With Thanksgiving nearly here, I know many of you are looking forward to your holiday season, the celebrations and all of the joys that come with them.  I also know that for many, the struggles with the food, alcohol and stress aspects of holidays can interfere with their health.
 
As I’ve been working with clients in the last week, one thought that was new to some was to Make a Plan for a holiday. This is something I frequently suggest because when we don’t plan, we do what we always do. That’s just the way our brains are wired. Old habits are pretty much automatic. Most people show up for a food-centered celebration like Thanksgiving and kick into behaviors that they’ve been cultivating since childhood. They are looking forward to all of the special, traditional offerings that they encounter each year. They overeat unhealthy foods without thinking too much about it. Everything tastes so good and that’s just what they always do. Just as with any other habit, you don’t stand a chance if you don’t make a plan to do something different.
 
So what kind of plan are we looking for?
We want to make good choices, especially if we’ve worked hard to get to a healthier place already.
We’d like to be able to enjoy the “unhealthy” foods when it is worth it
 to us.
We want to have the satisfaction of feeling that we are taking care of ourselves.
It’s definitely a balance!
 
Start with the positive! Consider the menu and decide how you can fill up on the healthy foods that you enjoy. There’s nothing wrong with a nice serving of turkey with some delicious vegetables. Yummy!
 
Write it down:
I love to enjoy "____" on Thanksgiving Day!
 
Next look at what are likely to be your struggles on the day. Where do you feel things have typically gone awry for you?
 
Write it down:
On Thanksgiving Day, my challenges will be……
 
Think about what behavior you’d like to see instead. I recommend moderation here and not deprivation. Allow yourself to enjoy some of the aspects of the meal that are special to you, but practice moderation. Perhaps plan to have a small slice of pie rather than having a huge wedge. Or maybe you can have one glass of wine instead of three.
 
Write it down:
My goal is to…..
 
If there are foods that don’t serve you well and they are not important to you then why not just eliminate them? If you aren’t that excited by a huge helping of bread stuffing then just don’t have any.
 
Write it down:
I can eliminate these foods that don’t matter to me…..
 
Finally, be kind to yourself! If your plan doesn’t work out exactly the way you hoped, celebrate your successes and learn from where things didn’t go according to plan. That will help you manage things better the next time. Beating yourself up just leads to shame and sends you right back to your unsupportive habits.
 
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Let us know how you get on with your plan.
 

Bargain Supplements? It really is too good to be true!
 
I’ve had a couple of discussions with people this week who tell me that they buy their supplements on Amazon. I understand!....Good supplements cost money and may seem expensive. This is because it costs money to make quality supplements. It is tempting to want to cut costs and look for a cheaper source. You can find just about anything on Amazon, and, if you have Amazon Prime, then you can avoid shipping costs too. All sounds so reasonable. But here’s what you should know.
 
Bargain supplements might be worthless at best, and at worst they may be negatively impacting your health. Unfortunately it is possible to make huge amounts of money by undercutting the price of legitimate supplement companies and taking advantage of consumers.
 
I carry health professional lines from reputable manufacturers and many of these companies have regulations against those products being sold elsewhere on the internet. If they are showing up on Amazon then you have to wonder how they got there. Someone must be trying to take advantage of the consumer.
 
Now some reputable companies do list their products on Amazon but in this case you are buying directly from that manufacturer. If you are not buying from a reputable supplement company then these are some of the problems you might be encountering:
 

• The product may be counterfeit and possibly tampered with and dangerous. They may not have the correct amounts of the active ingredients they are supposed to contain. Some can have more and some have none at all.
• The supplements may be expired products that have been repackaged as new.
• They could have been stolen or purchased wholesale and released on the black market without any quality control.
• Products have been damaged and made ineffective or unhealthy (eg. rancid oils) because they have not been warehoused properly or shipped in appropriate conditions.

 
To serve my clients well, I carry health professional lines sourced from reputable companies for my clients. You can check out the options here on our Supplements Page. I suggest giving us a call so we can talk through your needs and recommend specific supplements. I always tell people that if they don’t want to buy from me they are better off going to a local health food store to get what they need rather than taking a risk with online shopping where you don't really know what you are getting.