5 End Of Year Embrace Your Real Reminders
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The holiday season can be a hard time to embrace our real. It can be hard to move our body, nourish our body, and love our body. It can be hard to reflect on where we’re at now compared to where we wish we were. It can be hard to navigate the time spent with family. It can also be hard to stay on track and feel good in our bodies.
That’s why I put together this episode of Embrace Your Real – to share a few reminders with you that I think many of you need to hear this time of year.
What I discussed:
Don’t let anyone food shame you.
Don’t food shame yourself.
Count your macros 80% of the time during the holidays.
Continue to honor your body with movement.
Don’t punish yourself for getting off track.
BONUS REMINDER #6: Just because you didn’t accomplish what you wanted to this year doesn’t mean you failed.
Link mentioned in this episode:
Episode 189: 5 Steps to Reseting after Over-Indulging
If you want more from me, be sure to check out:
Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie
Transcript:
They're beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter. A podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I issue a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it right. Go.
Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace, her podcast. I know that the holiday season can be a difficult time in many different areas of our life. It can be hard when it comes to moving our body consistently or nourishing our body or loving our body. It's also difficult when you get to the end of the year. It's just inevitable that you're going to kind of reflect on where you've been over that year. And I think that it can lead to feelings of man. I thought that I would be X, Y and Z by now, or I thought I would have this by now. And so we kind of are reflecting on that and can get very disappointed with kind of where our where we're at, where our progress has been, and also where navigating kind of spending time with family that maybe we're not used to spending a lot of time with. We see this family maybe once a year around the holidays and it can just overall be hard to kind of stay on track and feel good in your body. And so that's why in this episode, I wanted to kind of put together just a few reminders that I think you might need to hear this time of year. So picture you and I, we are at coffee.
I am just kind of giving you some real talk. But before I dove in, I wanted to share this review. It comes from Barb Muir. She gave a five star review and said, My new favorite. Listen, I found this podcast when I set out to increase my steps and I just needed a new lesson. Julie is a breath of fresh air and it feels like you're sitting on the porch having a good discussion with a friend. Thank you for all the wisdom and knowledge. I love this so much for many different reasons. 2022 was the year that I decided to increase my steps as well. And so for me, I work and I walk at least 1 to 1 and a half, sometimes even 2 hours a day, which is just crazy how much you can do while walking. And obviously I have a treadmill inside, but I've also taken you know, I've done work calls and stuff outside of taking that kind of habit outside when it's nice. And I can tell you it has been such a game changer for me and so I'm so grateful that this podcast is helping you on your journey in just overall increasing your steps. So many good things you are fueling your mind, you are honoring your body with movement, and those are all great things. So thank you in advance for leaving a reading interview.
If you haven't already, you can scooch over to Apple Podcasts and type in Embrace or real. It takes less than 30 seconds, but it really does help us out. And I appreciate you more than you know. That is just my one ask of you is if you've gotten anything from this podcast, if you could just let me and our team know, it really does mean a lot.
Okay, so let's dive into the five end of the year reminders that I think you might need to hear. Number one, don't let anyone food, shame you. So what is it about the holidays that makes all the Karens come out? I don't know. I feel like it also could just be that we're around friends and family, that maybe we're not used to being around and people just feel the need to share these things. But how do we really navigate like the unsolicited food comments? And I think a lot of times when people make the comment, whether it's about your body or the food you're eating, it's actually just really a reflection of them and their own insecurities when it comes to their body and their food choices or what they wish they could do or where they wish they could be. And what they're actually saying really has nothing to do with you. And I need you to remember that. And I know that that's hard in the moment to remember that what they're saying to you, that's hurtful. It actually, even though they're saying it to you, it really has nothing to do with you. It just has to do with other people's beliefs around their body and their food. And I know that it can be hard and we can often carry that burden, but we don't need to carry that burden for them. You know, they said this unsolicited food comment or body comment. And so when someone makes a comment and you feel bothered by that, I really want you to ask yourself, like, am I taking on what isn't mine? Because at the end of the day, what they're saying truly again is not about you, it's about them. And most of the time when we do get that unsolicited advice, we do carry that burden when it's not our burden to carry. And so when someone makes a comment, whether it's about your body, about, you know, how you look or how much food you're eating or what you're not eating or any of those things, there's a couple different options that you could do. Number one, say a prayer for them. Be thankful that you have a really healthy relationship with your body and your food and that, you know, maybe this is the year that you've really been prioritizing, fueling your body and not going all out crazy at these holiday events. And maybe that other person that said that unsolicited advice, they are envious of that. And so as a result, they've made a comment about that. Or maybe you're looking strong and you are spending so much time honoring your body with movement and you're proud of all the progress that you're making. And yet someone in your family or friend says this unsolicited comment like, Man, you've gotten really skinny. You know, all of these things like, I just want you to take a step back. And sometimes that just means, you know, saying a prayer for them, biting your tongue and just kind of going inward and saying, Man, I'm thankful that I've really prioritized having a healthy relationship with my body and food and wish that upon them as well as you are biting your tongue.
Option number two is that you can let them know that that is not okay to make these comments. Don't let them get away with it. Or else it will continue. And you don't have to be mean about it. You can simply say something like, Hey, I really don't appreciate it when you make comments like this. Can you keep that to yourself next time? If they get mad, it's likely because they're embarrassed and they know that you're right and they shouldn't have said something in the first place.
Or option three Walk away. If you don't want to address the situation, you don't have to. If they're going to make comments like this to you, you don't deserve that type of energy or common or unsolicited advice to ruin your day. And again, you can, you know, walk away nicely. You can. And likely they'll come to you and say, hey, are you okay? And in that point, that's when you can say, you know, I really don't appreciate that you made this comment about me. I am working really hard towards X, Y and Z. And I would just appreciate that you, you know, accept that or at the very least, you just appreciate the fact that I'm doing what I feel I need to do in this season of my life and not say what you said. You know, and I know that confrontation is hard. I hate confrontation. But I can tell you the times that I've really been courageous and trusted God with kind of my response, and sometimes that response takes a little bit for me to like process in. Walking away sometimes is the best solution for me, even though it can be awkward because, you know, taming our town is something that God talks about oftentimes throughout, you know, the Bible. And that's a hard thing for many of us, at least for me. It's really hard for me to tame my tongue. But sometimes walking away and letting letting myself process it and pray through it first is really important. But when I do say something, I know it can feel awkward. I know that it can feel uncomfortable. But more times than not, I walk away from the overall situation feeling so grateful that I did stand up for myself, or I was courageous in what I spoke about. And oftentimes that situation doesn't have to occur again because of that. Number two, don't food. Shame yourself, right? Enjoying yourself to the fullest with your friends and family is never something that you should regret. Like sometimes the memories that we create are way more important than the markers that we count. Let me say that again. Sometimes the memories that we create are way more important than the markers that we count, and the food we eat is a part of the memories that we're creating. It contributes to the experience, and without it, we wouldn't be able to experience the moment to the fullest. So I don't want you to regret it. If you enjoyed your holiday, if you enjoyed the food, don't regret it. You can always go back to honoring and nourishing your body. But trust me, you can never get that specific memory back. Plus, if you feel like you overindulge too much, it already happened. It's done. You can't go back and change it. Food shaming yourself isn't going to change anything in the future, right? Like you can't change the fact that you ate three pieces of pie instead of one. You can't undo all the wine that you drank. So why would you waste your time doing that? There's no point in continuing to beat yourself up about it. If there's nothing that you can do to change the past, then just start moving forward. Don't make yourself feel more guilty, don't have more regret. Don't continue down this toxic thought pattern. What is done is done. Move on and I want you to use that energy that you would be otherwise, you know, beating yourself up to honor inertia, your body, like I always say, you know, if you got off track, if you had all these great intentions and then you got off track with something, use that energy that you would already be using to beat yourself up, to just move on to the next meal, move on to your next workout, like honor and nourish your body. And I trust me when I say you will feel so much better. Like even after one workout, after, you know, maybe days of not working out whether you are sick or you overindulge to the point of, you know, just no return and you're just feeling like super sluggish one day of really honoring your body with making smart and wise nutrition choices, you know, foods that bless your body, foods that make you feel good, drinking your water, moving your body, that makes such a difference. So don't underestimate that. Number three, count your macros 80% of the time during the holidays. Hear me out when I talk about this. This is going to work for some people. For other people, it's not going to work and that's totally fine. I think that the most important thing to note here when it comes to nutrition is just being self-aware enough to know what you need in this season of life, right? What you need in these next four weeks as we enter into like the busiest holiday part of the year. And I'm not telling you to obsess over your macros during the holidays. In fact, I've done that. I've been there, done that. And I can tell you it is not fun. I feel like I threw away so many memories that I could have made. I was so stressed. I was, oh, man. I just look back at some of those holiday seasons where I really was obsessed with macros and it just was not healthy for me. I've also been on the other end of the spectrum where I said, Screw everything, I'm just going to pick it up in January. And that was not great either. I didn't have energy, I didn't feel my best. I wasn't showing up as my best self to all of my friends and family, to all of the different potential memories that I could make in the month. And so I personally have found kind of a. Balance. And I just kind of want to share with you what I do. Again, take it or leave it. But for me personally, I really try to prioritize my overall protein every single day, and I try to prioritize my overall caloric intake. So sometimes, you know, I'm going to go over on my carbs, go under my fat, sometimes I'm going to go over my fat under my carbs. But about 80% of the time, say 70 to 80% of the time in December, because the fact of the matter is, you know, you might have three or four holiday parties. Okay. Well, three days out of 31 days is not that many. And so there is so much opportunity for you to really be mindful and stay on track in terms of fueling your body optimally throughout the holidays and then on the days that you do have parties or whatnot, it's okay. Like, you know, I personally when I go into an event or something that I know is just going to be super fun and I don't even want to think about macros, I don't. But it's because I'm staying in a consistent rhythm that that one day doesn't trigger me to go completely overboard because I've been properly fueling my body for, you know, 80 to 90% of that week. And so, again, take it or leave it, but I personally for sure prioritize my protein every single day in the month of December. And I, you know, try to stay within my overall caloric intake about 70 to 80% of the time in December. And I know, you know, for some people, you're like, whoa, that's crazy. That's really strict. For other people, you're like, I totally am. I'm bored with you again. Take it or leave it. If you do want to learn how to properly feel your body. I do have a free e-book. I will link it in the show notes below, but this will for sure give you at least how much protein you should be in taking because protein, remember, is one of the most satiating of the three macronutrients. So when you're eating enough protein, you won't feel the need to overindulge as much simply because your body is getting what it needs in terms of protein. And then when you're overall feeling your body, how much you need in terms of a caloric intake on a daily basis based on where you're at, what your activity level is, then you're you're less likely to complete, you know, go down these passively completely overindulging. But again, take it or leave it. I believe macro counting for some people is something that, you know, is a lifestyle that they follow consistently throughout the year, whether it's the holidays or not. Other times, macro accounting can be a tool that people pull out for one or two months out of the year or a few times a year to really check in with themselves. It's really what you make it and it's what you think you need in that season.
Number four, continue to honor your body with movement. Now, this is so important and this is my like number one, non-negotiable is moving my body and so okay so I just talked about let me backtrack. I just posted on my Instagram yesterday, December 1st at the time of recording this, it's yesterday was December 1st. I did the make December count challenge. I announced it, I talked about it. And it's basically just, you know, it's not a pay challenge. It's not like this huge challenge that I put on normally, like my honor, your body challenges. But I do think that having some sort of challenge or being intentional throughout December is important. And I talked about how I want to make December count by prioritizing three things. And for me, that was moving my body for 30 minutes every single day in the month of December. Number two was prioritizing protein every day, and number three was getting at least 100 ounces of water every single day in the month of December. And I put number one as movement first because that is so important to me. Like, I just find that everything else kind of follows suit when I prioritize movement. Like when I prioritize movement, I'm going to make sure that I'm going to be eating enough protein because I want to make sure that I'm preserving my muscle mass as well as just overall feeling my body. And then when I'm moving my body consistently, I'm thirsty. I want to be hydrating. I want to feel good in, you know, my body and I know water is going to do that. And so I believe that the number one way to feel amazing in your body through the holiday season is to continue to honor your body with movement and doing that first thing in the morning. For me personally, that just helps me so much, especially as it gets darker earlier. Like, you know, I'm recording this. If you're watching this right now on a video, it's 451 and it is almost completely dark outside, which is crazy and it makes it really hard to work out at night. And so for me, I personally wake up, I walk our boys outside. If it's nice out, if it's like totally freezing and windy, we we typically put it off until the nighttime and then I go straight into my journaling and Bible and then I go straight downstairs to get my move in and before I do anything else. And that is just the best way for me to really feel my best. And also, I find that I make better decisions throughout my day when I've prioritized movement in the morning for some people that it might be completely flip for you, like you've tried it in the morning, it just doesn't work for you or it doesn't work for your schedule. Totally fine. Regardless, I want you to commit to 30 minutes of movement every single day in the month of December. So, you know, five times a week doing a workout for me. I said I noted this on my Instagram. I said 30 minutes of movement every day. I did not say 30 minutes of a workout every single day for me. I'm going to continue with my five times a week movement with Julie workouts, my gym only workouts, and then I am doing a either walk or hike or something on Saturday and Sunday for at least 30 minutes. Sometimes that is stretching, doing yoga and pilates. I have been loving, loving, loving and kind of incorporating some Pilates moves into my recovery days. Those are the days that are my non movement with Julie workout days and I absolutely love it. So again, find what is exciting to you. Find what you can stick with. But 30 minutes of movement daily in the month of December. If you're needing workouts, girl, I've got you. My workouts have never been more convenient, especially in the holiday season when it's busy, when it gets darker, when you get your schedules crammed and you only have like a certain amount of time to fit in a workout, I've got the plan for you. Five burning workouts every single week. I give you two options. I give you the kind of the standard option which takes anywhere from 55, 45 to 55 minutes to complete. And then I give you a 30 minute variation which could even be like a 15 minute workout. If you do one or two giant rounds, the 30 minute variation is a giant circuit, and it's typically anywhere from 5 to 7 moves back to back to back to back. And then you rest for 2 minutes and then you repeat that three times. But if you're short on time, I tell people, get one or two rounds in, you know, it's a 15, 17 minute workout and you will feel great. Also, if you are an active subscriber in the app, you also get access to the Move Your Body Anywhere program, which is my resistance band and bodyweight only program. So this program is great if you're traveling, you know, it's four weeks worth of workouts, which likely you won't even need that, but it gives you four weeks of workouts, resistance bands and body weight is all that you need. I will link my resistance bands in the show notes below as well. They're on Amazon. They're I think they might even be on sale right now, at least for Black Friday. They were like 17 bucks, but normally they're like 23 bucks. They're amazing. I absolutely love them and they're so convenient. So I will link both of those things in the show. Notes of both my movement with Julie Apps. You can learn more at Salle that's Sally Dot Movement with Julie dot com and then I will also link the resistance bands from Amazon as well so that you can grab those if you are traveling.
And number five, do not punish yourself for getting off track. I know that this time of year that we are very tempted to overindulge, to get off track. And so it's important that you don't beat yourself up about it. Right? Like don't live in the past, don't keep beating yourself up about it. You can't unsee all the food that you ate. You can't, you know, undo the time that you've spent dwelling about it. And so I just want to encourage you to not enter or reenter this toxic cycle. I think that when you you know, I know for me, like when I used to overindulge, like I would want to eat less the next day or the entire next week. And it's just that is such a toxic cycle that will not lead you down a path of sustainability. It will only lead you down this path of wanting to beat yourself up and just having a negative relationship with food. And so I don't want you to do this. I you know, I've seen it, I've been through it. I've been through those cycles of deprivation and, you know, and overindulging. And it's just not healthy. You you oftentimes when you are in that, you reach the point of complete crazy hunger that you can't fight it any longer, and then you just eat everything in sight or you're just not fun to be around because you're beating yourself up and you know, the people around you don't really they don't hear your thoughts in your head. And so all they're getting is like this horrible version of yourself when you're, like, lashing out at people because you're just mad at yourself. You've got to learn to forgive yourself. You've got to learn to ask yourself, like, honestly, how can I do better in the future? Like, what is my plan of action when I encounter X, Y and Z? And this, this can even be like, you know, come to Jesus moment for like ten, 15 minutes where you have your journal, you really have honest thoughts, whether it's out loud with yourself or just on paper, and just come up with a plan of action so that you can get through that and not keep falling into that toxic cycle. I actually chat all about this in episode 189 Five Steps to Resetting After Overindulging, so I will link to it in the show notes below if you need to listen to that. But it's a really good episode that I feel like you will find super helpful. And then lastly, bonus reminder number six just because you didn't accomplish what you wanted to accomplish this year doesn't mean that you failed. Like let me repeat that you are not a failure. This doesn't mean that you failed. This might just mean that it wasn't the right time. And for you to accomplish X, Y and Z, right? Maybe you had other things that were priorities more and that's okay. You know, maybe other things came up that you didn't anticipate and they were more important or they needed more time. And maybe it's just a sign that what you initially wanted, maybe that's not the direction that your life needs to go right now. And so I want you to make peace with that. And there are so many opportunities ahead. I want you to go into 2023 believing that your best years are ahead of you. And I think we can after time, get in, get into this lie where we didn't achieve X, Y and Z. And so we're saying like, man, well, maybe that just means I'm going down this path and like, maybe my best years were behind me. No, I want you to anticipate 2023 as being the best year and knowing and believing and faithfully stepping into kind of the unknown. It's like I am trusting in believing that my best years are ahead of me and so don't get upset or don't dwell on all of the things that you didn't accomplish. Instead, I want you to spend your time and energy on all of the things that you did accomplish and more importantly, the growth that you had. I know for me, like, there are certain things that I thought I would achieve in 2022 and my life when a completely different direction and I could sit there and dwell on all the things that I didn't accomplish and like, man, I didn't do this, I didn't do this, I didn't do this. But I think that my time in your time is much better spent and energy, quite frankly, is spent saying, you know, I didn't do this, but I did actually learn this, or I feel like I developed more of this in my character and really celebrate those things because those those character growths, those are important and those are really vital things, I believe, for you to go into 2023, having learned certain things and also recognizing like, dang, you know, I did develop more patience, I did develop more perseverance or I did develop more wisdom or, you know, slowing down and not trying to complete, you know, do all of these things at once. Like I really prioritize time with friends and family and those are things that are important, and I don't want you to discard those. So I hope that that encourages you.
There you have it. Those are the five end of the year reminders with a bonus one for your holiday season. Let me quickly recap those. Number one, don't let anyone food. Shame you. Number two, don't food. Shame yourself. Number three, self-awareness is key here, counting your macros about 80% of the time during the holidays. If that's something that you feel like will help you feel your best, feel your most energized. But if not, finding what will work for you. Number four, continuing to honor your body with movement daily, 30 minutes every single day, not a workout, but at least moving your body for 30 minutes every single day. And number five, don't punish yourself for getting off track. And last but not least, bonus reminder. Number six, just because you didn't accomplish what you wanted to accomplish this year doesn't mean that you failed again. The episode that I mentioned in this episode is episode 189 Five Steps for Resetting After Overindulging. I will link that in the show notes that you can easily go listen. I also talked about my free e-book. If you are wanting to learn how to properly feel your body, at least at the very bare minimum, get the amount of protein in that you need and that is can be found at WW W dot julie ala or dot com forward slash free dash e-book e-book. I will link that in the show notes below as well as the sale as sales.movementwithjulie.com for five brand new workouts every single week in my movement with Julie app. And then last but not least, I will also link my resistance bands that I really encourage you to get. They are so convenient and they're so good, especially if you're traveling this holiday season. So that is all that I have for today's episode. Again, I hope that you found this helpful. I am here for you. I would love to hear any aha moments or how this episode kind of sparked something in you, so be sure to screenshot this and post it up on your story. You can tag me, embrace a real Julie Ledbetter or Julie. I got three Instagram accounts tag, whichever one you want. I love connecting with you and I will talk to you in the next one. Love you.
All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so, @juliealedbetter. Yes. It's with an a in the middle for that daily post workout, real time, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember, that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.