Holiday Strategies to Avoid Weight Gain in Menopause

Welcome back to The Menopause Method! 

Today, we’re tackling the holiday weight creep—because let’s be real, menopause already makes weight management tricky, and the holidays? They don’t help.

Between hormonal shifts, extra holiday treats, and less movement, it’s easy to feel like the odds are stacked against you. But don’t worry—I’ve got real, doable strategies to help you enjoy the season without feeling deprived or stressed.

We’re talking mindful eating, staying active without overdoing it, and setting boundaries (because holiday stress is real, too).

So, let’s navigate the holidays feeling strong, balanced, and in control. Hit subscribe, and let’s do this—one empowered decision at a time!

We'll cover:

1. Understanding the Menopause Trifecta: Discover how age, increased calorie intake, and reduced movement work together to slow down your metabolism during the festive season.
2. Strategies for Your Physical Body: Tips and tricks on navigating holiday events like a pro, from bringing a dish you love to selecting vibrant, whole foods that make you feel fantastic.
3. Caring for Your Emotional Self: Practical advice on setting intentions, managing expectations, and creating a bubble wrap of protection during potentially triggering family gatherings.

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Key Takeaways:

1. Understand the holiday weight gain trifecta: Age factor, increased calorie intake, and less movement.
2. Movement challenges like "movement snacks" and "walk all winter" can help maintain metabolism.
3. Bring dishes you love to gatherings and eat something before attending to avoid overindulging.
4. Avoid drinking your calories and opt for colorful, whole foods at parties.
5. Keep your sleep schedule consistent and prioritize exercise, even during busy times.
6. Manage emotional well-being with intentions and boundaries; imagine bubble wrap protection.
7. Small, consistent actions and mindset shifts help maintain progress and enjoyment during the holidays.

Timestamps:
00:00 
Take healthy food you enjoy to events.
05:09 
Stayed in for bedtime, prioritize boundaries, intentions.
06:28 
Expectations vs reality; practice grace, grounding minimums.

Transcript

0:00

Hey. Welcome back to the menopause method. My name is Cam Allen, and I am your tour guide to everything menopause. Today's topic is about the scale. You know, the old saying, what comes up must come down, that works with gravity, but that doesn't always work with a scale. I was doing some research for this episode, and the average American gains 1 to £2 during the holiday season. So the holiday season is anywhere from, like, Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, like that 6 week period. Here's the problem. The majority of us, 70%, don't lose that weight. And that weight, that slow weight gain year after year is the reason for the long term weight creep and the scale keeps going up. In menopause, there's a trifecta going on, and part of it is knowing what that trifecta is and so you can counteract those things that are happening. 1 is our age factor. So during menopause, we have less estrogen. Our bandwidth for stress is greatly diminished. We have less muscle unless we are actively strength training. And all of these things add up to a slower metabolism. So there's that. That's number 1. Number 2, during the holidays, there is an increased calorie intake. Not surprising. Anywhere from 2 to 500 innocent calories a day add up to the the weight gain in January. So why is that? We have more comfort food, which typically is high fat because we're, like, getting cozy. There's extra sugar in our foods and then, you know, alcohol. So all of those add to 2 to 500 calories a day, and over time, that matters. And then the third thing is we're just not moving as much. It's winter. It's colder. It's gray. Maybe you're not getting outside as much. You're busier. Your social events and maybe shopping like other holiday events take priority over exercise. That's the truth. So we've got this trifecta working against us. In fact, in my group, move the dial method, we are actually doing 2 movement challenges. In December, we're doing movement snacks throughout the day to make sure our metabolism is on point and we're actually moving throughout the day even though it's yucky and cold out. And then second, we're gonna do walk all winter, which is a January challenge. So we're gonna actually get outside, bundle up, and walk outside to keep our metabolism firing to combat this 1 to 2 pound weight gain. You can actually reach your goals during the holidays and have fun and not feel like you're depriving yourself. I promise you that. So we're gonna talk about this from 2 aspects. First of all, we're gonna talk about how to take care of your physical body during the holiday season. And a lot of these tips are things that I've lived through, this first one especially. So if you're going into a pitching event, like you're in charge of taking a dish or something to share with other people, bring something that you absolutely love and you feel great eating. As a former vegetarian and pescatarian, I must say I have a lot of experience with this. A lot of times we would bring a dish to a thing. Maybe it was at the CrossFit gym. Like, there was one time there was bacon and chocolate chip cookies. Like, what the heck? What what's that about? Or there was was this time I went to Thanksgiving with my friends, and there was a turk ducking. What what is a turkducken? Well, it wasn't on my, quote, unquote, menu. So when you're going to places like that, make sure you bring something you love, and you know that when you eat this, you feel amazing. My other tip from back in my pescatarian days was don't go there starving. Like, make sure you nourish yourself before you go, and that way you can enjoy the company of the people, still eat eat still eat foods that make you feel amazing and not, like, lose sight of your absolute goals. Next up, don't drink your calories. It's so easy. Avoid sugary drinks, of course, you know, and you can always alternate your alcohol with water. Next up, when you're at the party, shop for color. What does that mean? That means pick colorful, whole, real foods that you know that when you eat those, you feel amazing. Now, obviously, there's gonna be treats around. So what do you do when it comes to that? My motto for that is taste everything and binge on nothing. If it's something you truly love, don't say no to that. Like, savor the food, enjoy the experience, taste something, and it's just blah. It's, like, not worth it, quote, unquote. You don't have to eat it. It's totally okay. What else can you do to take care of your physical body? Roughly, keep the same sleep schedule that you normally have. Walk, keep your exercise dates with yourself. Do that. Another thing you can do is walking after eating. We were at a wedding this weekend, and there was dancing after eating. And, yes, I had wine, and, yes, I had wedding cake, and I enjoyed every single second of it. But more importantly, I enjoyed the people at my table, and then after dinner, my husband and I danced a little bit. So, you know, making sure that you're lowering your blood sugar naturally while still eating the treats. And, also, one more thing, we went to bed pretty much at our regular bedtime. We didn't stay up with the wedding party. The wedding party went to a local bar and literally ordered everything on the bar menu. We said no to that. We went home and went to bed. So that's how you take care of your physical body during the holiday season, but we need to talk about our emotional body too. You know, sometimes the holidays are really triggering for people, and my best advice for you is to walk in with intentions to your family gatherings, keeping your boundaries, practice saying no, whatever that is. If you know you're walking into a heated situation or a situation that makes your body feel uncomfortable, there is this practice I learned years ago from Gabby Bernstein. And I want you to imagine, like, zipping yourself up in the bubble wrap. And you are inside that bubble wrap, and you are completely protected. And then when you walk into that situation, anything, it's just gonna bounce right off that bubble wrap, and you are protected inside of it. You know, it's always a good idea to be flexible. Bend. Don't break. Just like a tree sways in the wind, you need to be flexible as well. You know, I think part of the problem emotionally when it comes to holidays is expectations. We have these grand expectations of, like, how family should be all gathered around the fire, and the conversation at the table is amazing. But let's be honest, there are gonna be some people that you may encounter that you don't truly enjoy. Maybe they're around your table or maybe they're at the party. Give yourself and others grace, even the people that you don't like. I really like this idea, the idea of keeping your minimums. This is from my friend, Jessica, and that is doing the minimum little things in daily life that make you feel good and help you stay grounded. What feeds you? Now it could be physical food, but it could also be emotional things. I definitely call this off the plate nutrition. Think of those little daily minimums as anchors in your day. And here's a big myth that I see often. You don't have to wait until Monday to reset. You don't have to wait until January 1st to reset. Literally, stuff's gonna happen. So all you have to do, the very next decision, you can change your mind. You can change your path in your very next decision. Years ago, I read the book Atomic Habits, and James Clear talks about being 1% better. It is often that we have these lofty goals for ourselves, and we set these very high expectations. And what happens is we get so disappointed in ourselves that we just quit. I don't want that for you. I want you to show up for yourself fully in your body, aligned with your goals, and enjoy the heck out of your holiday season. Literally, it's one decision at a time. Okay, ladies. It's time to enjoy your holiday season. Don't forget to hit subscribe and come back next week for more of the menopause method.