5 Tips for Avoiding Holiday Weight Gain

In this episode, Nicole Hernandez, your board-certified hypnotist and coach, shares five powerful tips to help you enjoy the holiday season without derailing your fat loss journey. With sustainability as her North Star, Nicole guides you through practical strategies to maintain progress, appreciate the joy of the season, and make conscious choices that align with your health goals.

Download the complete "Thrive This Holiday Guide," which includes these five tips plus three additional ones, as well as Nicole's favorite food swaps list.
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Transcript

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If you've been on a fat loss journey today I'm going to share five powerful tips for enjoying the holidays without derailing your progress because it is possible for you to enjoy your favorite holiday treats while staying on track with your goals. Welcome to the Traveling Hypnotist Podcast. The ultimate destination to elevate your life through the power of travel, modern hypnosis, neuroscience and time tested wellness practices. I'm Nicole Hernandez, the Traveling Hypnotist and as a board certified hypnotist, creator of the TTH method, and wellness expert for the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, I'm here to guide you on a transformative journey. This podcast features travel inspired hypnosis, real client sessions, belief shifting travel stories, and interviews with experts who are shaping the world of conscious living. All right, it's time to journey within and go beyond. Welcome friend. I'm Nicole Hernandez, your board certified hypnotist and coach. And today we're going to dive into a topic that's personally meaningful to me and one I really haven't addressed here on the podcast before. And you see until right around the the age of 40, I really never had any real issues around weight loss. And as someone who ran marathons and who's taught fitness classes and has always considered myself an athlete, I'd always naturally maintained my weight. And certainly just like everyone else, I've explored fad diets along the way and tried to get a little leaner here and there. So it was around the age of 39 I remember teaching a class. I was in a somewhat dark room, looking in the mirror, people standing behind me and noticing that there's something changing around my midsection. I started to see these little love handles developing on the sides there. And honestly, I had never really gained fat around my midsection before. I'd always naturally gained weight around my hips and my butt. That's just where it went. And since then I've really tried everything to address this stubborn midlife weight gain, done everything from restrictive bodybuilder programs to low carb diets, and I'd lose about 8 to 10 pounds only to regain it back as soon as I stop these unsustainable methods. And I have to tell you, it's been really frustrating and I've really felt like I've been stuck in this cycle of losing and regaining with no actual real progress along the way. And maybe you're in that same place. You're maybe also over the age of 40 and now all of a sudden your body's changed and you Just can't quite figure it out. So this year I had a breakthrough. Instead of thinking I'm just going to accept this as the inevitable part of aging or continuing to move through these cycles of extreme dieting, I decided to approach the fat loss differently with sustainability as my North Star. And I have to tell you, this past year has really been for me about incorporating sustainability in all areas of my life, from the way that I'm working just to the way that I am now losing weight. I just wanted to break myself of this habit of stopping and starting over in so many areas of my life. And the strategies I'm going to share are the exact practices that I'm using to gradually, and I want to emphasize that word, gradually shed that midlife weight gain. So with the holidays approaching, I'm really focused on how can I not go back into the cycle of gaining back what I've lost and how having to restart everything in January, I'm really focused on maintaining my progress, but also without missing out on the joy of the season. Because if we're constantly taking things out of our lives that we enjoy, if we're trying to restrict ourselves in that way, then all we want to do is get to an end point and then go back to those things that we felt like we've been restricted from. And so when we take away restriction from our mindset set, it actually allows us to approach things differently. So today I'm going to walk you through my top five tips for avoiding holiday weight gain while still enjoying yourself. Doesn't that sound so good? Who doesn't want to enjoy themselves during the holidays? So here's the thing. I also put together a comprehensive Thrive this holiday guide that includes these five tips that you're going to be hearing today, plus three additional more. There's a bigger bonus here, which is my favorite food swaps list, which I've included in this guide for you. So you can find the link directly in the show notes or you can grab it from thetravelinghypnotist.com, it's right there on my homepage. All right, so let's dive into these tips. Tip number one, set yourself up for success with a tracker. Now, I know tracking food isn't sexy. It's not everyone's favorite activity. And I actually resisted this myself for quite a while. I wanted to be one of those people that had like the intuitive eating. But the thing is, is when we are eating foods that are higher in sugar or higher in carbs, it really raises our blood Sugar. And we want more sugary things, right? And so one way to combat that is to just start measuring. And you don't have to do this forever, but it's a great way for you to get really clear. As I got really clear on actually how much I was eating, because I remember going to see my doctor and complaining about how I was gaining weight and he literally looked at me and said, well, you just need to, you know, watch what you're eating and to work out. And I, I really wanted to take my shoe and throw it across the room at him because in my mind I knew I was working out all the time and I thought I was eating really well. But the thing is, when I actually started tracking my food and getting really clear, I saw that I was actually eating more than I really needed to. One, maintain my weight or even two, lose weight. So it doesn't have to be really restrictive. Which I think a lot of people, when they get their tracker set up, they're like, I want to lose a pound and a half, two pounds a week. And when we try to go for those big excessive goals, which maybe one pound doesn't seem like a lot to you, but it actually is. So we want to do a moderate restriction here, which is why I recommend just getting an app like Lose it, which is actually free. And if you upgrade to the full model with all the bells and whistles, it's really inexpensive and really affordable for most people. So here's my approach. Here's what I do. I set my goal on my tracker on Lose it, to lose half a pound per week. With the activity level of somewhat active, I'm realistic that I am desk bound for most of the day or I'm traveling, I'm sitting on planes. You know, there's just minor movement there for sometimes hours. And this setting, having it at that half pound per week loss with somewhat active, it creates a sustainable daily calorie target. And that's about 250 calories per day less, meaning you aren't going to get hungry and you're not going to feel deprived. And the beauty about setting this modest deficit is that even if you indulge in, let's say, an extra cookie or you have a holiday cocktail, you're simply just moving yourself into your maintenance calories for the day rather than completely going off track. And this brings me to tip number two, which is to plan your pleasures. That's right, plan your pleasures. So I want to be real here. You're going to want that glass of champagne at the holiday party. And if you're like me, you want to have a piece of your aunt's famous pecan pie, because it's what you do every year. And I'm a foodie. I love to eat. I love the experience. I've launched restaurants. I still work on restaurants here and there. And food is just part of my lifestyle. So the key is just plan for it. Now, when I know I'm going to have a big event, I log my anticipated indulgence first thing in the morning. So I'll give you an example, a real life example here. Last night we went to dinner with some friends, and we've been trying to get a reservation at the steakhouse for a while. It's called 4 Charles. It's here in New York City. And I went ahead in the morning when I was having my coffee. I logged in a steak, I logged in mashed potatoes, I logged in two glasses of wine, and it was like 800 calories or so. So I just had that just sitting there for the day. And then that meant that I needed to have a lighter breakfast. So I had two boiled eggs, a in one little cheese stick. And then for lunch, I had a little bit of a side salad and some chicken. So I just ate lighter, smaller meals in the first part of the day. And then I just feasted. It was so good. And I loved feeling like I could actually really enjoy my meal and not have to restrict myself and just know that I had planned appropriately. So this strategy is going to let you maintain that sustainable approach to fat loss while you still enjoy life's pleasures, while you still go out with friends, while you still attend the holiday parties. And it's one of the best things that I've done for myself is just to use my tracker as much as possible. And certainly I have days when I don't. But when I'm unsure about what my calories or macros look like, I really just go to it, just to have some kind of, you know, guardrails on things. Now this brings me to tip number three. So be picky about your indulgences. I know. No one ever tells us to be picky. We always say, don't be a picky eater. Right. I think it's a great thing to be picky. Life is simply too short for mediocre treats. Right? I want you to say that out loud. Just say it into yourself. Life is too short for mediocre treats. If you don't love the fruitcake, skip it. And the thing that feels really mediocre for me is usually those store bought brownies or store bought cookies that have been sitting in a package for a long time. They just aren't worth it. And so then if you see that at a holiday party or it's being offered to you, just pass on it because it's not worth it. Eat the good stuff if you're going to eat it right? Save your calories, save your indulgences for things that actually bring you joy and satisfaction. And you're going to be amazed how this mindset of really going for things that satisfy you in life are going to start trickling out to other areas of your life. I mean, just know that I said it here and begin to watch when you get picky about what you allow in your body and around you, just know that things are going to start to change in all areas of your life. All right, so let's move on to tip number four and that is to focus on your protein and fiber. This is actually my secret weapon for staying satisfied during the holidays. So I always try to start my day off with a protein rich breakfast. So I might have something like boiled eggs or just a simple scrambled egg for breakfast, or might get some little egg bites at Starbucks if that's something that's available to me. Or if I'm at the airport, for example. Those are usually the way I start my my day because the protein will keep me feeling satiated longer and it also keeps my blood sugar level. And then before going to a holiday party or somewhere where you know that there's going to be a ton of sweets and you're probably going to want them, just fill up on some critter. At home I keep celery in my refrigerator. I keep red peppers. I love to just have those on hand cut up and then I'll just have some and then that fiber makes me feel fuller so that I'm eating less of the things, things that are probably not great for me overall. Also, if you go to a holiday party, my little trick for you would be start with getting one little plate of vegetables first. Eat those first and let your body fill up on those. And then start to look at other things like the olives and the cheese and the meat platter and the cookies, have those things. But start with actually filling up your body with something that's going to be a fuel and to be nutritious for you. This is just really going to help you control your hunger and it's going to prevent you from overindulging when you're facing those holiday spreads. And number five, move with intention. Now, notice I'm not saying you need to spend hours at the gym or to punish yourself with extra workouts to earn your holiday treats. In fact, I actually never put my workouts into my Lose it app. So if I'm at a certain calorie count for the day, even though I am working out, I don't count that against it. And here's why. Because I think it's really important to shift that mindset around our workouts and movement as something I just need to do to fuel myself up, to feel good in my body, to keep myself healthy, to build muscle rather than to lose weight. And so when you stop associating your workouts with weight loss, you can actually enjoy your workouts. And then you're also not overeating and then trying to overexert yourself, which just creates that whole cycle of extremes. Now, I like to commit to at least 20 minutes of some kind of exercise or movement per day. So that might look like going for a 20 minute walk or doing a 20 minute YouTube dance class or doing something like a 20 minute yoga session. You can honestly do whatever you need to for 20 minutes. Just get your body moving, get your heart rate up and it makes such a difference. I actually really also recommend doing something like 20 minutes of movement after you eat a meal. It really helps us to control our blood sugar. And so if you are eating things that are a little bit more on the carby side, you're having that dessert, then go for a 20 minute walk afterwards. Make it minimal, but make it doable. And I promise all of this is going to help you maintain your energy levels and it's going to just help you feel your best. All right, so that brings us to the end of the five tips. But here's what I want you to remember. These strategies aren't about restriction. They're about making conscious choices that allow you to enjoy the holidays while staying aligned with your health goals. So don't forget to download the complete Thrive this Holiday Guide and you can again find that in the show notes or go tothe traveling hypnotist.com and you'll also find my little bonus swaps list there. Now, if you enjoyed today's episode and you'd really like more here on the podcast about weight loss and especially from someone who's over 40, then I'm happy to share that with you. Simply send me a DM at the Traveling Hypnotist or leave a quick review and thank you in advance, but leave a little comment there in your review that you enjoyed today's episode. So that I know that this content is resonating with you and that it is helpful for you and I'm happy to share with things that I'm working on myself. Well, thank you for joining me again on the Traveling Hypnotist podcast. My name is Nicole and remember, when you journey within, you can go beyond.