Pre-Holiday Pep Talk: How to Stay Consistent and Confident Through the Holidays

 

The holidays are around the corner, and let’s be honest, this season can feel like a minefield when it comes to food, fitness, and consistency. One minute you’re excited for family and traditions, the next you’re stressing that all your progress is about to be undone by travel, late nights, and holiday cookies.

But here’s the truth: you don’t need to toss in the towel or “start fresh” in January. You can enjoy the season and stay consistent, if you set yourself up with the right mindset and a simple plan.

In this episode, I’m giving you a practical pep talk you can come back to anytime you feel that all-or-nothing thinking creeping in.

Here’s what we’re diving into:

  • How to mentally prep before the chaos begins

  • The 3 non-negotiables that keep you steady no matter what

  • What to do the day after you fall off track (hint: it’s not punishment)

  • Why flexibility beats restriction when it comes to holiday food

  • How to anchor yourself in your “why” so you finish the season proud, not guilty

If you want to walk into January feeling strong, confident, and already consistent, this episode will give you the tools to do it.

🎧 Want more? Listen next to Episode 143: 7 Ways to Enjoy Vacation While Still Honoring Your Body.

If you want more from me, be sure to check out… 

Transcript

00:00

Hey there, 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 dish you 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. Let's go. Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace your Real podcast.

00:31

The holidays are coming in hot, and I know that this season can bring up a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to fitness, food and consistency. On one hand, it's full of joy and family and tradition, but on the other hand, it can feel like everything that you've been working so hard for is about to get thrown out the window, with one holiday cookie platter after the next. But here's the thing you don't need to toss in the towel or wait until January 1st to feel good in your body. In fact, these next couple months are the perfect opportunity to practice what I always preach, which is consistency, not perfection. So in today's episode of Embrace your Real, I want to give you a little pep talk, one that you can come back to anytime you feel yourself sliding into this all or nothing thinking. I want to walk you through how to mentally prepare for the holidays, how to create a simple game plan, what to do if you fall off track, and how to end this season feeling proud of yourself, not defeated. So in this episode, I'm going to give you a clear, practical roadmap for navigating the holiday season without losing momentum. Here's what we're going to cover how to set yourself up mentally before the chaos actually begins. The simple non-negotiables that will help to keep you grounded during this season. A straightforward fitness and nutrition plan that you can follow anytime, anywhere. Exactly what to do the day after you slip up. How to swap this all or nothing trap for a balanced, always something mindset. And, lastly, tips for enjoying traditions, travel and social events without guilt. By the end of this episode, you will hopefully have a realistic game plan that you can rely on all season long, one that keeps you consistent, that keeps you confident and proud of yourself when January rolls around.

02:11

Before I dive in, though, I want to share the super great review. It comes from Ava Gabrielle. She gave a five-star review and said ah, I'm loving this podcast. It makes me feel so confident with what I am and who I am outside of my body. You are such an inspiration and your faith makes what you're saying so true. Thank you again for this pod. Please do not stop. I'm so grateful. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to send in this review. If you guys could scooch over to Apple Podcasts and leave a rating interview, that would mean the absolute world to me and our team. Just kind of know how this podcast in general is helping you, or maybe a specific episode really spoke to you. I would love to know.

02:46

All right, first things first. Create your mental game plan. The very first thing that I want you to do is to pause and ask yourself how am I going to navigate the holidays this year? Not how I hope that it goes, or I'll just figure it out when I get there. No, I want you to actually decide in advance what your plan is going to be.

03:05

And here's why because when we don't have clarity, we almost always slip back into old patterns. And it's not because you don't care or you don't have discipline. It's literally how our brains are wired. Psychologists call it the intention behavior gap. It's really that space between what you want to do and what you end up doing when life gets stressful, busy or emotional. Without a plan, that gap gets filled by convenience, peer pressure and comfort. And comfort during the holidays usually looks like overeating, skipping workouts and then spiraling into guilt. And this all or nothing mindset. Think about it the holidays are loaded with these built-in triggers family dynamics, nostalgia, traditions, food, literally everywhere, travel, late nights. If you walk into all of that with no plan, your brain is going to fall back on autopilot, and autopilot for most of us means just grabbing whatever is in front of us, skipping movement because it feels easier, and telling us we'll start again on Monday.

03:58

And this is where the science comes in. Your brain actually has something called decision fatigue, meaning the more choices that you make in a day, the more drained your mental energy is going to get. And studies show that we make over 200 food-related decisions every single day, and most of them are subconscious. And this explains why you can feel so strong in the morning, but by the time dessert rolls around at night, you're thinking forget it, I'll just deal with it later. And that doesn't mean that you're weak. It just means that your brain is tired. And that's why having a plan is such a game changer.

04:30

In behavioral science it's called pre-commitment. It's basically deciding ahead of time. So you're not stuck negotiating with yourself at the moment. So instead of standing at the cookie tray thinking should I or shouldn't I, you've already told yourself here's how I'm going to handle it, and that simple shift removes the mental tug of war. And here's another layer that's important for you to understand is that your brain loves familiarity. Right when you're stressed or you're emotional, it will always pull you back to whatever feels comfortable and easy, and so for many of us, that's food skipping, workouts, pouring another glass of wine. But when you've already created a mental blueprint for the season, you train your brain to see the plan as the familiar, safe option. You're no longer in this negotiation mode. You're in this follow-through mode. So creating your mental game plan isn't about just logistics. It's about protecting yourself from your own psychology. It's acknowledging that the season is full of these cues that are pulling you off course and choosing to say I already know who I want to be in these moments instead.

05:31

The second thing is you have to commit to these non-negotiables. So I want to talk about your non-negotiables, and this is where I want you to take a firm stance. It's not about being perfect, but it's about choosing a few rock solid anchors that you hold on to no matter what. Here's the thing Research shows that when people set too many goals all at once, they get so overwhelmed and follow through on none of them. But when you set just a handful of clear, non-negotiable habits, your brain treats them like defaults. They stop feeling like optional choices and start feeling like part of who you are. I want you to think of them as your anchor points, even if everything else feels chaotic. These are the habits that keep you grounded. So here are mine, and I wanna encourage you to make yours as well.

06:13

So non-negotiable number one is moving your body daily for at least 30 minutes. Listen, it doesn't have to be perfect. It doesn't even have to be a sweaty workout. It could be a brisk walk, a stroller walk, chasing your kids around the park, a structured lift. Whatever it is. The point is that daily movement keeps your body and brain in rhythm. So even these short bouts of movement, they improve insulin sensitivity, reduce stress hormones, they boost your mood. So translation 30 minutes a day really does keep you from slipping into that sluggish I'll just start in January mentality.

06:45

My non-negotiable number two is resistance training a minimum of three days a week. So this one matters so much to me because muscle is literal metabolic gold. Let me say that again Muscle is literal metabolic gold. Research shows that after the age of 30, women naturally lose 3% to 8% of muscle per decade unless they strain train. And less muscle means slower metabolism, less energy and even a greater risk of injury. But when you lift consistently, you're protecting your lean tissue, you're keeping your metabolism strong and let's be real you also feel so much more capable and confident in your body. For me, resistance training isn't just about muscles. It's literally about sanity. It's the habit that keeps me and helps me to feel like me, no matter how crazy the holiday or my schedule gets.

07:31

In general, non-negotiable number three for me is counting my macros and, at the very least, hitting my protein goal daily. Now, protein is the literal queen macronutrient for women. It's going to keep you full, it's going to stabilize your blood sugar, it's going to protect your muscle mass, and science backs this up the thermic effect of protein, meaning the calories that your body burns just to digest. It is 20% to 30%, compared to 5% to 10% for carbs and 0% to 3% for fats. So by simply hitting your protein minimum, you're already giving your metabolism a boost while keeping cravings in check During the holidays. This one anchor is going to help completely change how you feel at meals and events.

08:13

That's it three simple commitments, and if you can lock these in, everything else takes care of itself. You don't need 15 rules or non-negotiables. You don't need to micromanage all of these things every single day. You just simply need a short list of actions that you're going to follow through on, no matter what. And if you're thinking okay, I don't even know where to start with the resistance training or how to track my macros without getting super overwhelmed.

08:38

That's exactly why I created my Movement with Julie app and my Macro Academy and Simple Online Academy. The app is going to give you structured dumbbell workouts that you can do anywhere, whether you've got 30 minutes or 60 minutes. Every single exercise has a how-to video so you can feel confident that you're doing it right, and you're never going to be left wondering like am I training the right way? Literally, all you have to do is open the app, select your workout, select the time constraints that you have and you're going to get a workout for you. All you need is a few pair of dumbbells and a small space. That's literally it. Okay, I work out in my garage, like you don't need a lot at all, and if you have a Bench, amazing. If not, I always give a no-bench alternate of a no-bend alternate. And then, when it comes to the nutrition side, my Macro County Made Simple Online Academy. This is going to be my step-by-step academy that's going to take all the stress and obsession out of tracking. So I'm going to walk you through exactly how to calculate your macros for your goals, your body, how to move through different phases without confusion and how to make macro counting a sustainable lifestyle that you can actually stick with. These are the tools that exist so that, when life gets busy, you really don't have to overthink it. You can just open the app, you can follow the workout, you can hit your protein and know that you are doing exactly what your body needs.

09:49

Number three is ditching that all or nothing mindset. Now I want to tackle the elephant in the room, this all or nothing mindset. You know the one where it's the voice that says, okay, well, I've already had two cookies, so screw it. I might as well eat the whole tin or I've missed my workout yesterday, so this whole week is ruined. I want you to listen to me. That mindset is the only thing standing between you and the results that you want. It's not the cookie, it's not the missed workout. It's the story that you tell yourself after those moments, the lie that if you're not perfect, you might as well quit. Here's what I want you to understand that this mindset is not a character flaw, it's human psychology. Researchers actually call it the what the heck effect. They actually use H-E-L-L, but I'm going to just say what the heck it's when that one small slip makes us feel like we've blown the whole thing.

10:36

So we go into this all out self-sabotage, right? For example, you've planned to stay on track, but you may be overate at lunch, and so then, instead of just letting that meal be what it was, you think, well, I've already ruined the day, so what the heck? I might as well just keep going. But one meal does not define your progress. Your body doesn't operate on a 24-hour scorecard. It runs on patterns over weeks and months. A single high calorie meal or miss workout has almost zero impact on long-term progress, as long as you return to your normal habits the next day, and what matters is your consistency across time, not one off track moments, right? So I want you to think of it like driving If you miss an exit, you don't pull the car over, slash the tires and say, well, I guess I will never just get there, right? Instead, you adjust, you turn around, you get back on the road. That's how your health should work as well. So here's your reminder If you fall off track one day, you get back on track the next, no questions asked. It's not optional, you don't need to overthink it. You don't need to punish yourself with these two days, starving yourself the next morning. You just need to return to your non-negotiables your movement, your lifts, your protein. Keep going, period.

11:48

And here's a practical tool that I absolutely love, which is reframe your slip as data, not drama. And here's what I mean Most women spiral into this guilt the moment that they go off plan, Like I mean, most women spiral into this guilt the moment that they go off plan. Like you eat more than you planned at the holiday dinner and you instantly have that negative self-talk that starts and says I blew it, I have no self-control. Why do I always mess this up? That's drama. Here's the thing Guilt does not move you forward. In fact, shame-based thinking makes people more likely to repeat the same behavior because your brain feels hopeless. When you believe you've already failed, your brain says why even try? But if you treat the moment as data, everything changes.

12:29

Data means that you step back like a scientist and you ask okay, what actually led to that choice? Was I tired because I didn't sleep enough last night? Was I stressed and looking for comfort? Did I skip breakfast and lunch to save up for the party? So by dinner I was starving? Was I in an environment where food was everywhere and I didn't have a plan? Was I dehydrated and confusing thirst for hunger? When you ask those questions, you actually get insight. And insight is power, because now, instead of blaming yourself, you can make one simple adjustment next time, if it was fatigue, then you know that prioritizing sleep will help you to manage cravings. If it was stress, then you can add a quick walk or deep breath before the event to lower your cortisol. If it was skipping meals, then you'll remember to eat a protein-rich breakfast and lunch next time. If it was the environment, then you can set a boundary or fill your plate with protein first before hitting the dessert table.

13:22

This shift matters because it keeps your brain in this problem-solving mode instead of self-attack mode. One shuts you down, the other one builds resilience. So the next time that you find yourself in a slip, I want you to pause and remind yourself. This is not proof I failed. This is feedback. It's just information about what my body and brain needs so that I can show up better next time, and that's how you break the cycle. That's how you build consistency, not by chasing perfection, but by learning from every single experience without turning it into a meltdown.

13:51

Number four is really building flexibility into your plan. Now, this season is full of traditions, and food is often a part of that, and I don't want you to be skipping the pie or avoiding the hot chocolate or saying no to your mom's or your grandma's famous stuffing just because you're counting your macros. That's not the point. The point is to plan for it, not to fear. Research shows that when people label foods strictly as off limits, cravings for those foods actually increase, and that restriction mindset is what leads to overeating later, because the brain feels deprived. Flexible dieting is the opposite, though. It really does fit in the foods that you love in a way that supports your goals and still lets you enjoy your life.

14:32

Here's how you can make that work in a practical, easy way Front-loading protein and veggies earlier in the day. So protein is going to help to regulate blood sugar, it's going to help to keep you full and protect your muscle. And if you're heading into a holiday dinner, making breakfast and lunch a high protein and full of fiber-rich veggies, that way you walk into whatever it is that you're going to the party, the dinner, not starving. You've already hit some of your nutrient goals. The second thing is treating traditions as intentional choices, not accidents. So instead of mindlessly grabbing every appetizer or dessert that passes by, I want you to pause and ask yourself what do I really love? Maybe it's the pumpkin pie, maybe it's Aunt Suzanne's mashed potatoes. Choose those, enjoy them fully and then skip the foods that you don't actually care about. Studies show that eating with intention, slowing down, savoring the flavors that's going to help you feel satisfied with less.

15:27

The third thing is balance your plate with the protein first rule. So when you sit down for a holiday meal, I want you to build your plate, starting with protein, so that could be turkey ham roast, and then I want you to add color from veggies and then fill the rest with your favorite carb-based holiday foods. Right, this is structure, and this is going to allow you to prioritize protein and color. First, you stabilize your blood sugar and prevent that crash that usually you have heading back for round two or three. And here's where macro counting becomes so helpful in this it takes the guesswork out of it. So, instead of stressing about whether you're messing up, you know the anchors that matter most. You're hitting your protein target and enjoying that pie, the mashed potatoes or the hot chocolate without guilt, because you're making it all fit into the bigger picture.

16:11

Number four is to drop the guilt. Okay, food is not just fuel, it's also culture, it's family, it's connection, it's memories, and when you give yourself permission to enjoy these experiences, you build a healthy relationship with food. Long-term, guilt after eating is actually linked to less success with weight management, because guilt is gonna trigger stress, and stress hormones like cortisol can mess with your hunger, your cravings and your fat storage. So here's your holiday reminder you don't have to be the woman who skips the desserts and feels miserable, and you don't have to be the woman who eats everything and feels regret. You can be the woman who enjoys her favorite foods with intention, who fuels her body with protein, veggies and then moves forward guilt-free. That's the heart of flexible dieting freedom, not restriction.

16:56

And last but not least, number five is anchor yourself in your why. So finally, when things feel hard and they will I want you to come back to your why. Why does this matter to you? Why are you choosing discipline over perfection? Because here's the truth motivation that's temporary. It feels amazing when you have it, but it's one of those least reliable drivers of long-term change.

17:16

What actually keeps people consistent is having a strong internal reason, which is a why that's going to feel bigger than the moment, and psychologists call this the intrinsic motivation. Right, it's not about doing something for a quick result or external approval. It's about connecting the habit to who you are and who you want to be and the life that you want to live. So for me, it's not about having abs at Christmas dinner. It's about feeling strong and confident and in control of my choices, instead of letting food or guilt control me. It's about showing up for myself so that I can show up better for my family, for my husband, for my son. That's my why, and when I remember that, it's easier to pass on the extra drink or get my workout in, even when I don't feel like it or when I'm pressed for time.

18:04

So what is your why? Maybe for you it's about having the energy to keep up with your kids without crashing mid-afternoon. Maybe it's about proving to yourself that you can keep your promises to your body, even during the busiest season. Maybe it's about walking into January already feeling proud and strong, not like you're starting over again. So, whatever it is, I want you to write it down.

18:22

Studies show that writing down your goals makes you significantly more likely to stick with them. I want you to keep it in your phone notes, put it on a sticky note on your mirror, set it as your phone wallpaper if you need to, and every single day during this holiday season, I want you to remind yourself of it, because here's the reality. There will be moments that you don't want to move your body. There will be moments when the cookie tray looks more appealing than your protein goal, and in those moments, your why is what pulls you back to your non-negotiables. It's the anchor that steadies you when your emotions or your environments try to sway you. So please, please, please, don't skip this step. Decide on your why. Write it down and keep it front and center. Discipline feels so much lighter when it's tied to something deeply meaningful to you. So let's quickly recap Step into this holiday season with a game plan.

19:08

Decide your non-negotiables and stick with them. If you fall off track one day, get back on track. No guilt, no shame. No starting over on Monday. I want you to build flexibility into your macro so that you can enjoy the foods that you love. And, last but not least, I want you to anchor yourself in your why, because that is what will carry you through. Please, please, please, remember this that the holidays are not about perfection. They're about showing up for yourself consistently so that you can feel good in your body and fully enjoy this season.

19:35

If you love this episode, I know you'll also love episode 143, seven ways to enjoy vacation while still honoring your body. I will go ahead and link that in the show notes so that you can easily go check that one out. And also, don't forget, if you're ready for structure and support, check out my two programs my Movement with Julie app Dumbo, workouts for Women that's going to help you to fit those workouts into your busy schedule and my macro academy it's simple online academy for that. Food freedom without the stress. Both of those links are in the show notes. That's all that I have for you today, but I hope that you come back to this episode anytime that you need that reminder that you are capable, you can be consistent and you don't have to toss in the towel during this holiday season.

20:13

I love you so dang much. I mean it, and I'll talk to you in the next one. 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. Julie A Ledbetter yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, 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. Birthday.

 
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