Tis the season of parties. All those rich foods… fancy drinks. It’s no time to start dieting right?

Hell no! I’m going to give you three solid strategies for surviving the party jungle this holiday season.

I lost 25 pounds of menopausal weight and still enjoyed chocolate and crab cakes. Using the time tested tricks from mindfulness, you’ll be able to navigate the food minefields too without losing track of your goals.

Welcome to the Midlife Reset Podcast episode #40. I’m your host, Cheryl Gordon. Even as a yoga therapist, healthy eater and active woman, menopause challenged me like never before. It was a struggle to fit into normal clothes and I really was dismayed at all the extra flesh accumulating.

Like so many women my age, it was tempting to cut out all carbs… or push harder at the gym. As a yoga therapist, however, I know the dangers of such radical changes. I knew there was a better way.

And I found it by digging a little deeper into the ancient practices of mindfulness and yoga.

Thanks for reading The Midlife Reset - Sleep, Strength and Joy for Women 50+! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Today, I want to share with you three stellar strategies for staying true to your health goals even when holiday parties tempt you.

Before we dive in, I just want to make sure you know that all of this information is contained in my free Mindful Eating guide.

Let’s talk about one of the biggest barriers I hear from my clients at this time of year… there’s no point in starting a program now because I have this dinner and that party and I’m going away… Sound familiar?

But let’s really look at that. You probably eat 3 meals a day. Maybe a couple snacks. So between now and the end of the holiday season, that’s approximately 50 meals. Now let’s look at the big ones, where there will be a high probability that you’re going to eat very rich foods. Christmas dinner, Christmas brunch, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve… depending on your traditions, maybe 6 times the meal will be over the top. That’s about 10% of the time.

Stick with me through this math now my girlfriend.

If you delay thinking about any of this until after New Year’s, 90% of the meals, over which you have 100% control, will be missed opportunities to practice mindful eating. Reduce the calorie load. Eat healthier.

So yeah, holiday parties are challenging. But there are soooo many opportunities in between to start your healthier eating plan now.

Using the holidays as an excuse to put yourself off is just that… an excuse. It just doesn’t add up.

That’s why I REALLY want you to tune into these three tips. You can start right now. And take them with you to your holiday festivities. Why not get an early start on your new year’s goals?

#1: Hydrate. We don’t realize how seriously our bodies take the threat of thirst. But your body is very concerned. This is a huge survival threat. So the body will throw anything at you to get your attention.

Does this sound familiar? You’re super busy (maybe shopping or wrapping up your desk before the shut down, whatever). And you forget to drink your water. OR you have an event to go to and you don’t want to spend the whole time in the bathroom, so you skip drinking your water.

Your brain sends panic signals into the system. The body knows it has, in the past, got some hydration through food. It tried sending you thirst signals but you ignored them. But your body knows you don’t often ignore cravings or hunger. So it throws out urges to snack. Just when the appetizers come out. You are in a very vulnerable place and it’s hard to resist those cravings. It’s not about willpower. It’s about understanding what your body really needs.

So how can you use this for party season? Prioritize hydration throughout the day leading up to the party. Make sure you drink water at the party. A good rule, and one that still allows for some celebrating, is to alternate one water with one alcoholic beverage.

#2: Plan ahead. As we mentioned, the big holiday blow outs are a small fraction of your whole nutrition plan. Look at the whole day or week and consider how to insure you are getting good nutrition consistently.

So often, we just give up. The whole month is a bust so I might as well eat indiscriminately. I’ll figure it out in January. Right?

Don’t do that to yourself! At our age, it is sooo hard to shave off a couple pounds. It is a much better strategy to pull up the drawbridge before the moat has been breached, if you know what I mean.

How does this look in real time? Look at what is likely to be at the event. What are you kryptonite foods? In the morning, when your brain is fresh, decide what is acceptable to enjoy at the event. Your morning brain is holding your health goals high in mind. It’s not a little tipsy from sparkling wine. It isn’t exhausted from a long day at the office. It isn’t stressed because you couldn’t find anything to wear. With a cool, clear and compassionate head, set your parameters.

And stick to them. This is sooo important. When you make a promise to yourself, you keep it. Would you blow off your kid or grandchild if you made a promise? No!

And don’t be a hero. If it’s a fun event and you want to be part of it then be realistic in your planning. This is a small fraction of your overall eating habits. When you demonize foods, those become your kryptonite. So plan ahead and stick to it.

#3 Don’t bank your calories.

Say you have an open house tonight and you know there will be cheese, egg rolls, brownies, all the things. Make sure you eat adequate nutrition throughout the day. Don’t starve yourself, thinking you can “bank” the calories for later.

Your stomach is only so big… about the size of your fist. Once you have ingested that volume of food, you are full. The processing plant is at capacity. Even if there were supply chain issues earlier in the day, the plant is only that size. Extra supplies have to stay outside on the skids. There’s no room at the inn.

If you do deny yourself throughout the day, your body will, again, go into panic mode. Starvation was a real and very present threat for most of human existence. No wonder when you do finally get to food and you’re tired, stressed, distracted and starving, it leads to binging and being indiscriminate.

And even if I had iron willpower at the party (you know - because others are watching), I used to hit the drive through on the way home. I justified it by saying that there was nothing at the party “that I could eat”. Or I got home and binged on popcorn. Once the floodgates opened, it was a free for all.

The result is way more calories than we really need and not from the nutrient dense foods that we know our bodies really want.

Ok. Let’s go over your holiday plan for Mindful Eating. Remember, you can get a more complete program by clicking here.

Drink water. Plan ahead. And don’t starve yourself.

It all sounds so simple doesn’t it? So why didn’t I just do that?

No one really laid that out for me before. Once I put protocols like this in place, with a healthy dose of self compassion, mindful rest and regular movement, the weight stabilized. And it will work for you too.

Don’t give up on yourself this holiday. Start resetting now and your January self will be so proud.

Thanks for reading The Midlife Reset - Sleep, Strength and Joy for Women 50+! This post is public so feel free to share it.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cherylgordonyt.substack.com