During one of my recent hormone workshops we talked about stress. I share the importance of reducing stress to help regulate hormones and achieve your weight loss goals. A woman in the crowd asked, "But HOW? How are we
supposed to reduce stress?"
This is a tough question. Everyone's stress is unique to her life, so it's hard to give advice on how to reduce without knowing one's back story. But I started thinking about it and came up with 3 ways to reduce stress through the holidays.
Want to learn more? Join me for my free Hormone Connections workshop next Monday, Nov 28 on Zoom!
Tip #1: Learn to say "no"
Don't feel like you have to be everywhere and do everything during the holidays. Oversheduling yourself and your family leads you to feel overwhelmed and stressed; and you're less likely to enjoy the events you attend. Instead of FOMO (fear of missing out), learn to embrace JOMO (the JOY of missing out). If you open your schedule and allow for free time or down time, you'll have more bandwidth to be present at the engagements you decide to attend.
Tip # 2: Ditch your obligations
Do you hate decorating for Christmas? But you do it because it's what everyone does or what everyone expects. Forget about doing things just because it's the norm. If you want a minimal Christmas then have a minimal Christmas! Look at
your obligations and decide which ones are really important. In five years...is anyone going to really care that you didn't go all out on your Christmas lights? Probably not.
Tip #3: Seek help from a pro
With apps like Betterhelp now easily accessible to the masses, consider seeing a mental health expert during the holidays. Simply talking to someone who can help you sort through your complicated feelings can work wonders. You can stop after the holidays if you no longer need help. Or, you may find regular mental health appointments help you decrease stress and feel more control all year long.
The bottom line: The holidays are supposed to be about celebration, family and gratitude. But too often those simple principles are forgotten amidst the
consumerism and excess America seems to embrace during this time of year.
Take control of your own schedule and your own life. There is only one Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2022. Slow down and enjoy it.
And if you want to learn more about the hormone weight loss connection,
please join me on my virtual workshop next Monday. It is open to EVERYONE, so invite friends and let's chat about how to survive the holidays with your goals intact!
