate what she does for the family, and she puts the time and =
effort into that, but that you're taking care of your health. You're =
trying to get into or stay in amazing shape and that this year you =
decided not to indulge. And you know that Grandma's going to be pretty =
persuasive because they are, and you just have to be what my mother used =
to call the broken record. Stick to your guns on this one. Just continue =
to tell her you appreciate her kindness and her love, but you've got to =
take care of yourself. And then when she tells you, "Well, just have =
that one," you've got to tell her, "I can't just have one. They are so =
delicious that I'll wind up having a ton more." Give her a compliment. =
It works wonders. Stick to your guns. It's your body, it's your life, =
and you're the one who has to live with your decisions, not anyone else. =
And number five: pack 'n go. You know, most of the time we're bringing =
something with us when we go to a destination for the holidays. It could =
be a pie, or a cake, or a fruit tray, or something that's needed for the =
meal, so in your case what you can do is go ahead and sneak a few other =
trays in there of your clean eats. So bring whatever pies, and cakes, =
cookies, whatever it is that's needed for the meal but also bring some =
other dishes that you know fits into your clean eating plan and that you =
can indulge in when you're there. Now, likely, not too many other people =
are going to eat that because they're there to indulge in a different =
way, but at least that gives you what you need to eat and you can enjoy =
that without feeling horrible about yourself later. The key about the =
holidays is to make sure that you have a plan in place before the =
holidays hit. Now, we've already passed Thanksgiving in this case, we =
still got Christmas and New Year's coming up, so think about it. Have a =
plan in place and you'll be just fine. And, if anything, you'll come =
into the middle of January feeling fantastic about what you =
accomplished. So that wraps it up for another FABulously Fit Friday. I =
hope you enjoyed it today. If you did, go ahead and hit that "Like" =
button below because that tells other people that this video is pretty =
valuable. If you'd like to see some more information about getting into =
crazy, sexy, awesome shape make sure you check out FAB University or =
FigureAndBikini.org where we share all of our secrets on how to do so. =
I'm Kristin Shaffer. Happy holidays to all of you and I'll see you at =
the next FABulously Fit Friday. Bloating... So it began... He's watching =
me. Jeffrey, stop listening. Yeah.