As we approach the end of the year and more holidays, we wanted to share some thoughts on ways to optimize eating and weight loss, utilize other healthy tools and habits, and mindset ideas so that the last part of 2024 can set you all up to be the best version of yourself for 2025.
We appreciate your support and are grateful to allow us to be a part of your health journeys. We wish you all abundance and joy with family and friends this holiday season.
Eating during the holidays
Ben Greenfield and JJ Virgin are excellent health resources. These articles have helpful and detailed discussions that are applicable year-round and are good to use on weekends as well. Our Epicurean tendencies will benefit from these targeted Stoic tools.
Tips for Healthy Holiday Eating
Healthy Holiday Eating: Part 1 Of Ben Greenfield’s Top 10 Tips
Ben Greenfield’s Top 10 Tips For Healthy Holiday Eating
- Practice intermittent fasting
- Limit alcohol or avoid it entirely (and pair it with a glass of water)
- Minimize holiday-induced stress as well as general stress
- Pre-eat to avoid overeating at the actual holiday event
- Bring your own healthy, pre-made dish
- Choose to eat the good, healthy stuff first and minimize the junk food intake
- Eat more slowly, savoring the food you eat
- Splurge reasonably and responsibly if you so choose to
- Use supplements wisely
- Put your focus on family and gratitude
13 Ways to Set Yourself Up for Success this Holiday Season
- Drink up!
- Shoot for 50 (grams of fiber)
- Eat By the Clock
- Double Shakes on Party Day
- Eat Before You Go
- Fit in Your Workout Early (and Preferably, Fasted)
- 3 Bites and Step Away!
- Go for the Healthy Stuff First
- Make Lateral Shifts (AKA Healthy Swaps)
- Keep a Party Curfew
- Turn Up Stress Management a Few Notches
- Practice GAM (gratitude, appreciation, miracles)
Self-Regulation is difficult: Watch portions and how fast you eat
A larger portion on your plate is likely to lead to overeating. Researchers at Penn State recruited 44 subjects to participate in a weekly lunch over the course of four weeks. At each meal, they were given different-sized portions of macaroni and cheese (in random order). As you might expect, the participants did not exhibit a ton of self-regulation – when they were given more food, they generally ate more food. In fact, when the portion size was increased by 75%, subjects consumed as much as 43% more mac-and-cheese.
Notably, participants also tended to eat more when they ate faster or took bigger bites of food. Study author Paige Cunningham said: “When we eat really quickly, obviously the food is spending less time in our mouth. And when we take really large bites, the food is spending less time in our mouths. So, these signals take longer, it takes longer for these signals to tell us to stop eating and we end up eating more when we take larger bites and eat faster.”
Why some Christians are fasting this holiday season
I’ve been asked by some how we approach this time of year in regards to diet and habits. This is a good article from the religious editor of CNN from a few years ago that talks about a few of the approaches that some Christian communities take during the holiday season.
Eastern Orthodox Christians still fast for six weeks before the birth of Jesus. And fasting is recommended by a host of faiths, who tout its spiritual benefits, from self-mastery to equanimity. The early church father St. Basil called fasting a “safeguard for the soul”
But like other spiritual disciplines – meditation, for example – fasting’s religious roots were stripped away as it became a “productivity hack” among the Silicon Valley and celebrity set.
[…]Among them is Jay Richards, an assistant research professor at Catholic University, a lay member of the Dominican order and author of the forthcoming book “Eat, Fast, Feast: A Christian Guide to Intermittent Fasting.”
“My main interest is in trying to recover a lost spiritual discipline,” Richards said in a recent interview. “It was a huge part of Advent, but it died out.”
Fasting is also an act of rebellion against the relentless consumerism of Christmas, say Richards and Christians.
“I don’t want to be a killjoy,” Richards said with a laugh, “but it is very difficult to tell people not to eat and be so consumptive between Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
“At a time of infinitely frenetic activity and consumption, there’s a desire for more simplicity,” O’Malley said.
A 70-year-old lost 70 pounds and got into weightlifting. She shares 4 tips for getting fit no matter your age.
Excellent overview from an amazing transformation -the key takeaway for me was the change in her mindset.
Potato Consumption and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Harmonized Analysis of 7 Prospective Cohorts
Good news for the holidays. Baked, boiled, and pureed potatoes do not increase the risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Only fried potatoes do.
These health consultants and nutritionists point out that the potato is an underrated superfood.
It’s mineral-dense with 50mg of magnesium, 900mg of potassium, and has manganese, zinc, and copper. Also a good source of B vitamins, vitamin C, lutein, and zeaxanthin. And there are many ways to cook them and they are also cost effective and easy to use.
The Link Between Sunlight Exposure and Lifespan
Interesting insights from some research papers and the group at HumanOs.
After following subjects for an average of 12.7 years, it was determined that higher sun exposure, by both measures, was associated with lower all-cause mortality.
People who reported using solariums (sun lamp/tanning bed) showed:
- 15% lower risk of all-cause mortality
- 23% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality
- 14% lower risk of cancer mortality
- 12% lower risk of non-cardiovascular/non-cancer mortality
Similarly, individuals living in areas with higher natural UV exposure (equivalent to the difference in latitude between Chicago and St. Louis) experienced:
- 12% lower risk of all-cause mortality
- 19% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality
- 12% lower risk of cancer mortality
Vitamin D has traditionally been considered the primary mediator of health benefits associated with sun exposure. However, this study points to other important biological mechanisms.
You see, ultraviolet light is made up of different wavelengths, which interact with the skin in distinct ways.
UVB primarily interacts with the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin, where it triggers vitamin D production (and potentially mutations leading to cancer).
UVA, meanwhile, penetrates more deeply into the dermis, where there is a rich reservoir of nitrogen oxides. UVA radiation can activate the release of nitric oxide into the bloodstream, which has an array of downstream effects. For one thing, nitric oxide is a natural vasodilator — it relaxes the walls of blood vessels, improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.
Skin cancer prevention remains critical. But it does appear that moderate sun exposure could have a plethora of benefits for overall health and longevity, perhaps even surpassing the concomitant risk of melanoma. As the researchers conclude:
“Current public health messaging emphasises the hazards of UV exposure for skin cancer development. However, our study adds to growing evidence that the benefits of UV exposure on mortality outweigh the risks in low sunlight environments.”
Dr. Roger Seheult has pointed out this important graphic that further supports the above:
Why do we have an obesity epidemic? Why is chronic disease increasing? Perhaps we should open the front door instead of the medicine cabinet.
A movie on the story of Odysseus hits theaters in December- The Return
A promising cast led by Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche of a classic tale. Early positive reviews by the “experts” lead to some hopeful possibilities for fans of the Classics everywhere.
After 20 years Odysseus finally returns to Ithaca, where he finds his wife held prisoner by suitors vying to be king and his son facing death at their hands. To win back his family and all he has lost, Odysseus must rediscover his strength.
Here are some trailers:
The Return (2024) – IMDb
THE RETURN Trailer (2024) Ralph Fiennes
ED MYLETT – peak performance expert, entrepreneur, and motivator – provides some end-of-the-year advice
The smartest people I know use the holidays to CHART A COURSE for the coming year.
Here are 6 questions to ask yourself:
- Are your Goals, Processes, and Habits specific and aligned with each other?
- Do you have the Knowledge and Resources you need to propel yourself forward?
- Who are the People you can go for Guidance to help you succeed?
- Have you Eliminated Negative Conditions and people in your life who have been holding you back?
- Are you consciously taking care of your Physical Health with proper diet and exercise every day?
- How often do you PRAY, MEDITATE, and PRACTICE GRATITUDE to create an optimal state of mind?
Thanksgiving: From Local Harvests to National Holiday
A good article from the Smithsonian magazine on the origins of Thanksgiving:
Festivals of Thanksgiving were observed sporadically on a local level for more than 150 years. They tended to be autumn harvest celebrations. But in 1789, Elias Boudinot, Massachusetts, member of the House of Representatives, moved that a day of Thanksgiving be held to thank God for giving the American people the opportunity to create a Constitution to preserve their hard won freedoms. A Congressional Joint Committee approved the motion, and informed President George Washington. On October 3, 1789, the President proclaimed that the people of the United States observe “a day of public thanksgiving and prayer” on Thursday, the 26th of November.
Most of the credit for the establishment of an annual Thanksgiving holiday may be given to Sarah Josepha Hale. Editor of Ladies Magazine and Godey’s Lady’s Book, she began to agitate for such a day in 1827 by printing articles in the magazines. She also published stories and recipes, and wrote scores of letters to governors, senators, and presidents. After 36 years of crusading, she won her battle. On October 3, 1863, buoyed by the Union victory at Gettysburg, President Lincoln proclaimed that November 26, would be a national Thanksgiving Day, to be observed every year on the fourth Thursday of November.
