The Mind Body Project
The Mind Body Project
Healthy Huddle: January Craving Reset
We walk through a realistic January craving reset after a month of parties, sugar, and schedule chaos. We sort biological, habit, and emotional cravings and share practical swaps that calm urges without dieting.
• causes of post‑holiday cravings from low protein, sugar spikes, dehydration, and poor sleep
• difference between biological, habit, and emotional cravings
• simple protein‑first mornings and fiber‑rich color for steady energy
• hydration tactics to reduce false hunger
• smart pairings of carbs with protein, fiber, and healthy fats
• sensory swaps for sweet, crunchy, and soft comforts
• the pause method and small environment tweaks
• a day 1–7 timeline for craving decline and confidence
• routines and structure as anchors for balance
Welcome to Healthy Huddle. Thank you for taking a little time to join us today. If this is your first time to Healthy Huddle, welcome to Healthy Huddles. What we do each week is we cover a different healthy um food topic to add a little balance to our life in the Healthy Huddle. As each week we join our live call that we um have each week for the Healthy Huddle. So again, welcome to Healthy Huddle and let's join the live call. We are gonna be talking about probably every something everybody needs, which after the holidays is a January craving reset. Um we're not doing a detox, we're not doing any special teas, we're not doing any kind of pills. Um we're gonna talk about how do we reset our January um with all the normal stuff. So that's kind of what we're gonna talk about. Um typically when we have the holidays, um, the last month definitely with Christmas and New Year's and all that, we have um our heat eat our heating, our eating. Um we definitely have more sugar. Um, even if we try to watch our sugar intake, we probably still have more than normal. Uh our routine is probably off a little bit, whether we're off work more, um exercises altered a little bit different. So our routine is probably not the same during those the like in December, um especially maybe the last couple weeks. Um we probably have a few more of those uh processed carbs um than we might normally do.
SPEAKER_01:Uh we probably a few more of everything.
SPEAKER_00:A few more of everything. It might be all the above. Um probably nobody's ever watched Brewster's Millions. Um it's an older show with Richard Pryor. Anyhow, he's running for, I think, mayor. Um and his and what he runs on is none of the above. Um, all the things, all the check marks he says, none of the above. Don't vote for any of those, and actually wins. But it's a funny show. But anyhow, it's all of the above. Um, you have more parties, you have more grazing, um, maybe you have more alcohol. Um, maybe, just maybe you do. Um, but all those things kind of create um the probably the issue that you have as January rolls around, is it's hard to maybe stop craving that sugar. It's maybe hard to get back into a routine. Um, I know it's the last couple days when people come to classes, it's a little harder to kind of get back in the swing of things because maybe the last couple weeks was a little easier because maybe work schedules a little less, schedules were a little different, but as everything gets back to normal, but gets a little bit more challenging. You know, why didn't we have much jumping the last couple days in classes? Because I'm sure maybe because the alcohol, the processed carbs, the all the things, um, it's not the most fun thing to come back. Why did we do a lot of why did we walk the last couple days? Kind of the same thing. Um, because just because our routines are altered. Um and I know that, and that's human nature. That's what we do. Um because life is all about what?
SPEAKER_01:Balance.
SPEAKER_00:Balance. That's right. Um, and balance looks a little different. Doesn't mean it all has to be equal, it just means maybe the last couple of weeks, the last month was unbalanced, and so now it's time to get balanced back in. Um sometimes when we go to get balance back in, we kind of have to ease back into it. So, you know, when we when we continue all those cravings that we that we were partaking of in December, and January rolls around, it's really just our body trying to get reused to all that stuff without. So we're gonna kind of talk about how do we kind of do that so you know in the next week or so we're we feel kind of back to normal, is is kind of the goal. So when we think about cravings for January, they don't really require restricting them. We just they just require a reset because we've just kind of been off for the last month, off body-wise, routine-wise, eating-wise, all that. Um, and we did talk about different ways, you know, to start out your day, to try to keep a routine. Um, and sometimes that works really well. Um, the first week you go, man, I'm doing good. And then the next week go, this is a little tougher. And then by the third week, um as you get into Christmas and New Year's, you're like, eh, you know, it really not going like that at all, just because everything's so different. So we're gonna talk about how do we um how do we reset that? So when we talk about our cravings, we're gonna kind of talk about um what it's craving. Um, so our biological cravings, in other words, what our body's craving, um those cravings are caused by because we're probably not having as much protein. Because you think about it around the holidays, unless you're having turkey or ham or steak, there's more of the processed carb stuff than you know. There's not a lot of meat around the uh check mix and the desserts. Um, you know, there might be a ham or turkey, but that's probably about it. There's not a lot. Um so then we then we have some blood sugar dips, um, spikes and dips, really both. Um, because we eat some of that stuff, we go high, and then we come down. Um maybe since the alcohol is a little bit higher, um, we have a little bit more dehydration. Again, because what happens when we're at a routine? We don't maybe we drink a plenty when we're in our routine, but we notice when we're out of that routine, then that hydration isn't the same, um, which makes a uh big difference. Maybe our sleeping patterns aren't the same. Uh, maybe we're getting up earlier, maybe we're sleeping a little bit later. Um, it takes a little bit to get back in that. Um and so, really, that craving that is what our body's telling us is kind of sending that SOS signal, like it needs stable fuel. So, if you kind of felt like that over the last week or two, how did you feel getting back into the swing of things this week?
SPEAKER_01:I was thankful for no jumping.
SPEAKER_00:For no jumping. Were were you kind of ready to get back to a normal routine of eating, exercise, all that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I was glad, I was glad to do my meal prep yesterday.
SPEAKER_00:Same. And isn't that funny? Because, you know, get close to the holidays, like, uh, I just got one day or two day. I'm like, I'm good with that. Um, but then you go through that and you're like, I can't wait to get back to that normalcy. And and that's a really good place to be because that that is where you feel normal, that is where you feel stable, which is a really good sign. Um, because I think sometimes we need those things to to realize where are we at in our progress? Are we is that kind of our normal state, or is it just um uh fluke? And I think when you say I'm ready to get back to that routine of my exercise at a certain time and certain day and and eating and meal prep, that's a good sign. Um because it's our body saying we need to get back to normal. Um, holidays are great, but it's also we can't wait till they get here, but a lot of times we can't, we're glad when they're gone. So it's it's a time for us to get back to normal. And then if we talk about habit cravings, I know I've experienced some of these. Their habit cravings are formed after the holidays because let's be honest, our holiday snacks and different routine really starts really probably Thanksgiving and probably stays kind of wacky all the way until the new year. So we really try to talk about those days or or a short period of time, but typically they turn in a little longer. So our habit cravings look like maybe dessert after dinner. They maybe look like grazing while we're cooking, and they maybe look like we have a few more snacks in the evening. Because why? Because maybe there's more snacks around. People give you things. They you brought things home, you made extra, you have extra. So there's a little bit more around. Maybe there's more things at work, maybe people are bringing stuff, maybe in the break room, maybe all around, everybody's giving you stuff, you're taking stuff. So those things are everywhere. Um, so isn't it crazy though, too? How it's really hard to get away from those. But how is how easy is it to fall into those?
SPEAKER_01:Easy.
SPEAKER_00:Easy. Yeah, it's like it's like it's just a big old magnet just sucks you in. And then it's really hard to get away from. And that's really what we think about sometimes that's just habits that we get into. When we think about the holidays, typically we have a meal, we have dessert. Whether it's right after, whether it's with an hour or two, we get used to that habit of having dessert. So those habit cravings really aren't physical, they're just pattern-based, they're just a pattern. And then we have emotional cravings. Emotional cravings are triggered maybe by stress, maybe anxiety, maybe we're overwhelmed with everything. Maybe that can be a lot. Maybe those emotional cravings are triggered by when we come off the holiday. There are post-holiday come down. Does anybody have after the holidays like I'm kind of sad?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Because the you're like the anticipation you get so excited about, and then it's like over. And then we're like, uh that's that.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, then it's like, well, that's that. And and then we too, we because Thanksgiving's not so bad because we think, oh, just in a couple months, we'll have Christmas. But when we get done with Christmas, we think, oh wow, we got like a long time before next holiday. Unless you're unless you're uh celebrating Martin Luther King. But chances are you're probably not the next holiday you're probably celebrating is what? Memorial Day? Easter. Oh, Easter, Easter, Valentine's. And those seem and those seem like just one-day holidays. There's so much different than Christmas and and Thanksgiving. So, but those are really emotional cravings if they're triggered by those those things. So we're not really craving food necessarily, we're just craving relief. We want less anxiety, we want less, we want to feel calm, not overwhelmed. So those are really cravings in that in that way. So if we talk about how do we how do we reset, how do we get reset? I wish I would say the reset was easy as going into the holidays and getting to all that fun of eating, but it's not really, it's kind of challenging. But we're gonna talk about that. So there's several different things we can do to calm the cravings without dieting, because a lot of times, what do we want to do after the holidays? Diet. Diet. We want to cut way back, but do we have to diet? No, no, um, that's what um, as we've talked about before, that's what uh decades of cultural diets would tell us is that we need to diet after a holiday. Um, but when when we think about balance, um the balance of that will take care of itself. So, how do we do that without going to extreme measures, extreme dieting? It it's we at again, because we were we've been probably short on protein the last several weeks, maybe month and a half. And so we start really focusing on having that early in the day. Maybe it's with breakfast, maybe it's a mid-morning snack if you're not a breakfast eater. So, you know, and that's is can be anything that maybe it's Greek yogurt, maybe it's eggs if you're a breakfast eater, uh, maybe it's turkey sausage if you again if you're a breakfast eater, maybe it's some type of protein smoothie if you like to wait till mid-morning.
SPEAKER_01:Um, so there's a lot of different then your digestive system has to adjust to that again.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, and that's a good point. Your digestive system is kind of all messed up because you've been eating all this crazy stuff that probably you're not used to, and so again, it kind of has to get all worked back out again. So it it will again kind of be wacky when you start back to eating more protein and doing some of the things, it kind of has to level out. So, and and again, that's not always fun, but it does take a little time to get balance back out. Then, of course, we go back to as we've talked about before, we start adding color back to our meals because those colors equal fiber, which equal fullness, which helps reset our gut. Um, we're looking at, you know, if we think about carrots, apples, uh, any kinds of greens, those kind of things, probably those things that we have foregone over the holiday season. Um, you know, so we start adding those back in. Um, again, probably you're doing some of this stuff already because it's part of your routine. You're getting you're anxious to get back into your routine. And if if hydration kind of lagged, then you start getting back into your hydration, you start drinking a little bit more, maybe you drinking water, those types of things, not drinking as an alcohol drinking more. Because, too, that might be a challenge. Maybe through the holidays, you were having one or two drinks every day, maybe you were at a party, a get together, and so that's a challenge. Then to reset that again, that's a habit craving. You were doing that because of the holidays, so you start rehydrating again, and then you start pairing carbs with your with your protein and fiber and healthy fats. Whereas, probably, you know, a whole meal might just be all your carbs because you were enjoying the holiday. It was maybe just a bowl of macaroni cheese, maybe it was just a bowl of dressing, maybe it was whatever it was, maybe it was a little bit of dressing, some mashed potatoes, some mac and cheese, some different stuff, and you go, Well, I didn't have any. You look around and there's no protein on your plate. So you start introducing those though, all those other things with your carb, your protein, your healthy fats, your fiber, all those things you start putting back in because probably, as you noticed, you have just those carbs, and they're not we're not talking about the clean carbs. You might have had some, but I would probably say majority of us, they weren't very clean. So those alone, we crash, and then what happens? We want more. I mean, if we're having that sugary snack every night, or at lunch, we crash, we want more. We need another hit during the afternoon, so we do a little bit more. We get home. I need a little bit of pick-me-up, so we do it again. So we start pairing those with our proteins, our fibers, and our healthy fats. So it might be grapes and nuts, healthy fats, um, toast and peanut butter. Um, uh, I think really a hearty um combination. If you talk about toast and peanut butter, is Ezekiel bread and peanut butter, even natural peanut butter, uh, even almond butter. But Ezekiel bread, if you haven't ever had it, it's a very hearty bread. It's not like you're you're gonna fix your big old good sandwich with it. But I think for toast, it's really good. It's a sprouted bread, so it's really good. And then, like we've talked about before, is the pause. Which, how many of us paused during the holiday meals?
SPEAKER_01:I did not.
SPEAKER_00:It was probably a lot more challenging to have the pause because it was all so good, and what does our mind tell us? I'm not getting this again until next year. So I'm gonna go ahead and eat what I can, which I think honestly is pretty normal. So before we start eating or craving food, whether it's a habit, whether it's a biological or our body, we ask ourselves is this is this gonna be physical? Is this a physical craving, food craving? Is this a habit food craving, or is it emotional? And so when you ask one of those, that's gonna take a little time to kind of sort through. And again, is that the first thing you're gonna think of when you have a a craving? Are you gonna ask yourself those three questions? Yeah, in reality, no, you're not gonna go, is it let me see, is this physical, is this emotional, or is this habit? But the more we just it crosses our mind, the closer we're gonna get to actually thinking about it, and so if it's emotional, we might choose a different comfort alternative. So if it's emotional, look you typically we're seeking something to make us feel better. Maybe it's calmness, maybe it's not stresses out as much. So we're looking for something else. So, what else could you do? If it's habit, I mean it's just breaking the pattern. And so sometimes habit is just not doing it. Sometimes when we break the pattern, what does it sometimes just require? More than motivation, discipline. It just requires, you know, bite the stick and gut and get through it because it will pass. If it's physical, then maybe you're looking for that protein first and then fiber or healthy fats, and then go from there. So then when we talk about, you know, what if we replace some of those holiday sweets that we have been craving? And we can do that too. But typically they hit three different categories they hit sweet. Think about a lot of the things you had over the holidays, sweet, crunchy. Or soft comfort. Kim and I might have experienced some soft comfort.
SPEAKER_01:We had all of those.
SPEAKER_00:We did have all of those. We we we maybe had some soft comfort on the cool side of Sonic. We just might have. You hit all three sensory categories. And so how do we replace those with some healthier options? They might be if it's sweet, dark chocolate. Dark chocolate squares, not the whole dark chocolate bag. That's important. Maybe it's some yogurt with fruit in it. That that helps with the sweetness. Maybe it's cottage cheese, because again, that's still sweet. Maybe put a little honey over it if you like that. But it it it's it's sweet because that's kind of what you're looking for. So it's trading out those not so good for you for some better options. Maybe crunchy. If it's that crunchy, maybe it's the popcorn. You can get popcorn and and and crunch on a bag of that. Maybe it's apple slices, crunchy, nuts, crunchy. If you like rice cakes, kind of bland, but put some peanut butter on it, crunchy. Then if you have soft comfort swaps, soft is maybe it's just a a healthy protein muffin of sorts. Maybe it's you know, maybe you were having something not so healthy for breakfast, or maybe you swap it out with some oatmeal, something that is just soft, but it also is enjoyable. So you're not really eliminating those press pleasures, you're still hitting those three different sensories, but you're just changing the foods that you take in. Again, we're talking about balance. So it may just take a little time to recalibrate. So if we look at how long it's how long is it gonna take, cravings will naturally decline, but again, it's like everything else, it's not easy. What happens when you miss a week of the gym? If you ever do, it's kind of like, oh, it's kind of hard to get back in. You want to, and you really enjoy it, but it's just hard to kind of get back in the swing of things. So, really, day one through three, that's kind of a hard reset. If we're talking about how long does it take to for that craving to decline, your body starts to recalibrate, your blood sugar starts to steady out, your habit cues are still strong because you still want to go get that sweet after the dinner, or your habit of snacking while you're cooking, those are still really strong. So these are going to require some discipline, and they're gonna require, no, you don't need that, don't do that. And it's very because when you want something, is it very hard to have discipline because you think you have to have it right now? It's very, very challenging. Then we go, you know, that could take anywhere from one to three days. Then we have day four through seven, gets a little bit easier. Your taste bud starts to change, your hunger signals because you started to reintroduce your what your normal foods, and so those hunger signals start to stabilize a little bit. Then your emotional eating starts to decrease. You've kind of gotten away from the uh all the feeling anxiety and overwhelm from the holidays being over. You've kind of gotten away from that, so it starts to decrease. So day four through seven is a little bit easier. Now, the interesting thing, after you get past a week, seven days, cravings will actually drop 50 to 80 percent. And we think I just can't get through this day or this week when when I started Weight Watchers, and I mentioned this numerous times, but the first week, at the end of the week, I remember calling Kim and telling her, Don't think I'm gonna live, I think I'm gonna starve to death. And it really wasn't true, but it was very hard because I was going through all those things. I was having to reset. I mean, and not we're not talking just from a couple weeks, we're talking from years. So it was challenging. But the interesting thing is after that first week, it did get easier. I was like, okay, I think I can do this. This it doesn't mean it was easy easy, but it was easier. So those do drop 50 to 80 percent after the first week. So it's that first week that really is the toughest. So we have to just look at how how is that? Is that a physical? Is it a habit, or is it emotional? And so if we just think about those, again, they're not gonna be the first thought, but just think about where does this fall? And when you do go, okay, can I just make it through today? Knowing that the next day will be a little bit better, the next day will be a little bit better. And you think about if you do it today, by next Wednesday, it'll be a lot easier. And probably most of you probably started back to a normal, semi-normal routine yesterday. So if you think about that by Monday, you're kind of back to some normalcy. So that's kind of the challenge, is just can you think when you have those cravings? Where do they fall? Are they physical, are they emotional, or are they having? Um, and just know that in seven days it's gonna get a whole lot easier in every day thereafter. Um, any thoughts, comments, or questions?
SPEAKER_01:I do think that at some point during the Christmas break, you start saying, I just can't wait to get back on a normal catch tomorrow. So you are kind of grateful for that for that long the things come back. And the structure.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, because at one point you go, well, I'm just gonna keep eating like this because it's only a few more days till the new year, and then I'll start. When you're really kind of ready to start, but you may not have the food there, you may not have all the extra, you know, it's just a whole lot of different things. Yeah, so when that when that day after New Year's or or a couple days after New Year's, like I'm ready to go. Yes, and it does make you thankful to to start fresh again. Any other thoughts or comments? All right, thank you. And if you do have any comments or thoughts or questions, just let me know. Thank y'all. Thank you, thank you, and thank you to each of you for joining us on our healthy huddle and look forward to seeing you right here next time on Healthy Huddle.