Original Recording - Ep.64
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Sheree: [00:00:00] I know we're about to enter an even busier season and we're coming into the holidays. If you were to say, what are the like three non negotiable things, if you're working with a client [00:00:08] that you're like nail these three things and you are going to be able to give your body that reset.
Cause I feel like, two to three things that you might change, or you might even [00:00:16] just ramp up. Like this might just be, Where your capacity is at, it's going to give people something tangible to go and hit the ground running with still see [00:00:24] results, but not feel like that overwhelmed that can quite often happen this time of year.
Welcome to the [00:00:32] wild and well, a collective podcast where we believe empowered health is your superpower. We have combined our expertise in medicine and nutrition to bring you the [00:00:40] latest research, expert insights and success stories of people on a mission to live a big life. So buckle up and get ready to learn [00:00:48] how to live wildly well.
Christa: All right. Welcome back for another episode of the [00:00:56] Wild and Well Collective. And today we are going to be talking about how to really wrap up Q4. And hear me out. This is [00:01:04] not just about business. This is about how to wrap up quarter four for your health, for your business, for your relationships, quite [00:01:12] frankly, for your sanity, so that you could enter the new year quarter one year.
really feeling at the top of your game [00:01:20] and hopeful rather than just beginning from ground zero, trying to claw your way out of the last, three months. The holidays can [00:01:28] be really challenging in many ways in your body, in relationships, in your business and stress wise that can really [00:01:36] build.
So it leaves you at the end of the year, really feeling completely washed out. So today, Sheree, let's talk about Some [00:01:44] elements that we can really start to dial in starting at, month 10 of the year. And this can really be applied. [00:01:52] This conversation can really be applied to anything in your life.
When you know that you're coming up on, let's say a wedding or a big [00:02:00] event in your life or in your business, how can you prepare a month prior, maybe even two months prior so that you really feel [00:02:08] like you're showing up like solid part of your game and you get through it, not feeling completely exhausted and burnt out of the end.
[00:02:16] So let's open conversation with maybe some boundary talk. Let's talk about that. Like what I know you mentioned before [00:02:24] we got on this call, we were talking about different elements and one you mentioned Shari no Vember like saying no. So let's open it up with [00:02:32] boundaries. is.
Sheree: I love that.
And I love this conversation because we do, we arrive at the end of the year. I always call October, like the burnout month, because [00:02:40] you can end up having been absolutely exhausted because you're not taking care of prioritizing yourself throughout the year. Maybe you've just gone through a big summer and then you're like right back [00:02:48] into things.
And then you're going, Oh my gosh, I've still got another three months left of the year. And then the holidays are just around the corner. Is this a really good time for me to be setting you go? [00:02:56] Like all of these thoughts can become overwhelming and over consuming. And so it's, or, if you're on my side of the hemisphere, you're about to hit into [00:03:04] summer.
And so we pick up here, everything starts to get busy. Like I think about between now and the end of the year, I've got an event almost every single weekend. [00:03:12] Like it's ridiculous heading into summertime. And so. One of the things that I heard last year, and I really adopted it was this idea around [00:03:20] November, and it's not like, I think when we have conversations around boundaries, sometimes if you are someone that's a people pleaser or a high [00:03:28] achiever, or, you really do.
Enjoy supporting others. And you should practice a lot of giving, or you're in the service industry, like we are, it can [00:03:36] be a resistance almost to even start topic of boundaries. It's like, oh, that's a bit harsh or I don't want to be mean to anyone. And so let's [00:03:44] first of all, flip it on the, on a 10 year, this is a practice of self love and self care and saying no.
Doesn't necessarily mean saying no to [00:03:52] people or even to commitments. It might be saying no to actually taking on something new during that time, whether that be related to your health [00:04:00] or your wellbeing or in your workspace, or even in your relationship, but starting first with yourself and going, where's my capacity at right [00:04:08] now?
I was having a conversation with a client the other day and we were talking through. And she keeps running up against these same barriers, and she's like, honestly, [00:04:16] Sherry, I can't even be fathomed the idea of slowing down and taking these five breaths before maybe I'll optimize my tradition.
It's just too much. It's just too hard basket. [00:04:24] And I'm like, okay, what do we need to say no to right now then? If your nervous system is that overstimulated and that burnt out, [00:04:32] that we can't even pause and take a few breaths, that feels overwhelming. What are the non negotiables? What are the things that we're going to say yes [00:04:40] to every single day that are going to support our health?
And what are the things that we're going to say no to, even if technically it would help and support us? [00:04:48] Maybe there's this idea of, Oh, I should be getting more steps in. Okay, yeah, that might be helpful in the long run and that's going to support your metabolism and that sort of thing. Do you [00:04:56] have the capacity?
To go and try and squeeze in a walk into your calendar right now. Like, do you have the capacity to fit that in? Do you have the capacity [00:05:04] to take on new project at work? Like actually reflecting and not just saying yes, because either it's expected of you or you're [00:05:12] pushing yourself too hard. And so to give us some context, Krista.
I know we were talking again before we jumped on what are some of the things that you [00:05:20] love dialing in with people at this time of the year that maybe they're saying yes to and then we can look at what are some of the things that maybe people could let go of in [00:05:28] relation to their health and their well being that maybe they don't need to put the pressure on themselves.
Christa: Well, I do think anytime you're saying no to something, you're saying yes to [00:05:36] something else. You're saying yes to something, you're saying no to something else. So really being clear on what you're saying yes and what you're saying no [00:05:44] to. For a lot of my patients, you know, I'm dealing primarily with just health and a lot of my patients also are Trying to keep their metabolism [00:05:52] healthy.
And so I tell them, Hey, before things get crazy with, let's say in the U. S. Thanksgiving on gets just like this eating [00:06:00] fest for six weeks, arguably it starts at Halloween, but we just had, we're bombarded with a lot of parties, a lot [00:06:08] of events. a lot of stuff in the house that we don't typically have.
And so what I say in October is to really, and even the [00:06:16] beginning of November before Thanksgiving, to really be very, very strict with yourself, like more so than maybe the rest of the year so [00:06:24] that you can say, okay, great. I've really like, gotten I feel good in my body. I feel great. I'm not going to be lollygagging around with the goals that I have for [00:06:32] my metabolism and my weight and my health.
So that by the time Thanksgiving happens, I have a little bit more leeway there. And I feel so like, [00:06:40] man, I'm starting from, Behind trying to just brawl my way back. So really taking that month ahead of time. and I would say this, we do this [00:06:48] before weddings, before a vacation, like really honing in on being stricter with ourselves, with eating the way that we know we should working out the way that [00:06:56] we know that we should, but I say before the holidays, you really need to prep for that so that you don't , you're behind before you even get started.
Sheree: So what would [00:07:04] be, if someone's listening to this and we're like, Yeah. Okay. Well, I don't want to overwhelm myself. things are already in the too hard basket, or I know we're about to [00:07:12] enter an even busier season and we're coming into the holidays. If you were to say, what are the like three non negotiable things, if you're working with a client that you're like nail these [00:07:20] three things and you are going to be able to give your body that reset.
Cause I feel like, two to three things that you might change, or you might even just ramp up. Like this might [00:07:28] just be, Where your capacity is at, it's going to give people something tangible to go and hit the ground running with still see results, but not [00:07:36] feel like that overwhelmed that can quite often happen this time of year.
Christa: Yeah. I would start to pay attention to alcohol, be really picky about when you choose to drink [00:07:44] alcohol. Alcohol doesn't really serve anyone. So I would say. Either take a 30 day hiatus and don't do it at all, or just be really picky [00:07:52] about when you do it. Make sure that it's, a time that you're like, yeah, this is worth it.
This is not right. So be more choosy about times that you're drinking alcohol. I would say, start [00:08:00] to really like really focus on healthier foods. So I always tell my patients it either has a mother or it came from the ground. If one of those [00:08:08] things is true, then it's probably a healthier choice, right?
If it comes from a box or a bag, it's processed. And so I would start to really minimize processed [00:08:16] foods and really upregulate and eat more natural foods. During this time, just to not overcomplicate diet and what type and all of that, it's not really about [00:08:24] eliminating. It's just about focusing, making different choices.
And then the third thing would be to prioritize sleep. Sleep can really take a hit when it [00:08:32] comes to being stressed out or busy. But stress, with sleep, it increased, with stress and sleep, let's say, but focusing on sleep [00:08:40] that also really hits your insulin resistance the next day, even if you're not sleeping well.
So that can really create kind of an [00:08:48] imbalance in insulin and glucose. And so in terms of the body, I would say prioritizing sleep, decreasing alcohol, and really focusing on whole [00:08:56] foods for the whole month before Thanksgiving to really feel like you are fueling your body and supporting your body in a way that's going to be [00:09:04] supportive.
Sheree: I love that and I love that you specify the month like quite often we can try and do things quite quickly or just rush finish and like [00:09:12] put everything together and I can just quickly do this for two weeks and giving yourself a month like four weeks is actually a really decent time to hit the reset [00:09:20] button and you mentioned something around the insulin resistance and this is something I know both of us work with very closely and I think it's getting More attention in [00:09:28] media and in the social world and all over Instagram, essentially, but this idea around regulating our insulin [00:09:36] and insulin sensitivity is huge. And so, some of the things that we can do to support that, I know we actually had a conversation. The [00:09:44] end of last year around things you can do during the Thanksgiving period or during the holiday period to support your insulin as well.
So things like [00:09:52] the training, the timing around your training, going for a walk after a big meal to enhance glucose uptake and the insulin sensitivity, [00:10:00] doing Potentially a HIIT workout or something the days around it. So there are also ways that you can pop in these little [00:10:08] things to support yourself and not just during the month of October, but leading into the holiday season so that you're not doing them as [00:10:16] a quick fix by any means, but knowing that there are little ways to biohack the system.
So is there anything else you'd add to that? We know the HIIT training [00:10:24] beforehand, we could do the strength training, even the next day, going for a walk after meals and focusing more on movement here. Is there anything else you'd add in?
Christa: Well, [00:10:32] in terms of movement, I think a lot of people get overwhelmed with the all or nothing of, Oh, I've got to either have a whole hour, 45 minutes to work out, [00:10:40] or I'm just not going to do it.
And I think that's a real, it's a huge detriment to people because We get a lot of benefit to movement snacks. [00:10:48] I call them 10 minutes here, 10 minutes there. Can I walk around the block? I keep a walking pad in my office. Do I have 10 minutes to walk a mile? [00:10:56] Or I'm walking so it's 10 minutes.
A little longer than 10 minutes, but I can't do I have a few minutes to be active. And I think that that's important to keep in [00:11:04] mind around the holidays and ahead of time to to not feel overwhelmed with your busy. You got a lot going on. I know fall for for kids can be really. you know, They're back to [00:11:12] school.
They're starting up their sports again. I know for me personally, it's a very busy schedule post work, after work, you finally get out and then there's all sorts of things [00:11:20] going on with the kids. So sometimes it's impossible to, without sacrificing sleep to work out for an hour, but if you can do little 10 [00:11:28] minutes, squished into your routine, I think that that is.
Really, really great. And it doesn't mean it doesn't have to be all or nothing because at the [00:11:36] end of the week, you may have done an hour worth of movement, that you would have never done had you committed yourself to, the all or nothing [00:11:44] vibe with that. So I think that's really helpful.
Yeah, and then I think just looking ahead and preparing and making sure that, knowing [00:11:52] myself, I'm a procrastinator. So when it comes to booking the hotels or buying the gifts or even just getting all [00:12:00] the tax stuff in order for business, I think oftentimes we push it to the end of the year.
And if you can really start to look at things. Earlier [00:12:08] in the year, October, November, you might find that your brain is less just bombarded at the end of the year, right? You're really allowing yourself to [00:12:16] piecemeal some of this more comfortably so that you feel more prepared in a gentle way versus this mad dash at the end of the year to get all of [00:12:24] these tasks done.
that sort of pile up when it comes to the end of the year, the last month of December, can be really overwhelming for a lot of [00:12:32] reasons, in a lot of ways in our life.
Sheree: Yeah. And at the beginning of the year, we talked about ways to set yourself up for a really successful year. Not necessarily honing [00:12:40] in on the whole new year's resolution kind of piece, but picking your bigger goals.
And also again, to come back to that November [00:12:48] type situation, it's looking at, okay, what can I do? Like you said, be very prepared, but what am I taking on? Am I trying to squeeze too much into the [00:12:56] end of the year? What can I let go of? What is it? What is actually worth me? Maybe postponing until next year.
Am I trying to take on too [00:13:04] much? Have you popped in your calendar, all of the social events for me, one of the biggest things that I know going into the next quarter or being in [00:13:12] the final quarter of the year I'm really dialing in. Meet like meal prepping my food. I'm very aware. Like I have a little meal planner on my fridge [00:13:20] and I'm like, okay, I'm out for dinner here.
I'm here and here and here. And I know those are my social events. Cool. I'm probably averaging maybe four or five [00:13:28] meals out where it's normally at maybe average two to three meals out a week. How can I dial in those other meals that I am actually having at home? How can I make sure I'm prepared [00:13:36] so that when I get home after a longer day, my meals take five minutes to throw together instead of half an hour.
so it's. Finding those little hacks [00:13:44] within the day, making sure you are looking at the overview of what's coming up. So you can see 1, what can I let go of? And 2, how can I best prepare? Whether [00:13:52] that is in relation to tax, whether that is in relation to closing out projects. So you're not then rushing.
Around holiday time and feeling overwhelmed. If your [00:14:00] family's arriving for Christmas or Thanksgiving, you're not going, oh, I don't actually have time to be with them and be present with them. Like, what is your intention around the [00:14:08] holiday time? Do you want to be more relaxed? Because if we arrive at the holidays and we are exhausted, what's going to happen.
Your cortisol's high, your immune [00:14:16] system suppressed, you're probably going to wind up sick. And then you're not even going to enjoy the holiday period anyway. And before you know it, you're back at work, you're in [00:14:24] 2025 and you're going, oh, how did I wind up here?
I feel like I'm just absolutely flat lined again. And you're not actually getting any further [00:14:32] ahead.
Christa: Yeah. It's true. I think that that paints the picture for a lot of people. Unfortunately, I think also just preparing for a lot more social [00:14:40] activities. Sometimes people love that.
Sometimes it's a big stressor. So. Again, that comes back to boundaries of timing and how [00:14:48] many parties do I want to be at or for how long? And then boundaries around relationships too. Oftentimes, this time of year we're seeing family that maybe we don't see the [00:14:56] rest of the year or not as, we're seeing them more.
So checking in with yourself also because this, that mental health [00:15:04] aspect of it, it all, It can really be big cluster at the end of the year, dealing with all of these things. If we're not careful, and if we're not [00:15:12] mindful about setting our own boundaries, loving yourself and saying, hey, I'm going to come into this.
Event with people that [00:15:20] maybe I don't love to spend a ton of time with, but here we are and creating and making sure that you're holding true to yourself and with boundaries relationship wise [00:15:28] to I think that's another big 1 that can add a lot of stress to people. So being clear on that, I think these are all really [00:15:36] powerful things to bring into your awareness right now, how you're treating your body, how you're sleeping how you're managing tasks and [00:15:44] piecing those apart and really making sure that you're not saving everything to the end, not procrastinating.
And then also just being really careful about your [00:15:52] time with people and your boundaries with relationships. For me, those are. I could nail those down for myself, around the holidays. I think you end [00:16:00] up beginning the new year, feeling more refreshed than completely wore out.
Right.
Sheree: I hear that. And it's removing this [00:16:08] pressure to do it all and be at all for everything and everyone and showing up to, it is maybe saying no to that. Extra Halloween [00:16:16] party, or it is maybe saying, Yes to more rest or more time in bed, like, and really giving yourself a sleep in if you feel like you need it.
This [00:16:24] time of year it gets really hectic, it gets really busy, and We wear the productivity like a badge of honor, and sometimes it is [00:16:32] actually just saying no, or honoring what your body needs or staying in with your family. Even when there may be like a, something more technically quote [00:16:40] unquote fun out there, the FOMO can hit.
And I love this idea of JOMO, like the joy of missing out. Actually, I'm choosing me in this moment. I'm choosing my [00:16:48] family in this moment. I'm choosing rest in this moment. I'm choosing my body in this moment, because actually that's Far more important than maybe a [00:16:56] couple of hours out where I'm probably going to drink too much.
I'm probably going to make poor food choices for my body. I'm probably going to impact my sleep, which is then going to [00:17:04] mess me up for the next day. And it has that awful knock on effect. So finding the joy in saying no, finding the joy in choosing [00:17:12] you, because it's not actually necessarily a negative thing.
Christa: Absolutely. And I think that can be a hard pill to swallow for some people. I'm one too, that we all [00:17:20] just, we want to do all the things. And I'm just learning more and more that I don't really want to end up at, the end right before the new year with ache. [00:17:28] Like there's been years that I know that I've been eating just, you drink too much alcohol, you eat too much sugar.
And I'm literally having joint pain. Like I know that I'm [00:17:36] just inflamed from, just eating the things that are hanging out, and you're traveling and there's just a lot going on. And I think My intention for [00:17:44] myself, I know this year is go into the holidays with a bit more intention, a bit more a different cadence.
I should say a little bit of going [00:17:52] into it. So that it's enjoyable, and we can really be in the present moment.
Sheree: Because
Christa: it is fleeting, I feel like time just goes by so fast and the [00:18:00] holidays are gone before they even start. But that partly feels like it flies by because I'm just consumed with.
Just stress, every day [00:18:08] and what's going on with end of year with business and all the things. And I think that being more present in the present moment, enjoying it. Making healthy [00:18:16] choices along the way, we're going to say cheers to 2025 in an amazing way. Right? But we've got to do some prep work.
We've got to have this conversation ahead of time so that [00:18:24] we can take on these next couple of months and really feel like we are. I'm going to end it strong. Beautiful.
Sheree: Well, I hope you guys found that really [00:18:32] helpful. There's little bits and bobs that you can take away and apply. There's no one specific formula.
I think that we know that by now when it comes to health [00:18:40] and when it comes to our overall wellbeing and even looking after ourselves very holistically, It's really taking the pieces that resonate with you and maybe there was [00:18:48] just one little tidbit of advice or moment where you're like, yeah, that's me.
Maybe I do need to slow down or, maybe it is about prioritizing [00:18:56] like that preparation phase right now. But hopefully you've got a few things there that you can take away and implement and make it a beautiful holiday season. [00:19:04] 2025 feeling like you're thriving and not just surviving.
If you love this episode, be sure to leave us a review, download and [00:19:12] subscribe. If you know someone that could also benefit from this conversation, please share. That's how we spread empowered health. We'll see you again for another episode of the [00:19:20] Wild and Well Collective.
