November 13, 2025 • 15 mins
Holiday tables can come with love, nostalgia—and pressure. In this short, practical episode, Coach Chris, functional nutritionist, shares seven strategies to help you enjoy the food and feel good in your body: don’t show up starving, hydrate intentionally, plan ahead, say “no, thank you” with love, share your intentions (if you want to), move your body in a way that feels good, and be present.
You’ll learn how to:
- Prevent the “ravenous trap” so you can slow down and taste your food
- Use hydration to reduce mindless grazing
- Plan ahead without being rigid or restrictive
- Set kind boundaries around food (with love)
- Invite support from people you trust
- Reconnect to your body with feel-good movement
- Anchor the whole day in presence—not pressure
Read more here: https://www.theenduranceedge.com/mindful-holiday-eating-7-strategies-to-stay-grounded/
Next week: We’ll go deeper on handling comments, food pressure, and scripts for saying “no, thank you” with love.
🥗💪🏃♀️ The 28-Day Nutrition Gut Reset is designed for active people and athletes who want better digestion, steadier energy, and stronger recovery heading into the new year. You’ll get expert guidance, simple structure, and live support three times per week. We start January 1st. Enrollment is limited and closes January 5th. Learn more at theenduranceedge.com/reset.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (01:00):
Hey y'all, welcome back to the Find Your Edge
podcast.
I am your host, Coach ChrisNewport, and today we're digging
into some holiday strategies formeals and gatherings and all
that good stuff so that you canfeel connected to both your
goals, your values, and what isreally meaningful for you.
(01:20):
So, because let's be real, theholidays are lovely and
fabulous, and also can certainlybe a lot.
There's family traditions,there's emotions potentially
tied to food, there's people whoare providing a lot of love,
shall we say, through theirfoods that they're providing
(01:42):
you, or you may be providing,and sometimes subtle or not so
subtle pressure to just eat alittle bit more, to just loosen
up or save room for dessert andthings like that.
So just so you know, none ofthese things make you a weak
human being.
It just makes you a human.
(02:04):
So today we're gonna talkthrough practical tools to help
you enjoy your holidays withoutfeeling stuffed, without feeling
guilty, without feelingrestricted or disconnected from
yourself and still aligned withyour values and your goals.
So, biggest one that I see thatpeople make this mistake is that
(02:25):
they go into holiday meals, orlet's just say it doesn't even
have to be a holiday meal.
It can be going out to dinnerwith friends, it can be showing
up to a birthday party.
It doesn't matter if it's anactual holiday event.
But I see so many people wholiterally show up starving.
They're like, I cannot wait toeat.
(02:47):
So it doesn't matter what isserved, they're just gonna go
for it.
It's just a massive trap.
If you show up ravenous,especially, and I remind my
longevity nutrition coachinggroup a lot about this, we look
at their appetite genetics,especially if you are high or
very high for your appetitegenetics, you have to stay on
top of it much more diligentlyto get that cycle of leptin and
(03:11):
ghrelin to participate for you,not against you and your goals.
So if you show up super hungry,your brain is gonna go, I don't
care what it is, let's let's putit down the hatch.
So if you try to have a smallbalanced meal or a snack
beforehand, or just honestly eatbeforehand, especially if you
know, like, ah, I know I'm notgonna get what are my favorite
(03:35):
things at this meal, or maybeyou have a certain allergy or
food intolerance, maybe you'reeven eating something before you
actually go.
So that's totally up to you whatversion you want to do.
But certainly if we can includesome sort of protein and fiber,
the two magical things that I'malways trying to encourage
people to eat.
(03:55):
So let me give you someexamples.
It could be something like Greekyogurt and some berries.
So the Greek yogurt being higherin protein and the berries being
higher in fiber, it couldactually be blending those
together and making yourself anice smoothie.
One of my favorites is like eggsand avocado toast.
You could have some nuts and apiece of fruit.
(04:18):
So whatever it is for youspecifically that works best for
you to keep you satisfied andkeep that hunger scale not
tipping too far.
So the hunger scale is a scalefrom one to ten, 10 being that
you're absolutely overstuffed,and one being, oh my gosh, I am
starving, I can't even stand it.
So, can we stay in this likehappy four to six most of the
(04:43):
time?
So if you have a little bit of asnack and that brings you up to
four or five, and then knowingthat it's gonna take you an hour
to get there or two hours to getthere or whatever, and by the
time you get there to yourdestination, you're gonna be
back at that.
Maybe you are up to a six, andnow you're down to a four, and
like, okay, I could eat a littlesomething, but know that I'm not
(05:04):
super starving.
So if you can manage yourhunger, which is all that normal
brain and body response tellingyou that you need food, you will
be more present during the mealand hopefully enjoy it better
and be more aligned with yourgoals.
Okay, number two, and y'all, Iam gonna have to admit that I am
(05:28):
not doing great at this one.
I am sitting here recording thispodcast and I am not hydrating.
Oh, fail.
Um, actually, no, I'm not gonnacall that a fail.
I'm gonna call that beingunintentional about hydrating
while I am doing this podcast.
So I know that for me, hydrationis hard.
(05:52):
And I know that for a lot offolks, hydration is hard to be
intentional and to be mindfulabout it, especially when you
get really deep into something,like you're really having a
great conversation with a friendor a family member or whatever,
and then you just forget tohydrate.
Or let's say you're just runningaround buying gifts and
preparing something to eat thatyou're actually going to bring
(06:15):
to that meal and you forget tohydrate.
So that little bit ofdehydration can mimic hunger and
it can drive you to have some ofthose mindless snacking and
mindless overeating, especiallyif you go to a situation or go
to a place that may have more ofa buffet style or a more of like
(06:37):
a just, you know, pick at itkind of thing.
Because if you're picking atvarious foods and you're not
actually putting it on a plate,we forget about it easily.
It becomes more mindless, andthen we end up eating more than
our overall intention was.
And this is something that hasbeen very well researched in
terms of asking folks afterwardshow much do you think you eat,
(07:01):
and then how much they actuallyate was definitely more so when
there was that sort of just likepicking at a little buffet or
picking at an appetizer plate,especially if you don't actually
put it on a plate.
So make sure you are hydratedprior to going into any of these
different types of meals.
So starting the day off right,make sure to get that water in
(07:24):
first thing in the morning,which I did do this morning.
So check one for me, even thoughI don't have water sitting
exactly with me.
But try to drink throughout theday, not just during the meal.
Consider alternating water ifyou're doing any alcoholic
beverages.
So alternating water withalcoholic beverage, and make
sure that you set an intentionif there will be any alcohol
(07:47):
involved.
How much do you intend to haveto consume?
And is that supporting andaligning your goals?
Not to mention that hydration isreally good about supporting
your digestion, supporting yourenergy, supporting your mental
clarity, and helps you feelbetter in your body.
All right, here's another onethat oftentimes is something
(08:08):
that we forget about, and that'splanning ahead.
So a little preparation goes along way.
Here's what this can actuallylook like.
If you are going out, maybe yourtradition is that for the
holidays you go out to arestaurant.
Know what they're serving beforeyou go.
So you can actually sort of planin your head, like, oh, I know
(08:29):
that I love this particulardish, or that I am gonna split
this dish with my spouse orpartner or whatever.
So you can have a look at themenu, you can be a little bit
better prepared.
If you're going to somethingthat you are maybe cooking
something for, maybe you're theperson creating the meal, or
(08:52):
maybe you're coming to some sortof like a potluck.
You can always bring a dish thatyou feel really good about, and
then you know that you like.
So this is also great if youhave any allergies or
intolerances.
It's like, okay, I'm just gonnashow up with what works for me.
And oh, by the way, it's also adelicious meal, and everybody
else is gonna enjoy it as well.
(09:14):
So that is a great way ofplanning for yourself to know
that you're gonna enjoy the mealand you're gonna feel good about
aligning with your goals andwith your values.
So planning isn't aboutcontrolling, it's about sending
that message to your futureself.
It's about caring for thatfuture self and saying, I got
(09:35):
you.
All right, here's another onesaying, no thank you with love.
So holiday food often comes withgaining not only weight in terms
of pounds, but also emotionalweight, especially when someone
has made a dish, quote unquote,just for you.
(09:56):
So there's some little tips andstrategies you can do.
Like you can take a smallportion, you can split it with a
partner or some kids, you cantake a bite and truly savor it
and then talk about it.
And sometimes you can be alittle sneaky and move it around
a little bit on your plate andgive lots of compliments to the
(10:16):
chef, if you will.
You can also ask to take somehome.
Now, what you do with it at homeis totally up to you.
But that will make the foodpreparer feel really good about
themselves and about feelinglike they have done something
really great.
So you can say something like,Oh my gosh, thank you so much.
This looks amazing.
I am really feeling stuffedright now, but I totally
(10:38):
appreciate you.
We have a whole episode comingup just focused on that,
including scripts for handlingthings like food pushers and
guilt trips and but you'vealways loved this kind of thing.
So stay tuned for that.
That one's coming up next week.
Another thing you can do is toshare your intentions if you
feel comfortable about doing it.
So you don't need to announcethat, hey guys, I'm losing
(11:01):
weight or whatever.
You don't necessarily have to,or I'm uh leaning into a more of
a plant-based diet, or I amwhatever.
Doesn't matter what the thing isthat you're doing.
So you don't necessarily have toannounce it to the room.
But if there's somebody youtrust there and you want to
express that to them so thatthey can be more aligned with
(11:21):
maybe keeping some of theirlanguage aligned with what you
need.
So here's something that youcould potentially say like, I'm
working on being more presentwith how I eat.
Can you help me slow down orcheck in during the meal?
People who care about you alwayswant to support you.
They just need to know how.
So, in that case, if it'ssomebody who's like super loud,
(11:45):
um, maybe that's not a thing toask them.
But maybe if it's somebody who'ssitting right next to you and
can give you just like a littleelbow nudge and or you know,
scratch their nose or whateversignal that you guys have for
each other to just remindyourself, like, okay, let me
just take a pause, let me checkin, take a breath.
Another thing to remind you offor the holidays is to move your
(12:09):
body in a way that feels good toyou.
This isn't punishment.
This is not that you need toearn or burn your Thanksgiving
dinner or whatever holiday itis, but to support your mood
digestion and nervous system.
So this may look like a bikeride.
(12:29):
This may look like a turkey trotrun with your family.
This may look like just goingfor a walk.
This may look like taking a15-minute yoga session while
you're in your room or in ahotel room or whatever.
This might mean that you'redancing in the kitchen while
(12:50):
you're cooking and like crankingup the music and having some fun
with that.
So anything that truly bringsyou back into your body and
allows you to move in a way thatfeels good to you and feels like
you.
So that definitely matters.
And last but not least isworking on being present.
(13:10):
This is truly the heart ofmindful eating.
Holiday meals aren't alwaysabout food, but they're about
connection and memories andlaughter and storytelling and
belonging.
So slow down, take a breath.
Do it now, please.
It doesn't matter where you are.
You can be driving, working out,whatever.
Just remind yourself, just takea deep breath.
(13:32):
Whew.
And then looking around the roomand really enjoying your food,
not just thinking it of it aslike, oh, I have to get it down
or I have to actually finish myplate, but really tasting it,
enjoying it, and remindingyourself, what is the experience
that I truly want to remember atthis holiday meal or whatever
(13:53):
meal you're at?
And let that intuition and letthat ability to truly listen to
your body guide you.
So navigating holiday eatingdoesn't require rule following
or self-control.
It just requires a little bit ofawareness, a little bit of
compassion, and a little bit ofintention.
So remember, you're not good orbad based on what you eat.
(14:17):
One meal does not tip the scalesand totally change your health.
It's all about consistency.
You deserve to feel good in yourbody and to enjoy the people
around you and to enjoy yourfood.
So if today's episode resonatedwith you, don't forget to share
(14:38):
it with a friend who might needthe reminder.
And again, next episode, we'regonna be talking about how to
handle food comments and foodpressure and how to maintain
some boundaries with kindnessand confidence.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I honor you and I appreciate youfor being here on the Find Your
Edge podcast.
Thanks for listening.
Hey y'all, welcome back to the Find Your Edge
podcast.
I am your host, Coach ChrisNewport, and today we're digging
into some holiday strategies formeals and gatherings and all
that good stuff so that you canfeel connected to both your
goals, your values, and what isreally meaningful for you.
(01:20):
So, because let's be real, theholidays are lovely and
fabulous, and also can certainlybe a lot.
There's family traditions,there's emotions potentially
tied to food, there's people whoare providing a lot of love,
shall we say, through theirfoods that they're providing
(01:42):
you, or you may be providing,and sometimes subtle or not so
subtle pressure to just eat alittle bit more, to just loosen
up or save room for dessert andthings like that.
So just so you know, none ofthese things make you a weak
human being.
It just makes you a human.
(02:04):
So today we're gonna talkthrough practical tools to help
you enjoy your holidays withoutfeeling stuffed, without feeling
guilty, without feelingrestricted or disconnected from
yourself and still aligned withyour values and your goals.
So, biggest one that I see thatpeople make this mistake is that
(02:25):
they go into holiday meals, orlet's just say it doesn't even
have to be a holiday meal.
It can be going out to dinnerwith friends, it can be showing
up to a birthday party.
It doesn't matter if it's anactual holiday event.
But I see so many people wholiterally show up starving.
They're like, I cannot wait toeat.
(02:47):
So it doesn't matter what isserved, they're just gonna go
for it.
It's just a massive trap.
If you show up ravenous,especially, and I remind my
longevity nutrition coachinggroup a lot about this, we look
at their appetite genetics,especially if you are high or
very high for your appetitegenetics, you have to stay on
top of it much more diligentlyto get that cycle of leptin and
(03:11):
ghrelin to participate for you,not against you and your goals.
So if you show up super hungry,your brain is gonna go, I don't
care what it is, let's let's putit down the hatch.
So if you try to have a smallbalanced meal or a snack
beforehand, or just honestly eatbeforehand, especially if you
know, like, ah, I know I'm notgonna get what are my favorite
(03:35):
things at this meal, or maybeyou have a certain allergy or
food intolerance, maybe you'reeven eating something before you
actually go.
So that's totally up to you whatversion you want to do.
But certainly if we can includesome sort of protein and fiber,
the two magical things that I'malways trying to encourage
people to eat.
(03:55):
So let me give you someexamples.
It could be something like Greekyogurt and some berries.
So the Greek yogurt being higherin protein and the berries being
higher in fiber, it couldactually be blending those
together and making yourself anice smoothie.
One of my favorites is like eggsand avocado toast.
You could have some nuts and apiece of fruit.
(04:18):
So whatever it is for youspecifically that works best for
you to keep you satisfied andkeep that hunger scale not
tipping too far.
So the hunger scale is a scalefrom one to ten, 10 being that
you're absolutely overstuffed,and one being, oh my gosh, I am
starving, I can't even stand it.
So, can we stay in this likehappy four to six most of the
(04:43):
time?
So if you have a little bit of asnack and that brings you up to
four or five, and then knowingthat it's gonna take you an hour
to get there or two hours to getthere or whatever, and by the
time you get there to yourdestination, you're gonna be
back at that.
Maybe you are up to a six, andnow you're down to a four, and
like, okay, I could eat a littlesomething, but know that I'm not
(05:04):
super starving.
So if you can manage yourhunger, which is all that normal
brain and body response tellingyou that you need food, you will
be more present during the mealand hopefully enjoy it better
and be more aligned with yourgoals.
Okay, number two, and y'all, Iam gonna have to admit that I am
(05:28):
not doing great at this one.
I am sitting here recording thispodcast and I am not hydrating.
Oh, fail.
Um, actually, no, I'm not gonnacall that a fail.
I'm gonna call that beingunintentional about hydrating
while I am doing this podcast.
So I know that for me, hydrationis hard.
(05:52):
And I know that for a lot offolks, hydration is hard to be
intentional and to be mindfulabout it, especially when you
get really deep into something,like you're really having a
great conversation with a friendor a family member or whatever,
and then you just forget tohydrate.
Or let's say you're just runningaround buying gifts and
preparing something to eat thatyou're actually going to bring
(06:15):
to that meal and you forget tohydrate.
So that little bit ofdehydration can mimic hunger and
it can drive you to have some ofthose mindless snacking and
mindless overeating, especiallyif you go to a situation or go
to a place that may have more ofa buffet style or a more of like
(06:37):
a just, you know, pick at itkind of thing.
Because if you're picking atvarious foods and you're not
actually putting it on a plate,we forget about it easily.
It becomes more mindless, andthen we end up eating more than
our overall intention was.
And this is something that hasbeen very well researched in
terms of asking folks afterwardshow much do you think you eat,
(07:01):
and then how much they actuallyate was definitely more so when
there was that sort of just likepicking at a little buffet or
picking at an appetizer plate,especially if you don't actually
put it on a plate.
So make sure you are hydratedprior to going into any of these
different types of meals.
So starting the day off right,make sure to get that water in
(07:24):
first thing in the morning,which I did do this morning.
So check one for me, even thoughI don't have water sitting
exactly with me.
But try to drink throughout theday, not just during the meal.
Consider alternating water ifyou're doing any alcoholic
beverages.
So alternating water withalcoholic beverage, and make
sure that you set an intentionif there will be any alcohol
(07:47):
involved.
How much do you intend to haveto consume?
And is that supporting andaligning your goals?
Not to mention that hydration isreally good about supporting
your digestion, supporting yourenergy, supporting your mental
clarity, and helps you feelbetter in your body.
All right, here's another onethat oftentimes is something
(08:08):
that we forget about, and that'splanning ahead.
So a little preparation goes along way.
Here's what this can actuallylook like.
If you are going out, maybe yourtradition is that for the
holidays you go out to arestaurant.
Know what they're serving beforeyou go.
So you can actually sort of planin your head, like, oh, I know
(08:29):
that I love this particulardish, or that I am gonna split
this dish with my spouse orpartner or whatever.
So you can have a look at themenu, you can be a little bit
better prepared.
If you're going to somethingthat you are maybe cooking
something for, maybe you're theperson creating the meal, or
(08:52):
maybe you're coming to some sortof like a potluck.
You can always bring a dish thatyou feel really good about, and
then you know that you like.
So this is also great if youhave any allergies or
intolerances.
It's like, okay, I'm just gonnashow up with what works for me.
And oh, by the way, it's also adelicious meal, and everybody
else is gonna enjoy it as well.
(09:14):
So that is a great way ofplanning for yourself to know
that you're gonna enjoy the mealand you're gonna feel good about
aligning with your goals andwith your values.
So planning isn't aboutcontrolling, it's about sending
that message to your futureself.
It's about caring for thatfuture self and saying, I got
(09:35):
you.
All right, here's another onesaying, no thank you with love.
So holiday food often comes withgaining not only weight in terms
of pounds, but also emotionalweight, especially when someone
has made a dish, quote unquote,just for you.
(09:56):
So there's some little tips andstrategies you can do.
Like you can take a smallportion, you can split it with a
partner or some kids, you cantake a bite and truly savor it
and then talk about it.
And sometimes you can be alittle sneaky and move it around
a little bit on your plate andgive lots of compliments to the
(10:16):
chef, if you will.
You can also ask to take somehome.
Now, what you do with it at homeis totally up to you.
But that will make the foodpreparer feel really good about
themselves and about feelinglike they have done something
really great.
So you can say something like,Oh my gosh, thank you so much.
This looks amazing.
I am really feeling stuffedright now, but I totally
(10:38):
appreciate you.
We have a whole episode comingup just focused on that,
including scripts for handlingthings like food pushers and
guilt trips and but you'vealways loved this kind of thing.
So stay tuned for that.
That one's coming up next week.
Another thing you can do is toshare your intentions if you
feel comfortable about doing it.
So you don't need to announcethat, hey guys, I'm losing
(11:01):
weight or whatever.
You don't necessarily have to,or I'm uh leaning into a more of
a plant-based diet, or I amwhatever.
Doesn't matter what the thing isthat you're doing.
So you don't necessarily have toannounce it to the room.
But if there's somebody youtrust there and you want to
express that to them so thatthey can be more aligned with
(11:21):
maybe keeping some of theirlanguage aligned with what you
need.
So here's something that youcould potentially say like, I'm
working on being more presentwith how I eat.
Can you help me slow down orcheck in during the meal?
People who care about you alwayswant to support you.
They just need to know how.
So, in that case, if it'ssomebody who's like super loud,
(11:45):
um, maybe that's not a thing toask them.
But maybe if it's somebody who'ssitting right next to you and
can give you just like a littleelbow nudge and or you know,
scratch their nose or whateversignal that you guys have for
each other to just remindyourself, like, okay, let me
just take a pause, let me checkin, take a breath.
Another thing to remind you offor the holidays is to move your
(12:09):
body in a way that feels good toyou.
This isn't punishment.
This is not that you need toearn or burn your Thanksgiving
dinner or whatever holiday itis, but to support your mood
digestion and nervous system.
So this may look like a bikeride.
(12:29):
This may look like a turkey trotrun with your family.
This may look like just goingfor a walk.
This may look like taking a15-minute yoga session while
you're in your room or in ahotel room or whatever.
This might mean that you'redancing in the kitchen while
(12:50):
you're cooking and like crankingup the music and having some fun
with that.
So anything that truly bringsyou back into your body and
allows you to move in a way thatfeels good to you and feels like
you.
So that definitely matters.
And last but not least isworking on being present.
(13:10):
This is truly the heart ofmindful eating.
Holiday meals aren't alwaysabout food, but they're about
connection and memories andlaughter and storytelling and
belonging.
So slow down, take a breath.
Do it now, please.
It doesn't matter where you are.
You can be driving, working out,whatever.
Just remind yourself, just takea deep breath.
(13:32):
Whew.
And then looking around the roomand really enjoying your food,
not just thinking it of it aslike, oh, I have to get it down
or I have to actually finish myplate, but really tasting it,
enjoying it, and remindingyourself, what is the experience
that I truly want to remember atthis holiday meal or whatever
(13:53):
meal you're at?
And let that intuition and letthat ability to truly listen to
your body guide you.
So navigating holiday eatingdoesn't require rule following
or self-control.
It just requires a little bit ofawareness, a little bit of
compassion, and a little bit ofintention.
So remember, you're not good orbad based on what you eat.
(14:17):
One meal does not tip the scalesand totally change your health.
It's all about consistency.
You deserve to feel good in yourbody and to enjoy the people
around you and to enjoy yourfood.
So if today's episode resonatedwith you, don't forget to share
(14:38):
it with a friend who might needthe reminder.
And again, next episode, we'regonna be talking about how to
handle food comments and foodpressure and how to maintain
some boundaries with kindnessand confidence.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I honor you and I appreciate youfor being here on the Find Your
Edge podcast.
Thanks for listening.
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