I saw a handsome young man walk out of the mall in gym shorts yesterday.

Not a day older than 21 is my guess.

Everything about him grabbed my attention, and it wasn’t his wearing shorts near Christmas in December that stopped me.

He walked with a very noticeable confidence,

An athletic swagger,

A huge smile,

A badass haircut,

And… a shiny, black titanium leg.

And then in a blink of an eye, I saw, that I was wrong.

He had TWO shiny, black titanium legs.

I was driving along preoccupied by the thoughts that time seemed to be my enemy,

And this handsome young man was literally walking with a skip in his step,

On two prosthetic legs.

When I was a young girl, I was taught that Christmas is a holy time that invites us all to reflect on what matters most.

That no matter what the challenge,

No matter what the concern,

No matter what the barrier,

The promise and the Spirit of Christmas belongs to each of us,

That everything and anything is possible, if we believe that everything and anything is possible,

That evidence of Christmas exists everywhere,

If we look for it,

Even in traffic at the mall.

The holiday season is here.

And there’s one thing I know you’ll see at every,

In-office Yankee grab-bag exchange,

Saturday night dinner party, and

After work cocktail party…

The Spirit of the season,

which often looks like,

overflowing plates of cookies,

festive froufrou mixed-drinks, and

tables laden with traditional family favorites,

that you don’t want to eat, and… you so do.

Add to all this festivity, the end-of-the-year deadline-stress,

Hours preparing for your family and friend get-togethers, and

Late-night shopping excursions,

And rather than feel festive, all you feel is exhausted and stressed.

Add in one cocktail to a tired body, and

Bam! Your resistance is double-downed!

Which is why you end up eating, drinking and indulging more than you ever want.

Looking to understand why you feel lousy and gained excess weight after the holidays?

Look no further than stress, lack of sleep and hormonal imbalance.

Yes, when you’re stressed-out and tired, your body produces higher levels of the hormone grehlin, which is also known as the hunger hormone.

When your body releases higher levels of grehlin, you want to eat more, which naturally lowers the hormone leptin, the hormone that tells you to stop eating, that you’re satisfied, that you’ve had enough.

This is one of the biggest reasons why you feel hungry, even when you know you’re not.

This is a likely reason you crave sugary foods and carbs mid-day — you’re body is looking for a quick energy pick-me-up, and carbs does just that — they give you the quick and immediate energy fix you’re looking for.

Plus, you “feel happy” when you eat sugary, carb-y things. Do you know why? Ti’s true, your body releases serotonin, the feel-good hormone with every bite you take!

Add to this cascade of hormonal responses, the energy blast your body gets from the cortisol your adrenal glands start pumping, because it deems you’re in a “fight or flight” situation from all the stress and exhaustion AND sugar and carbs!

This blast of excess cortisol (continuously pumping if you’re continuously eating sugar and carbs) is the likely culprit for excess weight gain.

To add insult to injury, excess cortisol can lead you to screaming for more serotonin, which leads to the never-ending hamster wheel of craving sugar AND fatty, processed foods!

So… IF you don’t want to fall down the legendary, holiday rabbit hole of gaining excess weight and feeling sick and unhealthy this year, you’ve got to get a good nights sleep and reduce stress (I’ve got 1000 tips for this!), and you’ve got to balance out the indulgence of the season with a few smart ideas. Want mine?

Your Turn:

Can I help you healthfully navigate the holidays this year with more suggestions, tips and ideas?

What always seems to pull you out, but you want to change that this year?

Post your questions and comments below. I’d love to help.

Ready to take control of your health in 2018? Lets’s schedule a call to talk about your goals. Email me at carol@carol-egan.com

I’ve spent the last few days helping my one-to-one clients draft their 2018 Game Plan so they can make their upcoming year the best yet…

And be one of the 8% of people who DO stick to their New Year’s Resolutions.

If you’re ready to make 2018 your best year yet too, I’d like to share with you 3 simple steps you can do yourself, to create your own winning Game Plan!

Step #1 – Find Your Keystone Habit

To kick off 2018, chose what resonates with you as the smartest healthy habit for YOU to begin in January, per your greater life goals.

In other words, what is one habit you know is holding you back, and needs to go first!

This ONE SPECIFIC thing is known as your keystone habit. A keystone habit has the power to transform your life — keystone habits correlate with other good habits, like regular exercise, healthy food choices, intermittent fasting… habits that go hand-in-hand synergistically together to build on January’s healthy habit all year long, one month at a time.

According to Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit, a Keystone Habit is a small, seemingly benign habit, that inspires a whole host of positive outcomes. In this case, it’s the ONE healthy habit you can do, that would set off a whole chain-reaction of other healthy habits… because you’d now WANT to do them!

I highly recommend starting with The Math Equation, of adding in more greens and taking out the 5 common toxic trigger foods (gluten, dairy, sugar, caffeine and alcohol).

You can also follow my Mini Detox program to walk you through this!

Or you can also choose to add my free Eliminate Excuses email course to the Mini Detox, to help you create some real traction on your own!

Step #2 – Add In A New Habit Every Month

To be successful in 2018, you want to focus on ONE new healthy habit each month. Yes, Think BIG, but focus on ONE SPECIFIC thing at a time — this is the winning formula when we set out on our own to create habits that last.

If you’ve not mastered the previous month’s habit, stick with ONLY it until you feel like you’ve created mastery, even if this takes you all year long. THIS IS where oh-so-many lose out in achieving their resolutions — they take on too much at once, and then feel defeated when they feel overwhelmed by too much change! 

But, once you’ve mastered your ONE Keystone Habit in January, it’s time to add in another one each month… as long as you stuck with your monthly goal.

If you’re looking for some additional healthy habits to add to your yearly goals, here’s some I recommend (and links to read more about them).

1. Daily juicing
2. Eliminate sugar
3. Take out 5 common toxic trigger foods
4. Meditation
5. Journaling
6. Reduce your stress
7. Daily affirmations
8. Surround yourself with Chants
9. Drink more water
10. Practice gratitude
11. Change your inner circle
12. Eliminate disempowering thoughts
13. Probiotics
14. Body brushing

 

Step 3: Check In With Yourself

Whether you want to make your this a quarterly activity, or just check in after the first 6 months of the year, take a moment to slow down. Take time to assess where you started the year and where you’re at now with your goals.

To assess where you’re at now, ask yourself:

• What’s working?
• What’s not working? If something is not working, what did I make it mean? What are my thoughts about what’s not working? Could my thoughts and what I’m making ‘it’ mean be stopping me? Could it be my thoughts and the story I tell yourself be the problem, and not the thing itself?
• What helped me stay on course?
• What stopped me?

Take the time to ask, answer and write down your responses in your journal, so you can track not only what worked and what didn’t work, but the stories you tell yourself about the successes you’ve achieved or the breakdowns you’ve experienced along the way. These answers are solid-gold, they’ll give you insights that can get you back in the game!

And with that – you’ve got your 2018 Game Plan!

Cheers to you making this New Year the one where you start looking and feeling your very best!

IF you know you’re ready to put your health and wellbeing on your calendar in 2018, and want 1:1 support, let’s talk. You can schedule a call here. I currently have TWO spots open for new clients and would love to support you, if we’re a right fit!

The other day, Courtney, my client, said, “Carol, you should make a list of your favorite healthy on-the-go treats, or things you eat in a pinch. Sometimes, when I’m on the run, I don’t know what to get.”

This list of my top six favorite healthy on-the-go snacks was created for Courtney and you! I hope these ideas help you choose your healthiest choices when you’re on the run, but want keep it all clean!

Please note, my first recommendation is and always will be water-rich, fresh, raw, organic fruits and vegetables! Always. And in the spirit of ‘treat,’ try biting into an organic red pepper with a side of olives, or split an avocado and fill it with fermented sauerkraut, or a container of Mini-Kiwis or figs! Each offers a different flavor and texture to satisfy your craving. And I totally get that there might be days that you just want something more indulgent, while keeping it healthy!

Here are 6 of my go-to’s, when I want something more than just salad and green juice:

 

Kite Hill Almond Milk Yogurt might be one of the best processed healthy foods ever made! Master vegan-chef Tal Ronnen, founder of Kite Hill, offers the freshest tasting almond milk yogurt I’ve ever had. It’s smooth, creamy, slightly tart and serves up 11g of almond protein, live active cultures and ZERO added sugar in every cup (you know I LOVE this!).

When I’m in the need of a sweet and satiating fix, I grab a container of Kite Hill plain, unsweetened yogurt, and pair it with a container of organic berries… It’s a perfect and lightly sweet treat!  (Do note, Kite Hill offers many amazing dairy-free products!) 

 

Health-Ade Kombucha = Healthy Soda, though it’s NOTHING like soda at all!

Kombucha is an effervescent, fermented tea that offers many health benefits — it supports healthy gut flora and improves digestion, it destroys bad bacteria and provides B Vitamins.

Though, I’ve been a loyal devotee to another brand of kombucha for years, Health-Ade Kombucha came to market and quickly replaced my other favorite.

Health-Ade Kombucha is the only commercial kombucha fermented 100% in glass to prevent plastic and metal leaching. It’s hand-crafted in super-small 2.5 gallon batches for premium quality, and it’s the BEST TASTING and HIGHEST QUALITY kombucha you can buy! 

 

But on this particular day, for gosh-knows what reason, you say “I. MUST. HAVE. CHIPS!” NO fear. I’ve got you covered. Salty. Crunchy. And still FAR more healthy than “chips,”… Hello Sprouted Watermelon Seeds!

Easy to pack in your car, handbag or briefcase, Watermelon seeds offer a whopping TEN grams of protein in a ONE ounce serving, plus they’re high in Magnesium and Zinc! (Do note, Go Raw offers many amazing products!) 

 

 

Some days I want something meaty, so I’ll buy a package of Monterey Grilled Artichokes. I LOVE them! They are grown on a small farm in California, with a proprietary process that retains the health benefits of fresh artichokes that far exceeds any canned or jarred product!

They come in 4 flavors, Natural, Herb, Grilled and Buffalo, but my favorite is the Grilled. That I don’t eat meat any longer, these artichokes satisfy my need for something a little more dense and ‘meaty.’ I eat them alone, with a green juice, or with a salad, but one thing is sure, once you open them, you’ll want to eat them all. They are that good!

 

 

BudhiBars are wheat free, certified kosher, baked fresh without preservatives and kept frozen until they ship! The Almond Dark, the only one I buy (on rare occasion) is certified vegan, dairy free, low in sugar, high in fiber and a mixture of Swiss Cacao and Vegan Callebaut Chocolate! One bar (of this flavor — they have others) is ONLY 4 grams of sugar, which makes this an appealing choice, when nothing less than chocolate will do!

 

 

In the spirit of “saving the best for last,” New York Natural Cheese Kale Krackers are as good as any raw cracker I’ve ever made, which of course would be the only reason I would buy them — in a pinch, when I don’t have time to make them myself! They are the only cracker with kale as the main ingredient, with other ingredients like golden flax seeds, sunflower seeds, cashews, and a perfect touch of seasoning! They maintain the life-force energy of the ingredients because they’re dehydrated, so they’re a great option on the day you want something a little more satiating with your salad… or just as a snack with your kombucha!

If you try any of my on-the-go favorites, or you have one you’d love to recommend to me, tell me in the comments below! I’d love to here from you!

Want even more delicious substitution suggestions? Click below to download my FREE “Close Enough Seconds” guide to provide you with additional ideas for your toughest cravings!

Download Your Free Substitutions Guide!