Anticipation! 

We had our first frost this week, and this morning the temperatures broke the freezing mark. The fall foliage has been at its peak of gold, orange, and red.

And Halloween is next week.

I absolutely adore this time of year. It’s the tangible change in scenery, clothes, and even food, as well as the anticipation of the holidays to come.

Not only do I love Halloween (I still thrill at playing dress up!), but my folks are coming for Thanksgiving, and I’ve even started stashing away a few presents.

This time of year brings out the kid in me and I’m filled with eagerness and excitement.

But this wasn’t always the case.

Somewhere along the way the holidays became fraught with stress, unmet expectations, challenging family dynamics, loneliness, and bingeing that resulted in self-loathing.

It would begin with overeating Halloween candy and the next thing you know I was starting the New Year with a physical and emotional hangover that might last till spring.

Losing weight was a constant on my list of New Year’s resolutions.

I discovered that it doesn’t have to be this way.

For the past 5 years, I’ve followed some simple steps to help get through the holidays with balance and grace.

And it’s not like these holiday seasons have been a piece of cake, either. They’ve included friends getting snowbound on the way to visit us, a major surgery, the launching of my new brand—all things that would have sent my weight on the skids in the past.

Granted, I haven’t been perfect . . . but the good news is you don’t have to be to transform your holiday experience.  

Not only am I sharing some of those tips below, but I’m also introducing a program that can help you Love Your Way Through the Holidays.

If you want to start 2014 looking and feeling your best, I encourage you to check out the information below. 

What challenges do you face during the holidays?

Email me and let me know.

With much love and appreciation,

 
Hanna Goss, CPC, ELI-MP

Wellness Tip of the Weekend

Tuesday, November 5, 8 p.m. USA Eastern 

Beautiful Inside and Out:
How Powerful Women
Transformed Their Bodies
While Creating a Life They Love 

 

My guest in November is Lynnis Woods-Mullins, founder and CEO of Praiseworks Health and Wellness.

Don’t miss Lynnis’s remarkable story of how an anxiety disorder ended her 25-year corporate career. Her path to emotional and physical healing required that she follow her spirit to pursue holistic health education full-time.

Join me for these LIVE no-cost monthly interviews with successful women whose physical transformations were key to creating the body—and life—they really wanted.

What could be more fun then . . .

• Everyone playing dress-up and strangers giving you a bucket-load of candy that you ate for weeks?
• Having days off from school filled with delicious treats?
• Sharing a feast with family and friends?

Whether it was Halloween, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, overeating was the primary theme.

Somewhere along the way, my love for the holidays began to change.

• The overeating turned into self-loathing.
• My schedule got over-packed, and my self-care became my last priority.
• As my stress level went up–and amount of sleep went down–so did family tension and drama.

New Year’s Day would find me feeling not only bloated and uncomfortable in my clothes, but often suffering from a cold or other illness.

This physical and emotional hangover would last at least until Valentine’s Day, and sometime would run into Easter.

This changed when I realized that I had control—not over other people, but over:

• how I responded,
• what I put in my mouth,
• and what I did—and didn’t do.

My reacting as a victim or with conflict truly was a choice.

I discovered some simple steps that helped me make different choices—and transformed my holiday experience.

Since then, the magic of the holidays has returned in a deeper and more profound way that is more in alignment with who I am and the values I hold–not a Hollywood version of what the holidays should be.

Now I love my way through the holidays.

Here are a few of the simple steps you can take that will help you get through the holidays with balance and grace.

Step 1: Create Awareness.

Look at your past experiences. What are the things that have sent you down a difficult road during previous holidays?

• Maybe it’s the extra temptation of all the treats that are around from Halloween to New Year’s?
• Maybe it’s the pressure and expectations of family that you feel you can’t live up to?
• Maybe it’s your expectations that everything has to be perfect—for yourself or for others?
• Maybe it’s a difficult relationship?
• Maybe it’s feeling alone, even when you are in a crowd?
• Maybe it’s the overwhelming to-do list that you don’t feel supported in getting done?
• Maybe it’s not feeling like you have time to take care of you?

Whatever those things are that knock you for a loop, write them down.

Step 2: Look for Solutions . . . NOW

Now that you’ve identified your potential pitfalls, what do you need to do to avoid them? Literally come up with a plan that will work for you before you face the temptation.

For instance, if Halloween Candy is your downfall, you might:

• Buy candy you don’t like to eat.
• Plan your meals so you can have a piece of candy every night after dinner.
• Eat squeaky clean all week and allow yourself to fully enjoy the treats on Halloween night only.
• Take leftover candy to a nursing home, or to staff of your favorite charity, or throw it away. (You can either waste it, or you waist it!)

If overeating at parties is an issue, perhaps you can:

• Choose 1 or 2 things that you really want that you will fully enjoy instead of eating some (or a lot) of everything.
• Eat a snack before you go so you’ll be less tempted by party treats.
• Make a healthy dish for the potluck that you’ll actually enjoy eating.
• Ensure you eat squeaky clean the rest of the week so you can fully enjoy the party.
• Decline Aunt Sue’s dish that she made “just for you,” but pack up some that you’ll eat later–or not! (It’s your body. You alone get to decide what you put into it.)

Step 3: Identify Your WHY

To follow through on your plan, you really need to be clear on WHY you are choosing to do those things.

To get at your WHY, answer these questions. Write down your responses, and review them often. Daily if possible.

• How do you want to be, look, and feel on January 1^st? Write a description, using the present tense.
• Why do you want to be, look, or feel that way? Write down as many reasons as you can think of. Try to go beyond just looking good in jeans or a swimsuit, and really get at your heart-felt reasons you want wellness.
• How will being, looking, or feeling that way benefit all other areas of your life? (Think about your love life, friendships, family, career, social life, etc.)
• How will you feel on January 1^st if you have met your goal?

Right here and now, make the commitment to do these steps and begin to love your way through the holidays.

Together we can do it!