Episode 109: Holiday Fatigue- How to Boost Your Energy and Stay Healthy During the Busy Season

In this episode of Fit Fueled and Busy, host Janine discusses effective strategies to keep your energy up during the holiday season. She addresses common stresses like juggling schedules, holiday events, and shopping, and offers five non-negotiable tips: move daily, eat to fuel energy, protect sleep, be selective with commitments, and practice stress regulation. Janine also warns against skipping meals, stopping workouts, and over-relying on caffeine. Stay tuned for a special program announcement on Black Friday designed to help maintain consistency and energy.

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview

00:34 Holiday Season Challenges

01:27 Understanding Holiday Stress

03:01 Holiday Self-Check

04:20 Five Non-Negotiables for Holiday Energy

09:43 Avoiding Common Pitfalls

11:24 Conclusion and Upcoming Announcements

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Transcript

0:23

Welcome back to Fit Fueled and Busy. I'm your host, Janine, and if you're new here, a quick reminder of our podcast cadence. We drop brand new episodes every Wednesday. The first Wednesday of the month is all about nutrition. The second focus is on fitness. The third is all about mindset, habit shifts, and the fourth Wednesday is our unfiltered episode where we talk about anything from lifestyle. Goal setting client spotlights. It's really just an episode where we can bring all kinds of topics to the table. So today's episode is one that hits close to home because it's officially the holiday season. And honestly, I can't believe we're already here. I do love this time of year, but it's also when so many of us feel pulled in a thousand different directions. I know, I sure do. I find myself managing. Kids' schedules, kids' holiday events, dealing with days off of school planning, holiday travel. Then there's juggling end of year work deadlines, trying to keep up with family expectations. Then I have to. Focus on shopping for gifts and attending all the holiday parties on top of everything else. That is just the normal day today in life. So today we're diving into simple, realistic ways to keep your energy up even when life feels absolutely insane this time of year. So let's start with the why. As I was listing everything that we juggle, I could literally feel my shoulders start to tense because let's be honest, it is a lot. All of that juggling increases our stress, which sends cortisol levels. Through the roof, and that's when fatigue sets in very fast. All the traveling for the holidays, long airport days or hours in the car, it really can just drain your energy. We often are staying up later than normal at holiday gatherings, which is disrupting our sleep. Let's be honest, our nutrition usually gets thrown off with parties, treats, and gifts from neighbors and. I don't know about you, but the shorter daylight hours this time of year directly affect my mood and my energy levels. And then the one that is the biggest of all for me is decision fatigue. It is one of my biggest energy drains, finding that perfect gift for each person. Also navigating all of the schedules and different family dynamics. It's just a lot. And it does wear me out thinking about all of this and trying to figure out how I'm gonna get it all done within the allotted time that I have to do my holiday shopping and things like that. And honestly, as a high achiever myself, we often tell ourselves to just power through, but that approach almost always backfires. At some point, we're going to hit a wall. So let's do a quick holiday self check, if you will, and the holidays are really just getting started. So you may have to come back to this in a week or two, but are you skipping meals and crashing at 2:00 PM. If so, I would recommend you go back and you listen to episode 1 0 6 on meal prepping because there's no reason to be skipping meals, and it certainly is not going to help your energy. Maybe you're finding that you're overcommitting to events. Let's be honest. It is absolutely okay and healthy to say no. Are you letting your workout slide because you quote unquote, don't have time. Maybe you're drinking more alcohol at social events than usual, and are you going into the season with no plan for your wellbeing? Take an honest look at your patterns in past years. What usually leads you to burnout? Take some time to do some self-reflection, acknowledge it, and then let's focus on shifting the pattern for this year. So if you're wondering, okay, yes, I'm drained every holiday season, so what do I do differently? Here's maybe five non-negotiables that can change everything potentially for you. Maybe you don't. Take all five of these, but maybe you take two or three of them. So let's run through them real quick. Number one, move daily. Even if it's just for 10 or 15 minutes, carve out a small pocket of time just for you. Do a quick hit workout, maybe get a walk in after a meal, maybe do some stretching before bed. Something is always better than nothing, and just because it's the holiday season doesn't mean you have to give up your personal time that is for you. It can significantly help reduce your stress and movement always can bring you more energy. Number two, eat to fuel your energy not to be perfect. The holiday season really is not the time to chase perfection with your nutrition. For most people, some people can do it. Hats off to you, but most of us, I would say, let's focus on fueling our bodies to. Do the things that we need it to and not focus so much on perfect nutrition execution. So with that, what I would say is I would focus on protein at every meal, and honestly, protein at your snacks as well. Focus on hydration. Aim for at least two water bottles to be gone by noon, and then get two more in before bed. Eating healthy protein-based snacks before you go to the holiday party, so that way you are not starving when you get there. And then you eat the appetizer and the main course and the dessert. Be smart about it. Don't go into the party starving. Or if you're going to a big meal, maybe you're going to a big Thanksgiving meal tomorrow. Don't starve yourself all day until you get to that meal so you can eat all your calories at that time. I think it's still wise to eat a protein-based snack before you go or to even eat your normal meals. Maybe you eat your normal breakfast and maybe a slightly modified lunch if you're having Thanksgiving at say three o'clock. You still wanna have an appetite, right? But you don't have to go into that meal starving. I would also recommend avoiding the sugary alcoholic drinks. I know that they can be fun. Maybe you allow yourself to have just one, but don't drink one after the other. Focus on drinks that are maybe in a can, right? You know, that you can focus on the calories that are in there. I'm not saying. Avoid alcohol altogether, but just be mindful of the type of drinks that you're drinking during the holiday season. And the one that is so easy that we can all do is just ensure that we're building a balanced plate, a plate full of protein, carbs, and fats. Non-negotiable. Number three, protect your sleep window. Give yourself time to wind down, put your phone away. Maybe you are reading a book and I mean a physical book, not a book on a screen, or you're taking some time to journal. That could be a great thing this holiday season. Something different to write down the interactions that you had or the memories that you made throughout the holiday season. Or maybe you even just spend some time meditating it. About those holiday season, the holiday season, and, and all of the memories that you're creating with your friends and family throughout this season. Just do something to slow your brain down before you actually fall asleep. Turn your screens off as much as possible. Non-negotiable. Number four is maybe my favorite. Be selective about your yes. As overachievers, we feel pressured to commit to everything this year. Protect your time and your energy. You can do this really easily. You can use a phrase like, I'm keeping a slower holiday season this year, so I'll have to pass. But thank you so much for thinking of me. A phrase like this is simple. It's respectful not only to the person who invited you to something, but it's respectful to yourself and you've created a boundary and you're sticking to it. And you're communicating that in a very respectful way, it is okay and healthy to say no and to make sure that you are preserving time for yourself or maybe some quiet time for yourself and for your family together during this holiday season and non-negotiable. Number five, you may consider practicing some stress regulation. That could look like implementing small intentional breaks throughout your day. And I don't mean picking up your phone and scrolling on Facebook or Instagram, that's not an intentional break. I mean, real resets. So something like going for a short walk or. A one minute breathing exercise, if that's what you're into. Maybe you do a quick workout that could be setting a timer for five minutes and saying, I'm gonna do 10 pushups, 10 air squats, and 10 setups, and I'm gonna go through that as many rounds as possible in five minutes. Just choose to step away from the chaos on purpose. That's all you have to do. And keep in mind, here's a few things that we just wanna make sure that we avoid because they are certainly not going to help us keep our energy up throughout this holiday season. Number one. Avoid skipping meals. That is just a recipe for a big energy crash. Number two, avoid stopping your workouts entirely. I know this time of year is busy, but I promise you you're gonna have a much harder time getting back into the swing of things in January than if you were to just continue doing your workouts throughout the holiday season. But maybe you shorten them, maybe you do. Your normal workout looks like five exercises of four sets of each exercise. Maybe you reduce those sets down to three. That's okay. You're still getting a workout in, you're still being intentional and you're taking care of yourself. You also wanna avoid relying on caffeine to push through the day. So set a limit for yourself and be mindful of that. And like I just said, avoid saying I'll just get back on track in January. Here's the reality. The people who see long-term success stay consistent, especially during busy seasons. Even if it's with a scaled back routine, but they still stay consistent and they still execute their self-care habits, they still execute their nutrition, they still execute their workouts, they take care of themselves and they invest. In their goals that they're working towards. So this holiday season, remember, you don't need perfection. You need stable energy and a simple plan. If you choose small actions that support your health, even in the chaos, your January self, we'll be so thankful before we wrap up. I encourage you to keep a close eye on our couture fitness coaching social media pages on Facebook and Instagram. We're going to be announcing a brand new program on Black Friday, designed to help you stay consistent and energized, and it's something that can really help you throughout this holiday season. So keep an eye out as we're excited to launch this for you. Thank you for tuning in to Fit, fueled and Busy. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and we'll see you next Wednesday.