10 Joyful Yet Slimming Traditions for a Healthful Holiday Season

**Jim Hill:** Welcome to Weight Loss And, where we delve into the world of weight loss. I'm Jim Hill.

**Holly Wyatt:** And I'm Holly Wyatt. We're both dedicated to helping you lose weight, keep it off, and live your best life while you're doing it.

**Jim Hill:** Indeed, we now realize successful weight loss combines the science and art of medicine, knowing what to do and why you will do it.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yes, the “And” allows us to talk about all the other stuff that makes your journey so much bigger, better, and exciting.

**Jim Hill:** Ready for the “And” factor?

**Holly Wyatt:** Let's dive in.

**Jim Hill:** Here we go. Holly, the holidays are here. You all know that. It's prime time for joy, connections, and maybe a little too indulgent. But what if this year could be different?

**Holly Wyatt:** Yes, I love to think about that. What if the traditions that make the holiday special could also make you feel amazing? What if the season could be the first step toward creating new rituals, new routines, new holiday traditions that don't just fit into your life, but actually support your goals? What if we could do that?

**Jim Hill:** So that's what we're going to talk about today. The holidays don't have to mean throwing your health goals out the way. You can celebrate, create new memories, and still start January feeling proud, energized, and ready to go.

**Holly Wyatt:** So today, we're going to share 10 simple but powerful traditions that can transform the way you approach the holidays. And don't worry. You don't need to do all 10 of them. All 10 of them may not fit. Just pick a couple that resonate with you, fit your life, fit where you're going. It's not about perfection. It's not about doing everything. It's about progress and making it work for you.

**Jim Hill:** I love traditions, Holly. I think they're very, very special, and they can mean a lot in your life. And think of it this way. By evolving your traditions, you're really evolving you. So by the end of this episode, we hope you have some ideas for holiday traditions that can nourish your health and fill your heart, leaving you excited, not regretful when the new year rolls around.

**Holly Wyatt:** And I think that's the key, feeling excited, right? How you want to feel as you go through these holidays, how you want to feel as you start the new year. So feeling excited about what you've been doing, not regretful about how the holidays unfolded. So let's dive in. We have 10 of these. I can't wait to get started. So let's go. So 10 healthy holiday traditions to celebrate the season and stay on track.

**Jim Hill:** Okay, you go first.

**Holly Wyatt:** All right, I'm going to go first because this one is one that I've been doing for three years now. So this is a tradition I've talked about on social media, and it's very, very popular. This one's called, and you know how I like to give things names, Jim. So all these kind of have a name. I know, I know. This one's called the Tree of Thames. And this is how it works. Around the holiday season, around this time, you get out a tree of some sort. It can be a big tree. It could be a little tree that's sitting on a table. It could be a tree that's drawn on a piece of paper, a sticky note, anything that kind of represents a tree. And what you're going to do every night is think about one thing that you're grateful for, one thing that happened during the day that you're grateful for, one thing in general in that moment that's good right now. And you're going to write it. Some people are fancy. They actually have an ornament and they get a pen and they paint an ornament with something, write something on it. Some people use sticky notes. Some people use just the paper tags and write on it. But you write what you're grateful for and you decorate the tree. One thing every single night.

So it becomes that routine. Every night you're stopping, you're pausing, you're thinking about what you're grateful for. And you're basically decorating the tree with personalized notes, making this tree kind of a reflection of gratitude throughout the season. And the best thing that I love about this is you got to do it one year before you get this. But if you do it for one year, you do something every single night, you pack it away at the end of the season, and then you can get it out again the next year, Jim. And read, remember, right? So it's kind of like a little time capsule in a way in terms of gratitude. Initially, I thought this is just kind of for individuals, but for the last three years, families have been doing this. It becomes a nightly tradition. Can you imagine, Jim, maybe when your kids were a little younger and at home, everybody put one thing they were grateful for. Sometimes it's so much about the gifts under the tree. This is putting gifts kind of on the tree, things that we're grateful for every single day. But- also really good for classrooms, workplaces, or community groups. So there was a kindergarten class and people sent me pictures. They had this big tree on the wall and every day they would go and stick something. They had like little sticky notes, little stickers. And they got so excited to run up and put something on the tree that they were grateful for.

**Jim Hill:** That's really cool. And you know, we're scientists and more and more research is showing that gratitude can actually be a big factor in improving your health. So these things are connected, and it's part of what you and I call a healthy mind state. And gratitude does so much. And as you're trying to manage your weight and manage your health and improve your quality of life, I think gratitude is going to play a big, big role in all of that.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. And you say how everything's connected. So the mind state has a bunch of things that's connected. Mind state's connected to body state. And body state is connected to your life state. And it kind of does all work together. And I'm glad you said about the science because there is more and more real science showing what your brain does when you truly feel appreciation. It lights up. It fires. It's wired differently. It fires differently. There's really physiology behind.

**Jim Hill:** It's exciting science to show how mind state actually is affecting your physiology. These things are coming together in an amazing way.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. So not as I think woo-woo as sometimes people think it is. It's really…

**Jim Hill:** It's real science.

**Holly Wyatt:** It's real science being hooked to physiology. And I love that because you know how I love the physiology. So it's a powerful antidote to holiday stress. And this is something that you could be really get into the habit of doing every single year. And then you have a little snapshot of every single year. So number one, the tree of thanks. All right, Jim, you're going to be up. Number two.

**Jim Hill:** Well, this is probably my favorite. We call it the stress melt stroll. Now this could be a ticket to a calmer and happier holiday season. Very simple. Set aside maybe 20 minutes each evening for a peaceful walk. You can do it with your family. You can do it with your spouse. You can do it with your neighbor. You can do it by yourself. Use this time to let go of the day stress. You know, people get so stressed over the holidays. You're worrying about food and accommodations and everything. And this is you can replace the stress with fresh air, gentle movement, and mindfulness. It's a time for you. So reflect on what went well over the day, practice gratitude, or simply enjoy the holiday atmosphere. If you live in a neighborhood with festive decorations, take a holiday walk to soak in that magic of the season. Whether you're strolling under twinkling lights or alone on a quiet path, this simple ritual is kind of a magic reset button for your day. And if you're tempted to spend those 20 minutes in front of the TV.

Consider swapping that time for a walk. It's an investment in your well-being, and this could really be a nice holiday tradition for everyone. And so this is perfect for people who feel stressed during a holiday season because that time of day that you can let go of it. Got 20 minutes just to enjoy your surroundings, think about all the good stuff, the gratitude. It really can melt the stress of the day.

**Holly Wyatt:** So Jim, we've been doing this in Energize. We've been doing some swaps. So we've called it the stress swap, but it's really the same thing as that we're calling this the stress melt stroll. And the idea is to swap out all the emotions of the day, whether that whatever that those are to, to swap them out for some movement and some gratitude. I also think not only does it work in that moment, it's kind of prevention.

You do this every day. It even makes the next day better. So not just treatment in a sense of, you know, swapping out whatever's there, whatever stressful emotions are there, but also preventing maybe, some of that feeling of overwhelm, some of the stressors that build up, preventing them from building up, preventing them from happening. So we've been doing it for six weeks.

**Jim Hill:** The goal is not to get rid of stress. It's to manage it.

**Holly Wyatt:** Exactly.

**Jim Hill:** You're going to have stress in your life. And we keep saying there are a lot of good things about stress. But what you have to do is to deal with the stress and be resilient. And the 20-minute walk will give you a chance to deal with the stress of one day. Then you can really start anew on the next day.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. And 20 minutes, I think, is a doable chunk. 10 minutes out, 10 minutes back. If you don't want to do minutes, we've said you could do 2,000 steps if you like to think of it that way. That's about the same if you're strolling.

**Jim Hill:** You can do more. If you really get into it, you can do more. But 20 minutes is about a good time to start with. And think about that. It gives you time to stroll around your neighborhood, gives you time to sort of think about your day and think about other things that help you get rid of the stress.

**Holly Wyatt:** And I think by saying 20 minutes, it's like doable. If you say, I've got to go out for 60 minutes, then you're like, I don't have time for that. You can almost always pick 20 minutes. And so I've been encouraging people to do this in the later half of the day, the evening time. I mean, you've got to fit it in either before dinner, after dinner, include other people or don't. Go by yourself.

**Jim Hill:** I like that after dinner walk. You've had dinner, you're a little full. It helps sometimes rather than go and sit in front of the TV. If you go for a walk, I actually feel better than if I just sit.

**Holly Wyatt:** But sometimes getting out there to start the walk is the hardest part. And that's why I think 20 minutes and making it a routine. Like this is what we do. We finish dinner. We go out for a short walk. The movement and I think then thinking that gratitude, like what is good in this moment, enjoying the very moment, awareness and being mindful is also a key piece. So it's almost a way to transform the stress.

**Jim Hill:** Yeah.

**Holly Wyatt:** But in a way, it's also you can just swap it. I just think about I'm giving this up and this is what I'm getting. I'm swapping it out.

**Jim Hill:** I love it. All right. What's next, Holly?

**Holly Wyatt:** Number three is called mocktail merriment. And this one can, I think this one can help a lot of people, especially if it's the holiday drinks, all the special drinks that are something you really enjoy or maybe tend to get you off plan. And you don't want to give them up, right? You don't want to give them up over the holiday. You like the idea of having some special drinks. So this routine changes it just a little bit. So to bring some sparkle to your holiday without all the extra calories, because there's so many calories in some of those drinks, the idea is to create a low calorie version of a drink. That's why we call it a mocktail. So you can think about things like using ginger and mint and sparkling water. And around the holidays, if you look, a lot of like soda companies have brand new flavors that are sugar-free. So they'll have like a Sprite cranberry or something like that that you can use that are low calorie that you can use as your base. It makes them special. And they only kind of come out during the season. So you can kind of look for those. And the idea is to come up with a mocktail, serve it in a fancy glass, right? That's part of it. Garnish it. Make it look good. And I even like I even challenge people give it a special holiday name.

Something holiday glow. I don't know, whatever you fancy, whatever you want to make it, but something that's once. You just do it during the holidays and make it a rule to enjoy this drink only during the holidays. So it makes it special. It only comes out. It's only part of the seasonal tradition, really. So what do you think about that? You think that might be good for some people?

**Jim Hill:** Yeah, I think for some people that could be a nice tradition. So yeah, I like it, Holly.

**Holly Wyatt:** The other thing I've had seen people do, and I like this too, is they actually create a mocktail station if they're having a party. And they said they put all the potential things that you could put into a mocktail at a station, and then they have their guests come up with different mocktails. They even can make it a competition and have a little bit of a prize. Or sometimes they even create something and they say it's a family secret recipe to pass down. So you can have fun with this, I guess is what I'm saying, and still have special holiday drinks without all the calories.

**Jim Hill:** Okay. I like it. All right. Number four, Holly. I like this one. The gift of you time. You know, again, we talk about stress of the holiday season, particularly sometimes the person who's preparing the food and organizing everything and experiencing a lot of stress.

**Holly Wyatt:** Jim, would that be you?

**Jim Hill:** Um, maybe not.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. Maybe not.

**Jim Hill:** Maybe not. But there are a lot of people who experience that. So one of the things you can do is think about some you time, intentional time where you can sit back and recharge and nurture your wellbeing. And you can do this once or twice a week. It might be taking an extra 30 minutes of sleep. You tell everybody in the house to leave you alone, don't wake you up, get that extra sleep. Maybe a night just watching a TV channel you like or a movie you like. It could be a soothing bath with scented candles or dancing to your favorite holiday playlist. This is about a tradition of scheduling time that brings you joy and relaxation. These are self-care sessions. They're appointments with yourself, and they can become a really cherished part of your holiday routine. Focus on things that don't involve food, like reading a book or journaling your thoughts or taking a yoga class, a digital detox. A lot of people do that. Just take some time away from being on your phone and social media, etc. These moments are about you and nurturing your spirit. What do you think, Holly?

**Holly Wyatt:** I like this one because the tradition is, okay, when the holiday season starts, I'm going to get some extra me time, the gift of you time, right? I'm going to do some extra. So the tradition is I don't back away from taking care of myself, which I think is what tends to happen, less you time, right? I'm actually going to add a little bit more time. And that becomes the tradition to really think about when you need more self-care, not tend to do the opposite. So if you could get into this tradition or this routine, I think it could make a big difference for some people, especially those that are responsible for so much and feel so stressed and overwhelmed during this time of year.

**Jim Hill:** Yeah. And again, the whole theme here is how you sort of counter some of the stress of the holidays. So again, you're able to enjoy the holidays, but you don't feel like you've really blown your lifestyle plan during the holidays. This can be a good one.

**Holly Wyatt:** And we know self-care helps with that, right?

**Jim Hill:** Absolutely.

**Holly Wyatt:** If you take care of yourself, you're more able to stay on plan, to remember what's important to you. But for this one, everybody does lip service to that. Okay. But I think for it really to work, you've got to schedule it. You've got to say, okay, the tradition is once a week, I'm going to do this and really write it in your calendar, not just say it. You got to take a little bit more action and do it for this one to work.

**Jim Hill:** Yeah. Get serious about it.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah.

**Jim Hill:** Okay, Holly, number five.

**Holly Wyatt:** This one is called a recipe for tradition. And a lot of you may have started doing this. And I like this idea. You don't need to get rid of all your recipes that are special this time of year. You know, your, your grandmother's stuffing or whatever, but could you start to create a few new recipes? Could you make it a holiday tradition to at least introduce one new recipe to your seasonal lineup? Something that aligns with your health goals. So this isn't about cutting it all out. This is about adding. And this is, once again, a mindset shift a little bit. It's not that I am having to do less or give up. What can I add that really moves me forward. So you could take a new look at a classic dish or a lighter version of a favorite, or you can make up something new entirely if that's really what you want. You can swap out some high calorie ingredients for healthier ones, or you can like explore maybe some of the seasonal produce that's out there, create something that has a little bit more vegetables in it. I have a vegetable platter that I always use during the holidays that if I'm going to a party, that's what I bring with me. So something like that. And every year kind of thinking about what's one more new recipe that I could add. So that I think could be a great tradition that just creates more and doesn't feel like you're giving up anything. I think it can be good for families.

You can have the whole family kind of contribute or collaborate, or you could prepare it and put it out there, see how it goes. Lots of different ways to do it. But I do think thinking about this and not just staying with the traditional without thinking about what else you could add is a great way to approach the season.

**Jim Hill:** Holly, there are tons of healthy cookbooks and online healthy recipes and everything. And So you can play around and find something that you think you and your family would enjoy. And it's a great way to start a new tradition.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. And I think it goes well in families because it's like, I'm not taking away your favorite sweet potato casserole.

**Jim Hill:** Right.

**Holly Wyatt:** I'm not taking that away. I'm just adding something and just seeing how it goes. And every year, maybe it isn't a hit and you don't use it next year. But what if you did find something everybody loved and it became a new tradition that aligned a little bit better with some of your health and weight goals for the new year.

**Jim Hill:** So it's adding, not taking away. We like that.

**Holly Wyatt:** I think that's a theme here.

**Jim Hill:** Yeah, I agree. All right. Next one. This may not be for everybody, but it's a tradition that you could think about. And that's hydrate and veg before you indulge. Okay. So if you know you're going to be at a place where there's the big holiday meal, lots of food, lots of good tasting food. You could be at a party. It could be a Thanksgiving dinner. And you really want to make sure you don't overeat. I mean, come on, all these foods are tempting. It's hard to be around all these great foods. And no, I don't want this and I don't want that. So one of the things you could do, is drink two cups of water and eat two cups of vegetables before the meal, okay? What that's going to do is make you less hungry when you go into the meal. So you can enjoy some of the things, but maybe enjoy them in smaller quantities. So it's something to keep in mind if you're really worried about really overdoing it in that big meal. this is something you can do ahead of time that's going to reduce the chances that you overindulge at that meal.

**Holly Wyatt:** I love this one because it's using food as medicine. We've been talking about this. It's in a sense using food and water, I think, but it's about putting some volume in your stomach so that hopefully you will be satisfied, fully satisfied with less calories, less of the energy dense food that you're about to eat that you love. And so there's a little science behind it. I almost think of it as it's kind of like taking a pill before you, you sit down to eat a really energy dense meal, you know, something that you hope will say, okay, I don't need any more a little bit sooner. So yes, you can do this during like your big meals, like you're going, you know, your traditional meal, but I've been having people do this all during the season for their dinner meal for one of their meals. It's like, can I eat vegetables first and then eat what I want? And can that be a way, a tradition or just a routine even, that can help me get through the season and not gain weight? So I think, Jim, this has a lot of potential for people. The key, if the veggies don't have, they don't want sauce and cheese and lots of oil, and then it kind of defeats the purpose. But this is how I do it. I keep frozen bags of veggies, mixed veggies, in my freezer. and before I eat an indulgent meal, something that I really like that tastes good, I eat a couple cups of those veggies, kind of like if I took a pill that was trying to help my appetite.

**Jim Hill:** I think this is certainly one to try for people that worry about overindulging in meals. And again, you don't have to do it all the time. Do it some of the time and see if it can help.

**Holly Wyatt:** Absolutely. Do your own little mini experiment. All right. Number seven, we call this one active holiday fun. Move more, sit less. So this is playing on the idea of what sedentary activities do you typically do during the holidays that you could make more active. And so this is really where you have to look at what do I do during the holidays? Where am I sitting? And is it a fun, easy way to move more? So think about what are some of the traditional sedentary holiday activities that you do. So for instance, it may be watching holiday movies. You sit down or you go in the car and you look at lights, things that you typically sit and see if you can make more movement. So let me give you some examples because I know maybe you're like, well, how do you do that? So, for instance, let's say it's frequently y'all watch holiday movies during this time of year. You could do dance breaks instead of just sitting through the whole thing. At certain times, you could break it up. If you watch commercials, I know now commercials are kind of a thing of the past, but you could get up during the commercials or take breaks, play music, get moving for bursts of energy. Also, and I love this one with kids.

There's something we call the holiday movie movement game. So you can pick a holiday classic and assign a movement every time a specific word or phrase is said. So example, you're watching Home Alone. You do, I don't know, 10 jumping jacks every time Kevin screams, ah, you know, or, and if it's elf, you jog in place every time Buddy says Santa. If you know the movie, you know what word maybe to use is a fun way, especially with kids, to get some movement into a sedentary activity. Or go walk to see the lights. That's an easy one instead of getting in the car or actively decorate your tree. But the idea is think about a sedentary activity and how can I just move more during that activity? Be creative really with it. And that's a new tradition, right? You're adding a little activity to a sedentary tradition, but still keeping the tradition.

**Jim Hill:** I like that. It's kind of like a small change you can do that adds up over time.

**Holly Wyatt:** Once again, you're not giving up. It's like, I'm not going to give up my holiday movies. I'm just going to add this twist to it. And that's going to become the new tradition.

**Jim Hill:** And that's the theme here. We're not talking deprivation. We're not talking giving up some of the things you like about the holidays. We're talking about some tweaks that still allow you to enjoy it and maybe make it a little bit of a more healthy time for you.

**Holly Wyatt:** And I think kids really like that movie when we're, okay, every time they say this or do this, you do something. That actually is fun. And that can actually be a better tradition for them. They may enjoy that more.

**Jim Hill:** I can see that with kids. That's a great idea. All right, Holly, number eight, we're rolling along. This is the Holiday Harmony Stretch. Pause, breathe, and refocus. This is something you can start doing when you get overwhelmed during some moments of the holidays. You feel the urge to react in a way that could derail your health. Really stressful. Those cupcakes are right there on the counter. You're saying, you know, I'm just so overwhelmed by all this. I'm just going to eat six cupcakes.

**Holly Wyatt:** It's like when you want to throw up your hands and say, I don't care. Right? At that moment, you know?

**Jim Hill:** Yeah. So when you are tempted to react in a way that could derail your health goals, and we know you do this. I mean, we're all tempted all the time.

**Holly Wyatt:** Oh, we all do it. Yeah, we do it. It's the way we react.

**Jim Hill:** We react. But here's something you can do. Three simple strategies. First of all, stretch your body. Just take five or 10 minutes for gentle stretches. Reach your arms overhead, roll your shoulders, simple forward fold. We're not talking about anything elaborate here. Just sort of move the various parts of your body, giving your mind a chance to reset. Second, your breath. We know breathing. And again, you talk about the science. There's so much science behind breathing as a way to improve your mind state and your health. So practice deep breathing by inhaling for a count of four, holding it for four, and exhaling for four. Focused breathing will help lower your stress, slows your heart rate, and helps you feel grounded. Simple, simple things you can do. And third, stretch your thoughts. Pause and ask yourself a simple question like, what do I need most right now? Or how can I respond in a way that supports my goal? Sometimes writing down these thoughts or saying them out loud can give you clarity and help you take control of the situation. Even five minutes with one of these techniques can transform a reactive moment into an intentional one. These are simple strategies when you feel overwhelmed.

**Holly Wyatt:** And I would say just try this because I know that I didn't believe this would work and then I started doing it and I was like, okay, it works not every time, but it works a good percentage of the time. You know, I'm about to do something. I'm about to react. And I think Holly's just stretch it out. That's what I think in my head. Stretch it out. Stretch it out. Don't react. Stretch. Give yourself some time. And I love that you came up with three things. Stretch your body. That's what feels good at the moment. Do some stretches. What are you doing? You're stretching that time out. You're not reacting. You're giving yourself more opportunity to make a different choice. Stretch your breath, breathe the five deep breaths or four deep breaths. We know lots of science behind starts to activate the parasympathetic nervous system or stretch your thoughts. So three ways to really stretch it out. So in the moment, sometimes it's hard, but if I can just think, stretch it out, stretch it out, stretch it out, give myself some more time, the more I can stretch it out, the more opportunities I have to make a different choice, a choice that perhaps is more aligned with my health goals and I can remember them, right? And that's, I think, the key to this one.

**Jim Hill:** This is one you can have in your pocket and use when you need to use it. Just know that it's there. Try it out when you get overwhelmed and we're all going to get overwhelmed sometimes over the holidays. So try out one of these simple things for five minutes and see if it makes a difference.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah, it's easy. It doesn't cost anything. It's not going to hurt anybody. Do you manage? We'll try it. And even if it only works 20% of the time, that's amazing, right?

**Jim Hill:** Right.

**Holly Wyatt:** That's 20% of the time. So this is a big one. And I have been teaching the undergraduates this year, as they go into test taking time, let's just stretch it out. What can we do to stretch it out and make a better decision? So it's also an empowerment tool, I think. All right. We're up to number nine.

**Jim Hill:** We're rolling.

**Holly Wyatt:** All right. This is a favorite among State of Slimmers. We do this every holiday. I help them do this. I come up with these scavenger hunt. So this one's called a holiday adventure scavenger hunt. And this can be a fun way that you can get more movement basically in the holiday season. So the idea is to create a tradition where you explore the world around you, right? You're going to create a list of holiday-themed items to find and snap pictures of. So you take your phone with you as you walk and you can do this as a family. You can do this individually. You can do this as a competition. You can have two different teams, give a certain length of time who can find, you know, all these different items. The key is you have to be out walking. You can't be, you know, in a car snapping pictures. I've seen that happen. That kind of defeats the purpose. You got to be out walking. But you come up with these creative lists. You can share the list with your friends, your family, your coworkers, invite them to join you or just do it alone. I've done it alone where I'm like, okay, I'm going out and I'm looking for these five things. I'll give you some examples in a minute. And it changes the whole adventure. It changes the whole walk when I'm out there looking and aware of my situation. And it just really gives the whole idea of going for a walk a different feel to it.

So let me give you some ideas. People may be saying, you know, what kind of things are you putting on these lists? So, for instance, a house with a Rudolph decoration or the word Mary or joy on a sign or display, you know, a holiday themed mailbox, a snowman. It could be real. It could be inflatable. A holiday flag or banner, a house with icicle lights. Look for a group of carolers. They could be real or they could be figurines. A dog wearing a festive holiday sweater, you know, are you going to see it or not? you don't know, but there's, it could be, you're out there looking for it. Um, all kinds of things. So you, you make this list and this becomes the scavenger hunt. And like I said, some people like to make it competitive by awarding points. That's what we do in State of Slim. We have teams, which team is going to find more items. Put some hard ones to find on there, some easy ones to find on there. And you can even do a twist, and I've done this too, by challenging participants to pose in front of the item for their picture. Makes it a little bit, makes sure they were there, right? Just a little bit, making sure they were really walking and out there doing it. So I think this tradition is perfect for families, individuals who want mindful movement, friends, co-workers who just want to have some fun. And it's kind of a twist, a playful twist for the season.

And it's been very, very popular. People keep asking me, are we going to do the holiday scavenger hunt this year?

**Jim Hill:** Cool. I like that. That's a good tradition to give a try and wonderful for families. So if you have all of your family in and you're always looking for something to do, it's a good tradition to start.

**Holly Wyatt:** Oh, and one more thing that I really like about this, it's good for younger kids and the older generation. So really, you can include everybody in it, especially if you make the list kind of specific. And so you can give the younger kids, be looking out for this and participate. So I think it's great for multi-generations.

**Jim Hill:** All right, Holly, the last one. And we're going to cheat a little bit here because we've given you nine good traditions. Number 10 is create your own tradition. So we've given you ideas, but think about other things that you can do. Think about starting a new tradition that reflects your current lifestyle values and goals. It may be that you have a lot of people in over the holidays. It may be it's just you and your spouse or just a few people.

So look at your situation and try to come up with a new tradition that reflects your lifestyle. It can be something solo. It can be an activity with your family. It can be something you do with friends. It can do a community thing. So it's as simple as plan a family hike. If you live in a nice place to go hiking, do that. Or just walk around your neighborhood. or organize a yoga session one holiday morning for your family. It can be some time that you take again for self-care. Dedicate an hour to journaling about your year. Think back over the year and what went right, what went wrong, what are you grateful for. It can be reading inspirational books or getting together and setting intentions for the new year. You could do that. You could round the family dinner. You could ask everybody, what do you want to accomplish this next year? That could be a nice tradition.

You can do acts of kindness. You can start volunteering or donating as a family, preparing care packages, volunteer as a shelter, or buying gifts for those in need. Those could be some nice family traditions around that. You could have creative sessions. You could make ornament-making sessions. This is good for young kids. They love things like that. Or you could even bake cookies together with young kids or cook together. Create family time. Design a holiday playlist let everybody get involved in choosing songs they want on the holiday playlist. Holly I think's got a tradition this year she has a new puppy Brody so i think she and Brody are taking nightly walks.

**Holly Wyatt:** Bodie. Bodie, Jim.

**Jim Hill:** Bodie.

**Holly Wyatt:** You already got his name wrong.

**Jim Hill:** Bodie Bodie

**Holly Wyatt:** Bodie. But you know what i like about this and i think the key to this one isn't what you decide. It's really what you decide to do as a tradition. It's that mind state of growing and changing and evolving. And if you're evolving, and we're always evolving, we're moving toward what we want to create in our lives and who we want to be. And yes, it may be around our body weight. It may be around our life state. It may be around fitness. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. If you're evolving, your traditions need to evolve too. So the idea that you're open to learning, to thinking about what new things could we do and not really stuck and just staying in the same. Because if you're changing, the same doesn't fit you. It doesn't align anymore. So that's a perfect example. I got this new dog, this new puppy. Bodie. And I'm like, okay, I need a new tradition, right? I need something new as I'm growing. And so we're going to go out walking every night. We're going to do the 20 minute stroll, but where I'm decorating, believe it or not, he has a stroller and I'm decorating the stroller.

**Jim Hill:** No way. Bodie doesn't walk? He goes in the stroller?

**Holly Wyatt:** Not yet. I know. How did I get a dog that refuses to walk? I know. I'm working on it, Jim. I'm working on it.

**Jim Hill:** Okay. Woo, Holly. We went through 10 good ones.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. I would love to hear from the listeners, which ones they like the best or did they create their own and what did that look like and why? You know, anytime you create a new tradition or a routine, I always say, be specific. Why am I doing this? Why does this align better? Why does this fit the new me? Or why does this fit the direction I want to go help me make it easier, really be strategic about what you're creating. So I would love to hear from the listeners and see what they come up with.

**Jim Hill:** Yeah. So let us know if you develop some new traditions or you might already have some traditions that would fit very well. Let us know and we'll share those with our listeners.

**Holly Wyatt:** Absolutely. All right. We do have a couple listener questions that I thought fit with this topic people have asked in the past that I thought we could answer today. You want to take one?

**Jim Hill:** Okay. How can I introduce these ideas to my family without them feeling like sacrifices? Yeah, that's the key because we're not talking about getting rid of things. So we're not sitting down and saying, okay, we're not doing this anymore. It's and, it's adding. And again, rather than sit down and say, we're going to do this, sit down and say, hey, I have some ideas of some things that might be fun. So get them involved and see what they like and what they don't like. But again, you're not taking anything away. You're adding. And I think if you approach it that way and it's not a done deal, here's what we're going to do. Here's some ideas. What do you think? And it becomes a conversation.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah, that is the key. No one likes for something to be taken from them. You introduce resistance almost immediately, especially if it's a tradition that they like or enjoy. So the idea is not to say we're not going to have hot cocoa and watch movies. Okay, we're going to have hot cocoa, watch movies, and we're going to, can we add something to this? Can we add some movement to it? Or here's another way we could make the hot you know, the hot cocoa, you don't have to, but I'm going to make mine this way. And if, you know, if you want to do it this way too, it's a little bit different way. You can. That to me is the key.

**Jim Hill:** Right.

**Holly Wyatt:** That's the key.

**Jim Hill:** Right. Exactly.

**Holly Wyatt:** And this kind of goes with a second question, um, that a listener has written in for, um, how can I inspire others to get excited about joining me in the new traditions like the scavenger hunt? Cause I've talked about that before, um, when they're set in their ways and resistant to try anything different. I think this kind of also is as people get older, they're like, well, I don't want to do that. Right. They are kind of resistant and you want to do it. How do you do that? And that to me is a perfect time to be the change. What I mean by be the change is you just start doing the new tradition. You don't force anyone. You don't tell anyone they have to do it. You don't even tell people what you're doing. You just start doing it. You know, if it's go for the walk after dinner, don't make them go for a walk with you. You just simply go for a walk and you do it and you do it and you do it. You be the change. And that to me is the easiest way to slowly kind of get these traditions going and to inspire others that they can join in.

**Jim Hill:** Yeah, we've seen that over and over of people say, oh, my husband or my wife doesn't like to do that. And you do it. And after a while, they say, wow, maybe I'll join you on that walk, or maybe I'll do this and that. So, you know, you can change people just by being a model for good behavior.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. If they're not excited and you can't make them excited, then just be the change. That's what you do.

**Jim Hill:** All right, Holly, you want to do some vulnerability questions?

**Holly Wyatt:** Yes, of course. I know one. Are you ready?

**Jim Hill:** I'm ready.

**Holly Wyatt:** So out of the 10 holiday traditions we just talked about, which one are you thinking about adding to your life this year and why?

**Jim Hill:** Well, you know, Holly, you're going to be surprised. Which one do you think? And then I'll tell you.

**Holly Wyatt:** Goodness, it's probably going to be something with activity. I don't know, the 20-minute walk? The stroll? That one?

**Jim Hill:** I actually think I might try the Tree of Things.

**Holly Wyatt:** No.

**Jim Hill:** Yeah, I know. I know.

**Holly Wyatt:** No.

**Jim Hill:** I know.

**Holly Wyatt:** Oh, my gosh. See? See? I've been talking about this for a while. Be the change. It's rubbing off on you, Jim. I think that's what's happening.

**Jim Hill:** Oh, my gosh. You might be right.

**Holly Wyatt:** I'm going to have to ask Trish, though, if you actually do it.

**Jim Hill:** All right. Fair enough.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah.

**Jim Hill:** All right, Holly. I'll ask one for you. As a wellness expert, do you feel extra pressure during the holidays to live up to expectations, either from yourself or others? How do you handle, and I know you slip up sometimes, how do you handle those times when you feel like you're not meeting expectations?

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah, I definitely have, you know, one of the things I'm working on is I hold a really high bar.

**Jim Hill:** You do.

**Holly Wyatt:** For myself. I've done that since I was a little bitty girl. I just, I think it was just something that is inside me. I don't know how. So one of the things I'm working on is to give myself some grace and that to, you know, know that I am going to fall down and that that's okay. And what I've been telling myself, and this really has been working for me, is my slip ups are sometimes when I learn the most. You know, I'm in this field because I struggle with my weight and all that kind of stuff. And if I had just been able to do everything perfectly, if I hadn't, you know, if I had just lived up to all expectations, then I really wouldn't be very good at what I'm doing. You know, it's because I fall down. It's because I do struggle. It's because I don't always live up to expectations that it's those moments when I think about, well, what could I do differently? How could I help you? It gives me that insight, I guess. And sometimes some of the best learnings and some of my best ideas have come actually when I've been slipping up or I haven't really met the bar fully. And I'm, you know, so give myself some grace and realize that that's sometimes the best learning opportunity. I think that's how I've been trying to deal with it.

**Jim Hill:** You know, that works for science as well. Sometimes the best learnings are when a study doesn't come out as you thought it would, where your hypothesis isn't confirmed. In fact, it's like, oh my gosh, I thought it was gonna be just the opposite. and you learn from it. And oftentimes those are the ways that you really move forward.

**Holly Wyatt:** Absolutely. And yeah, and seeing it different, seeing it different is the key.

**Jim Hill:** All right. The pie on the plate here is holidays can be a wonderful, wonderful time, but they can also be stressful. So how do you get this good medium where you really balance the joy and the excitement of the holidays with making sure you don't end the holidays feeling really bad about blowing your lifestyle goals? And one of the ways you can do that is develop some traditions. Again, not getting rid of traditions, adding some traditions that may make it a little bit easier to manage the stress and make sure that you start January where you want to be really excited about the new year.

**Holly Wyatt:** Yeah. This season is what you make it. You can embrace the joy. You can have fun. You can connect and you can grow. You can move towards your goals. It doesn't have to be one or the other. So I think adding new traditions is a perfect place to start.

**Jim Hill:** All right. So get out there. Try some new traditions this holiday season. We'll talk to you next time on Weight Loss And.

**Holly Wyatt:** Bye, everybody.

**Jim Hill:** And that's a wrap for today's episode of Weight Loss And. We hope you enjoy diving into the world of weight loss with us.

**Holly Wyatt:** If you want to stay connected and continue exploring the “Ands” of weight loss, be sure to follow our podcast on your favorite platform.

**Jim Hill:** We'd also love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, questions, or topic suggestions by reaching out at [weightlossand.com](http://weightlossand.com/). Your feedback helps us tailor future episodes to your needs.

**Holly Wyatt:** And remember, the journey doesn't end here. Keep applying the knowledge and strategies you've learned and embrace the power of the “And” in your own weight loss journey.