Latest / No Forking Nonsense - The Nutritionist UK / HOW TO NAVIGATE CHRISTMAS WITHOUT TURNING INTO A FATTY.
Transcript
- 0:00@paulthenutritionist: Welcome to no forking nonsense. The podcast that slices through the nonsense and serves you straight talking nutrition advice that actually works. I'm Paul, a registered nutritionist and your host. And every episode, I'll be debunking diet myths, breaking down confusing food advice, and giving you practical science backed tips to help you eat better, feel better, and get your hedge back. There'll be no fads, no shite, just real talk that makes sense.
- 0:28Let's get stuck in. Hello and welcome to another episode of No Forking Nonsense, which as I record this is the top 10 nutrition podcasts in the world. I'm hoping by the point you're listening to this, it is the top nutrition podcast in the whole of the country. So today we are going to be talking about Christmas, we're going be talking about how to navigate Christmas, we're going to be talking about how to make sure that Christmas doesn't turn into one big eating competition and you don't get to January 1. Look in the mirror, hate what you see, hate yourself, feel like shit and say, new year, new me, I'm going to start again from now.
- 1:05I want to prevent that as much as possible. So this is about kind of, I guess Christmas survival without you feeling like you've completely scuppered your progress. The first place I want to start is food is really important. I am a nutritionist who encourages my clients to enjoy eating the foods that they enjoy. I am not someone who tells people to cut stuff out.
- 1:30I am someone who tells people to consider what they're eating and where they're eating it to fit in with their days and their life. So it is positive. But what is really, really, really important to say here is that Christmas can often become too much about food and over indulgence, and there is never any wins by doing that. The other thing to say is that Christmas hasn't happened yet. You're listening to this now, and I have set the release date on this, so that we aren't in the full flow of kind of quote unquote letting our hair down, it's Christmas time, so no fucks given.
- 2:10It hasn't happened yet. So currently you're in full control of what the next few weeks look like. You're in full control of what's going to happen between now and January 1. You're in full control of what happens when you look in the mirror and you say, you're going to be saying, yeah, I've navigated that really well, or no, I let myself go and now I feel horrible about myself and new year, new me starts now, which it's not going to happen. So what are we going to do?
- 2:37Today I am going to be giving you some real good, clear principles that are going to help you navigate the Christmas period, because I recognise it is a challenge. There is so much stuff about food, overindulgence, alcohol, you name it, it's hard to navigate, so I'm going to kind of guide you through it. I do come with receipts, I've obviously worked with clients for years, but last year specifically I remember all of my clients who wanted to lose weight either lost weight or they maintained the weight that they were currently at. And that was without them eating lettuce on Christmas day. Everyone had a Christmas dinner, everyone enjoyed Christmas and it was a real positive environment.
- 3:21So I'm going to guide you through how to do that. So, as I say, the first thing to say is that Christmas is not a dietary emergency. It only becomes one when it turns into this two week kind of binge and eating competition. And often people will act like December is a complete write off and January is where the magic happens when, spoiler, it never is. So the season should be about connection, downtime, family, switching off and just I guess being around family and friends, right, and the people that you love, but most people make it all about grazing, buffets, alcohol and eating as much food as possible, barely remembering what they actually did and the harsh reality is that if you look back onto last year and I said what was the highlight of your Christmas?
- 4:08It's very rare that you're going to remember eating a whole pack of biscuits or a whole box of chocolates. It's usually about the times, the memories, the experiences, the conversations, perhaps the arguments that kind of carried us through Christmas. And this kind of all or nothing mindset that we see around Christmas, it just guarantees overeating, overspending, feeling awful and just inevitably starting from further behind come January. As I said, January hasn't happened yet. Christmas hasn't happened yet.
- 4:38You're in full control. So if you embed some of these things, you're going to be in a better place than if you didn't. And actually, be fair, the worst part about everything I'm saying is that you actually miss the actual experience, because you're either overeating or feeling guilty because you've overeating right, and you've got low energy and you feel like shit. So you can enjoy Christmas without using food as kind of the main entertainment. If the highlight of your day is eating as many roses as possible, then the bar's probably too low.
- 5:07So what actually makes people spiral over Christmas is broken routines, more alcohol, less sleep, social pressures to eat even when you're not really hungry, no structure, no plan, no intention, emotional eating because family dynamics are family dynamics, and often people will say, fuck it, it's Christmas, I deserve it, and they say that about 100 times and obviously that creates unhealthy behaviours. So I'm going to go through some Christmas survival principles if you like, are hopefully going to help you navigate Christmas, as I say, and they are, as I say, on things that I've experienced with my clients. So the very, very first principle is celebrate the event, not the place. So put the focus on the connection, the conversation, being around family, enjoying the moment. Food is part of that, but it isn't the core meaning of it, right?
- 6:00It's about, you know, if you're having Christmas dinner with your family, it's okay to say, do you know what, I've actually eaten enough here and I'm quite happy sitting there having a chat with you because I'm enjoying this conversation, I'm enjoying this moment, I don't want to eat until I feel sick and I need to go and lie down.' That's not enjoyable. Enjoy the memories of sitting around the table having a conversation and enjoying good food as well. You don't need to have seconds and thirds and two desserts order this food which is going to make you probably feel very low in energy at the end of it. Just enjoy your meal and sit there and if someone offers you more and actually you're not hungry, it's cool to say no I'm actually good, I've really enjoyed that and actually I'm enjoying the occasion right now, that's cool. But lock in habits as well, so if you can anchor habits, so whether they are walk once a day, make sure you get your two litres of water in, hit your protein, or have one good protein heavy meal a day which is easy if you eat turkey.
- 7:01These three things on their own will stop the whole thing from completely derailing. Just commit to it like every day I'm going to drink water, I'm going to go for a walk, going to hit my protein. If you do that, without question, that gives us a real good foundation. Make sure if you are going to have indulgent foods that you just plan it, and you don't just turn it into this kind of mindless grazing. So choose the things that you genuinely love and skip the I'm just eating this because it's in front of me' stuff like, you know like, I don't know, beige sausage rolls that you don't really want but because they're there you just eat them.
- 7:36Like consider what you're doing but never have unplanned eating. I say this to clients all the time. When we are looking to try and improve our health and perhaps lose weight, then we need to just plan our eating, like consider what are you going to eat today, like if you know that, you know, Auntie Sandra is really good at making trifles, she's going to bring that over today, then in your mind be like okay I'm going to have a portion of trifle, what else am I going to have today? Alcohol if you drink, so make sure that you set rules that save your progress, so pick the nights that you're going to be drinking, set a drink count before you start, commit to it, eat first, alternate drinks, and the big one, don't drink to cope with stress and you know you're just going to wake up tired, you know feeling like you're craving food and ashamed and that is just a death spiral. I'm going do a separate podcast.
- 8:28Odd alcohol and hangovers in the future, but that's just a quick one. Just make sure that you know what you're going be drinking, you've considered it, and never drink, you know, to cope with emotions because that's not going to help. Christmas day strategy. Go for a little walk first thing to get yourself moving. Have a protein based breakfast.
- 8:49Do not save the calories for a big binge at 3PM because you'll end up just overeating. Build a simple Christmas plate. Fill half with veg and protein, a quarter of carbs, and a quarter of whatever festive stuff you want. And if you do that, that gives you a good firm basis. Like, you can't lose if you do that.
- 9:07And then dessert, make sure that you are intentional and don't just autopilot it. Remember what I said, we want to consider it, we want to kind of pick it and be like, okay, well this is what I'm going to have today. Don't have everything if that wasn't the plan. With Boxing Day to New Year, this is the danger zone and this is where most people gain weight. It's not Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, it's this kind of week of no man's land where people go, oh fuck it, I'll get to New Year and then New Year and then Fuck that!
- 9:33As soon as Christmas Day is done, get straight back on it. Gyms are back open, if you've got a gym membership, do that. If you usually work out, do that. If you are usually a good eater, eat normal again. Don't turn Christmas day to New Year into this kind of chaotic, just eating crisps and chocolate and you know before you know it you have another gram of protein and you're feeling like shit and your blood sugar levels are all over the place.
- 9:59At the very least, go back to normal breakfasts and lunches. If you have to indulge, you have one per day, and make sure you're just hitting your steps. Unless you can't walk, there is no reason why you can't hit your steps. This is the kind of negotiation that you should be making with yourself. If you are going to indulge, activity has got to go up.
- 10:19Like you know that is the of the trade off if you like, for the fact that you are going to be eating more food. You've got to get outside, just go for a walk. Don't drink every single day because it's Christmas, that's not Christmas, that is just kind of avoidance of the reality of a normal life. So really important that you consider what your life looks like between Boxing Day and New Year. Mindset reset, you do not need, I am going to start again in January mindset.
- 10:48January doesn't give motivation, it gives you consequences. The goal is not to have a perfect December, the goal is to enjoy yourself without completely abandoning yourself. Eat the foods you love, skip the ones you don't, and stay connected to the bigger picture of feeling good. Come January, again it hasn't happened yet, come January you want to be in a situation where you go, you know what, I took control of that and I feel good for that and I'm ready to continue the progress I was already making before Christmas happened, and you are in full control of that right now. So I hope that kind of makes sense.
- 11:22Christmas is better when you're intentional, not chaotic. Don't want to get to January feeling like you've just lost control for two weeks. Three key takeaways for you. Number one, celebrate the people, not the food. Number two, decide on what your daily habits are going to be and anchor them and commit to them.
- 11:37Number three, alcohol needs boundaries. Don't just vibe with it, and just ensure that we don't just go chaotic between Christmas Day, well Boxing Day and New Year. Make sure that we get straight back into a normal routine as quickly as possible. If you want a Christmas survival checklist, give my coaching clients just message me the word Christmas on Instagram PaulTheNutritionist and I will send you a Christmas survival checklist that will, I promise you, it will give you results. Any questions let me know.
- 12:12Thank you for listening. Enjoy your Christmas and I shall speak to soon. That's it for this episode of No Forking Nonsense, where the fluff gets binned and the facts get served. If you found this helpful, share it with someone who could do with some clarity from an expert. That's me by way.
- 12:24And make sure you hit follow so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you want more straight talking, no nonsense nutrition advice, come and find me on Instagram Paul the nutritionist. Until next time, eat smart, feel human again, and stop falling for the forking nonsense. See you next time.