I know I don’t speak for myself when I say I indulged over the holidays! If you’re like me, dealings with the effects of over-indulgence and menopause after the holidays can send you into quite the tizzy. The urge to begin losing weight is intense. I relate to this so much!
It’s easy to beat ourselves up over-consuming high-sugar, high-calorie foods during the holiday season. It’s almost our birthright as women experiencing menopause! However, this is quite a harmful thing to do to ourselves.
If you’re feeling like losing weight is necessary to feel better both physically and mentally in the new year, you’re not alone. Thankfully, I have four tips that will help you combat the post-holiday blues–without a focus on weight loss.
1. Give yourself grace.
Stop berating yourself for the choices you made with food over the holidays. Keep in mind that with the food came laughter, connection, and joy. You broke bread with your loved ones, you baked pies with your friends, and you stayed up late with your family, helping yourself to seconds and thirds! These are all memories to be cherished, not memories to regret.
Did we all overindulge? Yes. But with it came special times with your loved ones, and for that, you must give yourself some dang grace! Plus, if we don’t give ourselves the chance to enjoy fun foods, we become grouchy and bitchy. Who wants that? Not me!
2. Ditch diet culture.
Shifting the focus from losing weight to enhancing your lifestyle is key when it comes to surviving the post-holiday slump. It’s so easy to focus on the weight you need to lose, but that usually results in failure. Instead, shifting the focus to fueling your body with nutrients and respecting it by honoring your hunger and fullness cues is going to be much more fruitful in the long run! And your hormones will thank you.
This is so much more realistic than obsessing over the scale. We aren’t 20 years old anymore, and I hate to break it to you, but the scale won’t budge as easily as it did before. When we shift the focus away from losing weight, we are able to set more realistic goals (and a more realistic plan to achieve those goals!)
3. Remember: you are what you eat.
It’s no secret that eating processed foods makes us feel like rubbish, especially when we’re experiencing menopause. With menopause, the food you consume is so important, as it affects your moods, your energy levels, and your hot flashes!
Make sure you commit to consuming nutrient-dense, whole foods along with fun foods! You can have both, as long as those fun foods are in moderation.
4. Stay hydrated.
Making sure you’re drinking enough fluids is often overlooked when it comes to fueling our bodies. News flash: you cannot survive on three cups of coffee a day alone. You must incorporate water into your daily fluid intake. As you know, the recommended daily dose is eight cups per day, but I recommend you drink even more than that, especially if you are experiencing menopause!
Need more support in your healthy eating journey?
I am so glad you asked! I’m a certified happiness coach and menopause specialist who can help you survive and thrive in this current stage of life. If you feel like you’re drowning and can’t reach the air, I am here to help. I’ve been there before, and I know how to swim out of it. Let’s connect today and get you back on track.
