We’re moving into the holiday season, which means more social gatherings and parties.
Unlike last year (I was going through a brutal breakup), I want to look and feel my best when I catch up with my family this Christmas. I’ll be hopping to Orange County first to see my dad, then popping over to Austin to see my mom, sister, and nephews. Then I’ll spend New Year’s Eve in Salt Lake City with a few couples.
Here’s my plan to make sure I go into the new year feeling happy and healthy:
Get back to walking at least 1.5 hours a day. In a few weeks I move to a new location that has a gym in the building, so I’m going to double down on my incline treadmill walks and aim to get in an hour of walking a day at at least a 10% incline. I get super bored on these walks, so when I do an hour I usually split it up and do 30 minutes in the morning after my Sweat workout then 30 minutes after lunch or dinner. Incline walking is one of the most underestimated ways to burn fat and reduce cortisol, which helps me feel less hungry all day long. I currently haven’t had access to a treadmill for the past two weeks and I’m already feeling and seeing the difference in my body and how my clothes fit. The rest of my walking comes in the form of running errands.
Switch to decaf coffee + matcha in the mornings. My sleep has been erratic. I went to Copenhagen recently and since the coffee scene there is so good I was drinking coffee every day. None of the shops had decaf coffee, so I ordered regular coffee, which is unusual for me. I somehow kept doing that because I got used to the hit from coffee but have noticed I’ve been waking up at 4 AM every day. Sometimes I’m able to fall asleep again afterwards but sometimes I’m not. So I started getting back to drinking Methodology organic ceremonial matcha in the morning and am slowly sleeping in longer. Today I woke up at 5:15 AM instead. Getting enough sleep has a ton of benefits I won’t get into, but right now I specifically want to make sure I don’t overeat all day long, which I do more often after nights when I get fewer than 8 hours of sleep. BTW I track my sleep using 4 apps lol. I’m that obsessed. Someday I will probably launch a sleep product. Anyway, I use Shut Eye, Sleep Reset, Snore Lab, and the Oura Ring. They all have differences that I like.
Go back to eating dinner super early. When I’m alone my ideal time to eat dinner is 4 PM. Yes, I am aware this is earlier than toddlers eat dinner. When I’m with others obviously I have to compromise and eat at around 7:30 PM, but fortunately that isn’t most nights. I like eating dinner earlier because I’m really only hungry most days between 10 AM - 4 PM. Also, the earlier I eat, the less I eat, the earlier I fall asleep, and the longer I sleep.
Try on my party dresses in the mornings. I have always found it very motivating to try on my favorite dresses often to make sure they still fit well. Or if they don’t, then to check my progress over time until they do. Every morning that I do this, I feel more inspired to eat healthy all day.
Eat in alignment with Methodology for every non social meal. I’m currently coaching a Transformation Tribe weight loss group. Many of them had questions about what to do on Thanksgiving week. And over the holidays. What I told them is what I plan to do myself. I follow a very strict diet 95% of the time, so that when a truly special occasion does come, I can fully indulge and enjoy myself. When I’m in the states, I live on Methodology. And to be honest, in the past few years since becoming a nomad, every time I’ve needed to get in the best shape possible (for example, for my birthday every year), I have made sure to be home in the states for at least 2 months straight eating Methodology. It is literally impossible for me to find meals anywhere else that hit the right calorie, protein, fat, and fiber targets and still taste good. When I travel, this means I have to cook at home. Now I see why you guys keep asking us to publish a cookbook because my meals taste horrible in comparison to the ones our chefs make. Ugh.
Say “no” to things that don’t feel in alignment with my priorities. I felt a bit overwhelmed when I thought about my holiday schedule and travel coming up in the next two months, so I canceled two trips I had planned (the northern lights and German Christmas markets will have to wait until another year!). And I have a lot of party invitations where I plan to attend but not drink any alcohol. I’m not a big drinker and would rather not booze. I usually limit myself to 1 glass of wine per week on date night. I don’t plan to go over that just because I have holiday gatherings and birthday parties coming up.
And that about sums it up. Looking and feeling my best on special occasions just requires getting the basics right. Walking more. Sleeping more. Finding ways to feel inspired. Eating veggie- and protein-packed meals the other 360 days a year. Setting boundaries to protect my priorities.
Lastly, I want to call out that when you look at your diet holistically, it’s not the daily calories that matter but how you eat throughout the whole week and month overall. This is why it becomes more important to have your weekdays on lock during the holidays when you’ll be eating out more. If you want to set up a Reset to arrive the Monday after Thanksgiving, use this link. Or if you’re a California courier customer, make sure you set up an order that week that focuses on having plenty of lunch/dinner meals. It’ll be the easiest way to bring everything back into balance after an indulgent celebration.
Hope you all have the best Thanksgiving ever! If you’re someone who ordered from us, thank you so much for including us in your celebration. If you haven’t ordered, it isn’t too late. The deadline to be able to build your own box is this Sunday. Click here to order if you’re a California courier customer. Click here to order if you’re outside of California.
Wishing you a happy holiday season,
Julie
CEO & Co-founder of Methodology