August 28, 2024 • 10 mins
Questions, comments? Shoot me a text.
What if you could maintain your healthy habits even while traveling and avoid the guilt of post-vacation weight gain? In this episode of the Simplicity of Wellness podcast, I share a personal story about my husband's reaction to gaining some weight after a trip, emphasizing the difference between short-term dieting and a long-term body balance approach. We'll explore how to focus on positive shifts toward normalcy rather than expecting immediate results and discuss various ways to monitor these shifts beyond just the scale, such as changes in physical appearance, gut feelings, and appetite. Patience is key, and context matters greatly when it comes to returning to your balanced, healthy routine.
We'll also dive into the importance of tracking and aiming for high-end numbers on a scale to gauge body balance and positive changes. Achieving a perfect 10 is rare, and what's more important is recognizing an upward trend rather than a constant increase. This awareness tool can be invaluable both at home and during travel, helping you make better choices without being overly strict. Enjoy your travels guilt-free and return to your healthy habits with sustainable boundaries in place. Plus, I'll share tips on reflecting on your day to help you become leaner, stronger, and healthier without overhauling your entire life. Don't miss out on this insightful episode!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast.
I'm your host, board-certifiedholistic nutritionist and
professional life coach, amyWhite.
The purpose of this podcast isto share information that you
can use to become leaner,stronger and healthier by losing
weight, shedding inches,maintaining muscle and managing
(00:21):
your mind, all while living yournormal busy life in this modern
, sugar-filled world.
Hello, simplifiers, it's been abusy summer here in the White
House Lots of travel.
While travel can be fun, it canalso be hard on the body because
it's a shift in lifestyle.
(00:41):
The way you normally livechanges when you're away from
home.
For me, and I suspect mostpeople, food choices change for
many reasons when we'retraveling.
One simple reason is becausewhen visiting friends and family
, they often eat differentlythan I do.
Their normal all-the-time foodsare different from mine.
I try to eat my normalmost-of-the-time foods even when
(01:03):
traveling, but it's not likebeing at home.
This isn't a problem.
It's to be expected.
When your normal routine shifts, nothing has gone wrong.
The good news is, with travel,this type of shift tends to be
temporary.
When you get home, you get backto your normal and settle into
your regular routine and yourmost of the time foods.
I always love coming home to mynormal routine and my favorite
(01:25):
foods.
My body loves my routine.
Jeff and I returned from a tripjust last Wednesday.
Friday morning we had what I'dcall a scale moment, which is
what prompted this podcast.
I'm gonna give you the detailsof the scale moment to
illustrate the differencebetween what I believe is a
dieting mindset versus thelong-term body balance process
(01:46):
mindset.
After that I'll share a big tipon what you can do to tune into
your body so that you can watchthe body balance magic happen
after you get home from a trip.
And to end the episode, I'llgive you one quick but important
reminder.
Friday morning, one full dayafter being home from our trip,
I saw my husband step on thebathroom scale.
So I asked him how did he do?
(02:06):
While we were away Meaning, didthe scale show a shift?
He made a groaning noise andsaid terrible, which indicated
to me that his food indulgenceswhile we were away shifted his
body a bit out of balance, awayfrom his normal everyday weight.
I then asked if he noticed thathe was shifting toward normal,
because I knew that he'd alsoweighed himself on Thursday
(02:27):
morning, less than 24 hoursafter being home.
In a grouchy and kind of snappyway he said it's only been a
day.
I didn't ask him if, in one day, he was back to his normal.
I asked him if he was seeing ashift back toward normal.
These are two very differentthings.
The first an expectation thathis weight would have corrected
back to his normal overnight isunrealistic.
(02:50):
This is where disappointmentand self-judgment are born.
It's not good.
The second watching for signsthat your body is returning to
balance opens up the door forassessment and more awareness
about your routine now thatyou're back home.
The food that was available tous and that we ate while we were
away was more carb and sugarheavy than what we're used to.
(03:11):
Based on what we ate and how weknow our bodies respond to
different types of food, it'snot a surprise to see the scale
indicate that we're holdingwater.
I also weighed myself onThursday morning.
I wanted to see where I wasafter our trip so that I could
watch my body move back intobalance.
I stepped on the scale againFriday morning and I saw a
positive shift toward normal, asI expected.
(03:32):
Was I back to my normal?
No, did I expect to be?
No.
Was I disappointed?
No, it had been one day.
I know it takes my body atleast three to five days to
release excess water.
My body loves my normal routine.
Even though I know this, it'sstill fun to watch as my body
responds positively when I getback to eating the foods that
(03:53):
make me feel good.
My brain loves to see evidencethat my process to be and stay
healthy works.
So back to my husband'sreaction to my question of
whether or not he was shiftingtoward normal.
It wasn't a question of if inone day he was back to his
normal weight.
I suspected that's what hethought I was asking, hence the
snappy comment about it onlybeing one day.
(04:13):
I was asking if he was seeing apositive shift.
The scale is only one way towatch your body shift back to
normal.
The scale will show the bodyreleasing stored water weight
and, as I mentioned, this doestake time.
What you see in the mirror isanother way to notice what your
body's doing.
How your gut feels is another.
Unusual foods can cause gas,bloating and even heartburn.
(04:35):
How your appetite and cravingsfeel is another way to assess
how your body is shifting.
There are lots of ways to watchyour body shift.
Don't make the mistake ofletting one data point, like the
scale, be the whole story.
As I mentioned above, this canlead to disappointment and
self-judgment, both of which canshift your at-home behavior
away from your normal and makegetting back into balance a much
(04:58):
slower and harder process.
How Well, if you feel likeyou've already blown it, you
might be more likely to continueto include indulgences that are
normal for you when you'retraveling, but not a normal part
of your home routine, forexample, having a glass or two
of wine every night or indulgingin dessert regularly.
So be realistic.
(05:18):
Understand that nothing hasgone wrong.
Your lifestyle shifted for abit, and so did your body Get
back to your normal routine.
Do the things that normallycreate and keep you in balance.
This is how you help your bodyrelease the excess stored water,
calm any gut irritation andnormal you in balance.
This is how you help your bodyrelease the excess stored water,
calm any gut irritation andnormalize your appetite and
sleep so that you shift backinto balance.
(05:40):
Take what the scale tells youand then relate it back to
everything else that's happening.
Put the scale data into context.
If you don't see the scaleshifting the way you expect,
after at least five days, take acloser look at everything else
you're doing.
Have you fully embraced yournormal at-home routine or are
some of your travel indulgencesstill hanging around?
(06:02):
Trust your process.
Now let's get into my tip onhow to objectively observe how
your behavior is impacting yourbody.
How you feel is probably thebiggest thing to take note of,
but there are different ways toevaluate this.
The exercise that I teach myclients for self-observation I
call traces T-R-A-C-E-S.
(06:24):
I ask them to trace back theirday.
Keep a journal next to your bedas you climb into bed before
you turn off the light.
Trace back your day On a pagein your journal.
Write the letter T on one line,then on the next line write R
and then on the next line, an Aand then a C and an E and an S.
Next to each line you're goingto place a score from 0 to 10.
(06:48):
0 being bad and 10 being themost amazing ever.
T stands for temperament.
Think about your moodthroughout the day.
Was it all over the place?
Were you moody?
So moody you scared the dog andpeople were avoiding you.
That would be a score on thevery low end of the scale.
If your mood was good, stable,maybe even leaning toward
(07:08):
reasonable and positive, thatwould rate on the higher end, r
stands for rest.
This time you're going to thinkback on how you slept the night
before.
Based on how well you think youslept, rate that from 0 bad to
10 amazing.
A is for appetite.
What was your appetite likeduring the day?
Was it all over the place?
Did you feel the need to eatconstantly, or was it more
(07:30):
regular hungry for meals and noreal interest in snacks?
Rate from 0 to 10.
C is for cravings.
Were there any particular foodsyou craved during the day?
Pay special attention to foodsthat might have been carby or
sugary.
Again, rate this from 0 to 10.
E is for energy.
How was your daytime energy?
Was it steady or did it feellike a roller coaster, with dips
(07:52):
that needed some sort of apick-me-up like snacks or coffee
?
Did you want to take a napmid-afternoon?
Rate your overall daytimeenergy from 0 to 10.
And the last thing is S forstress.
How was your perceived level ofstress?
Were you on edge or were youable to comfortably roll with
the unpredictability of the day?
(08:14):
Do this every night.
Ideally, you want to see thesenumbers moving toward the high
end of the scale, toward 10.
To me, 10 is an elusive number.
It's not often that I'll writea 10, but it does happen.
Like most things, you probablywon't see a simple upward
trajectory.
Expect the numbers to bouncearound, but over time you're
looking for a trend toward thehigh end of the scale.
(08:36):
The more these numbers movetoward 10, the more you'll feel
in balance and see the resultsof positive body change.
This is a great tool.
While you're at home.
It can help you evaluate howyour normal routine is impacting
your body.
It's also a great tool fortravel.
It can help you to be moreaware of your off-routine
behaviors.
Can help you to be more awareof your off-routine behaviors.
(08:59):
Just that little bit of extraawareness has the power to help
you make choices that bettersupport your body, even when
traveling.
My overall message today is toenjoy traveling.
Don't be so strict and rigidwith your healthy process that
you miss out.
Be realistic and expect yourbody to shift.
If you're temporarily living alittle differently, remind
yourself nothing has gone wrong.
Then get back to your normalroutine, those healthy at-home
(09:22):
behaviors, because we aren'tdieting, you're not following
inflexible rules that can't bebroken.
We're learning how our bodyworks and using that information
to create healthy boundariesthat allow us to maintain body
balance while we enjoy life.
Get your notebook and take fiveminutes every night to trace
back your day.
(09:42):
Let me know how it goes.
I'll be back in the nextepisode.
Do you like the idea of eatingfor the body you want?
Is there a piece of you that'seager to learn how to become
leaner, stronger and healthierwithout having to overhaul your
entire life?
If this is you, then you're inluck, because this is what I do.
I can help you reconnect andwork with your body so that you
(10:06):
can enjoy the body, comfort andconfidence you deserve, eating
foods you love.
Click the free consult link inthe show notes.
Let's talk about where you are,what you want and how you can
get there.
Welcome to the Simplicity of Wellness podcast.
I'm your host, board-certifiedholistic nutritionist and
professional life coach, amyWhite.
The purpose of this podcast isto share information that you
can use to become leaner,stronger and healthier by losing
weight, shedding inches,maintaining muscle and managing
(00:21):
your mind, all while living yournormal busy life in this modern
, sugar-filled world.
Hello, simplifiers, it's been abusy summer here in the White
House Lots of travel.
While travel can be fun, it canalso be hard on the body because
it's a shift in lifestyle.
(00:41):
The way you normally livechanges when you're away from
home.
For me, and I suspect mostpeople, food choices change for
many reasons when we'retraveling.
One simple reason is becausewhen visiting friends and family
, they often eat differentlythan I do.
Their normal all-the-time foodsare different from mine.
I try to eat my normalmost-of-the-time foods even when
(01:03):
traveling, but it's not likebeing at home.
This isn't a problem.
It's to be expected.
When your normal routine shifts, nothing has gone wrong.
The good news is, with travel,this type of shift tends to be
temporary.
When you get home, you get backto your normal and settle into
your regular routine and yourmost of the time foods.
I always love coming home to mynormal routine and my favorite
(01:25):
foods.
My body loves my routine.
Jeff and I returned from a tripjust last Wednesday.
Friday morning we had what I'dcall a scale moment, which is
what prompted this podcast.
I'm gonna give you the detailsof the scale moment to
illustrate the differencebetween what I believe is a
dieting mindset versus thelong-term body balance process
(01:46):
mindset.
After that I'll share a big tipon what you can do to tune into
your body so that you can watchthe body balance magic happen
after you get home from a trip.
And to end the episode, I'llgive you one quick but important
reminder.
Friday morning, one full dayafter being home from our trip,
I saw my husband step on thebathroom scale.
So I asked him how did he do?
(02:06):
While we were away Meaning, didthe scale show a shift?
He made a groaning noise andsaid terrible, which indicated
to me that his food indulgenceswhile we were away shifted his
body a bit out of balance, awayfrom his normal everyday weight.
I then asked if he noticed thathe was shifting toward normal,
because I knew that he'd alsoweighed himself on Thursday
(02:27):
morning, less than 24 hoursafter being home.
In a grouchy and kind of snappyway he said it's only been a
day.
I didn't ask him if, in one day, he was back to his normal.
I asked him if he was seeing ashift back toward normal.
These are two very differentthings.
The first an expectation thathis weight would have corrected
back to his normal overnight isunrealistic.
(02:50):
This is where disappointmentand self-judgment are born.
It's not good.
The second watching for signsthat your body is returning to
balance opens up the door forassessment and more awareness
about your routine now thatyou're back home.
The food that was available tous and that we ate while we were
away was more carb and sugarheavy than what we're used to.
(03:11):
Based on what we ate and how weknow our bodies respond to
different types of food, it'snot a surprise to see the scale
indicate that we're holdingwater.
I also weighed myself onThursday morning.
I wanted to see where I wasafter our trip so that I could
watch my body move back intobalance.
I stepped on the scale againFriday morning and I saw a
positive shift toward normal, asI expected.
(03:32):
Was I back to my normal?
No, did I expect to be?
No.
Was I disappointed?
No, it had been one day.
I know it takes my body atleast three to five days to
release excess water.
My body loves my normal routine.
Even though I know this, it'sstill fun to watch as my body
responds positively when I getback to eating the foods that
(03:53):
make me feel good.
My brain loves to see evidencethat my process to be and stay
healthy works.
So back to my husband'sreaction to my question of
whether or not he was shiftingtoward normal.
It wasn't a question of if inone day he was back to his
normal weight.
I suspected that's what hethought I was asking, hence the
snappy comment about it onlybeing one day.
(04:13):
I was asking if he was seeing apositive shift.
The scale is only one way towatch your body shift back to
normal.
The scale will show the bodyreleasing stored water weight
and, as I mentioned, this doestake time.
What you see in the mirror isanother way to notice what your
body's doing.
How your gut feels is another.
Unusual foods can cause gas,bloating and even heartburn.
(04:35):
How your appetite and cravingsfeel is another way to assess
how your body is shifting.
There are lots of ways to watchyour body shift.
Don't make the mistake ofletting one data point, like the
scale, be the whole story.
As I mentioned above, this canlead to disappointment and
self-judgment, both of which canshift your at-home behavior
away from your normal and makegetting back into balance a much
(04:58):
slower and harder process.
How Well, if you feel likeyou've already blown it, you
might be more likely to continueto include indulgences that are
normal for you when you'retraveling, but not a normal part
of your home routine, forexample, having a glass or two
of wine every night or indulgingin dessert regularly.
So be realistic.
(05:18):
Understand that nothing hasgone wrong.
Your lifestyle shifted for abit, and so did your body Get
back to your normal routine.
Do the things that normallycreate and keep you in balance.
This is how you help your bodyrelease the excess stored water,
calm any gut irritation andnormal you in balance.
This is how you help your bodyrelease the excess stored water,
calm any gut irritation andnormalize your appetite and
sleep so that you shift backinto balance.
(05:40):
Take what the scale tells youand then relate it back to
everything else that's happening.
Put the scale data into context.
If you don't see the scaleshifting the way you expect,
after at least five days, take acloser look at everything else
you're doing.
Have you fully embraced yournormal at-home routine or are
some of your travel indulgencesstill hanging around?
(06:02):
Trust your process.
Now let's get into my tip onhow to objectively observe how
your behavior is impacting yourbody.
How you feel is probably thebiggest thing to take note of,
but there are different ways toevaluate this.
The exercise that I teach myclients for self-observation I
call traces T-R-A-C-E-S.
(06:24):
I ask them to trace back theirday.
Keep a journal next to your bedas you climb into bed before
you turn off the light.
Trace back your day On a pagein your journal.
Write the letter T on one line,then on the next line write R
and then on the next line, an Aand then a C and an E and an S.
Next to each line you're goingto place a score from 0 to 10.
(06:48):
0 being bad and 10 being themost amazing ever.
T stands for temperament.
Think about your moodthroughout the day.
Was it all over the place?
Were you moody?
So moody you scared the dog andpeople were avoiding you.
That would be a score on thevery low end of the scale.
If your mood was good, stable,maybe even leaning toward
(07:08):
reasonable and positive, thatwould rate on the higher end, r
stands for rest.
This time you're going to thinkback on how you slept the night
before.
Based on how well you think youslept, rate that from 0 bad to
10 amazing.
A is for appetite.
What was your appetite likeduring the day?
Was it all over the place?
Did you feel the need to eatconstantly, or was it more
(07:30):
regular hungry for meals and noreal interest in snacks?
Rate from 0 to 10.
C is for cravings.
Were there any particular foodsyou craved during the day?
Pay special attention to foodsthat might have been carby or
sugary.
Again, rate this from 0 to 10.
E is for energy.
How was your daytime energy?
Was it steady or did it feellike a roller coaster, with dips
(07:52):
that needed some sort of apick-me-up like snacks or coffee
?
Did you want to take a napmid-afternoon?
Rate your overall daytimeenergy from 0 to 10.
And the last thing is S forstress.
How was your perceived level ofstress?
Were you on edge or were youable to comfortably roll with
the unpredictability of the day?
(08:14):
Do this every night.
Ideally, you want to see thesenumbers moving toward the high
end of the scale, toward 10.
To me, 10 is an elusive number.
It's not often that I'll writea 10, but it does happen.
Like most things, you probablywon't see a simple upward
trajectory.
Expect the numbers to bouncearound, but over time you're
looking for a trend toward thehigh end of the scale.
(08:36):
The more these numbers movetoward 10, the more you'll feel
in balance and see the resultsof positive body change.
This is a great tool.
While you're at home.
It can help you evaluate howyour normal routine is impacting
your body.
It's also a great tool fortravel.
It can help you to be moreaware of your off-routine
behaviors.
Can help you to be more awareof your off-routine behaviors.
(08:59):
Just that little bit of extraawareness has the power to help
you make choices that bettersupport your body, even when
traveling.
My overall message today is toenjoy traveling.
Don't be so strict and rigidwith your healthy process that
you miss out.
Be realistic and expect yourbody to shift.
If you're temporarily living alittle differently, remind
yourself nothing has gone wrong.
Then get back to your normalroutine, those healthy at-home
(09:22):
behaviors, because we aren'tdieting, you're not following
inflexible rules that can't bebroken.
We're learning how our bodyworks and using that information
to create healthy boundariesthat allow us to maintain body
balance while we enjoy life.
Get your notebook and take fiveminutes every night to trace
back your day.
(09:42):
Let me know how it goes.
I'll be back in the nextepisode.
Do you like the idea of eatingfor the body you want?
Is there a piece of you that'seager to learn how to become
leaner, stronger and healthierwithout having to overhaul your
entire life?
If this is you, then you're inluck, because this is what I do.
I can help you reconnect andwork with your body so that you
(10:06):
can enjoy the body, comfort andconfidence you deserve, eating
foods you love.
Click the free consult link inthe show notes.
Let's talk about where you are,what you want and how you can
get there.
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