Recovering from Christmas indulgences

Christmas indulgences can be oh so goooood, and at the same time feel oh so baaaaad!! This means recovering from it can cause a little discomfort.

But did you know you are doing more damage feeling bad about it than what it is actually doing to your;

body                       waistline                        mood                           gut….?!

Here’s why…

What you think affects your cells and biological makeup

The minute you have a thought it is processed by the body. Chemicals are created so that you get a feeling. The body will then adjust itself accordingly (Check out my Body page for more). Do you know anybody who says “I just look at a piece of cake and I put on weight”? But then there are those who can scoff down mountains of food without so much as an extra dimple.

Don’t you think that is strange?

The media has made a killing touting ideas as to which method will help us keep the kilos off. And yet, if any one of those worked for everyone, we would all be doing it. There is no common denominator except for our individual biological makeup.

But what constitutes our “biological makeup”? 

It used to be genes, but science has shown that genes only provide around 30% of health markers. So what about the other 70%? What else is influencing our health? Why do some follow their parents health patterns and some don’t?

I love the work Bruce Lipton has produced over the years on epigenetics and quantum physics. Epigenetics is showing us that genes are actually turned on and off. In fact, a cancer gene (as an example) has to actually be “turned on”. My guess is so would “fat genes”. Excerpt from Bruce Lipton’s article “The Wisdom of Your Cells“.

“As I was typing this on my computer one day I realized that my computer was like a cell. It had programs built into it but what was expressed by the computer was not determined by the programs. It was determined by the information that I, as the environment, was typing onto the keyboard. Suddenly all the pieces fell into place: the cell membrane is actually an information-processing computer chip. The cell’s genes are the hard drive with all the potentials. That is why every cell in your body can form any kind of cell because every nucleus has all the genes that make up a human”…”My cells were like little television sets with antennae’s and I was the broadcast that controlled the readout of the genes. I was actually programming my cells”.

Stem cell research, discovered many moons ago, shows that an environment shapes the cell.

But what is the environment?

Our blood.    What does our blood hold?

Chemicals.    What decides those chemicals?

Feelings.        What creates those feelings?

Thoughts.

And so we come full circle to how we shape our body

And also why how you think about “overindulging” is so important. Saying that, most of our physical programming (the way we think) has been engrained early on. It is all the recurrent messages from ourselves and others that get processed by our body to deliver us what we believe. And since beliefs are just thoughts we keep thinking (see my Soul page), we will keep bumping up against the same physical results.

Think cake will make you fat? Hey presto, you got it! Think you have a fast metabolism? No problem, you got that!

I’m sorry to say that it is unlikely to shift anything in one season of festivities, but it is certainly great to know that by simply shifting your beliefs about food and health, you can literally alter your genetic makeup. 

Check out this article: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-your-thoughts-change-your-brain-cells-and-genes_b_9516176

We are freedom seekers to the core of our being

Here’s the other rub. Our true selves seek freedom. How free do YOU feel when you think you can’t eat, drink, enjoy certain things? Children demonstrate this quality beautifully. So, when you tell yourself “no” or “don’t” or “must”, know you are basically activating that inner child that does not like it.

And what do most children (and some adults like myself) do when they are told they “can’t”?

They want it even more!

The Christmas Season

So, Christmas may go something like this. It’s coming holiday time and you may or may not have put in a little more effort to eat well, possibly even exercise. You want to look good when you go out after all. You’ve told yourself no matter what, you are not going to go crazy on all the food or drink or other indulgences.

You have now activated your freedom seeking inner child who does not want to be told what he or she cannot do or have. But for now, you’re feeling pretty happy about this commitment because this time will be different, and you will feel so proud of yourself for having abstained.

Then the leadup to Christmas comes, along with deadlines, last minute chores, busy crowds etc etc. And so physically and mentally you’re feeling a little more stressed than normal. Stress is a hormone called cortisol. When you have cortisol strolling through your bloodstream you feel alert and “on”. Which is fine for one event but over a few days your body starts to look for some extra fuel. And the quicker it can get that fuel the better. Or, your inner child may want you to chill a little, to not care so much.

Cue sugar cravings, or a desire for alcohol

As I wrote in an earlier article, ALL cravings are good. They are your body and soul’s way of getting what is best for you in this moment. So far though, nothing too detrimental has happened if you simply indulged a little then found a way to chill. But too often we feel disappointed at ourselves for “failing”. Or we decide we must be even stricter to ensure there is no repeat.

And this is where it snowballs.

Stricter just means our inner child is feeling more trapped, causing tension in the body. More tension introduced into the body just means more need for fuel. At this point you now have a three way tug-of-war. The inner child who is saying “let go, have fun”, the body that is calling out for either; energy to keep going, or say alcohol to calm or relax, and YOU who has decided I need to be “good”.

Not only does this inner conflict set up resistance which will hold fat to you, but it will also leave you feeling fatigued or irritated, with no other option than to cave. Again, not much harm done if you go crazy then let it go. But the more you continue to beat on yourself then more you will activate these two opposing forces. And the more yo yo’ing you will do.

Momentum

A powerful driving force is momentum. If you repeat this habit of self punishment for long enough you will have many factors pushing against you. The only way out is to let go, enjoy and tell yourself this is only a brief period so won’t do much harm.

Some other techniques I use are;

• Meditation, nature or walks to slow the nervous system
• Knowledge is power so even just knowing this will help
• My favourite is self soothing. Words like “well I didn’t indulge for weeks so what harm will a few days do”. Or “what I believe is what happens, so I am going to choose to LOVE this extra piece of cake”. Or “my body knows what it is doing, I will enjoy this craving now, and look forward to when I crave healthier food and habits”
• Increase intake of MCT oil or other high-quality fats for energy, rather than carbs or sugar (see my How to eliminate cravings without willpower, for more)
• Sleep more
• Be conscious in whatever is consumed, ensuring I LOVE it while I am doing it
• Begin to challenge those thoughts that tell you what you can or can’t do
• Put a super easy-to-achieve plan together to get back on track. Start small
• Watch who you spend time with. Are you being supported or held back
• Be super clear on your health goals. Find the why behind the why
• Remember stress = cortisol = cravings, and happy = endorphins = fun 🙂

My point to all of this is that beating yourself up will only lead to more of what you don’t want. If you’ve already committed to indulging, go ahead. Love it, enjoy it, savour it because that’s your best chance for getting back on track afterwards.

Don’t forget, if you ever need help with your physical goals, you have a therapist who is also a personal trainer with diet, nutrition, and energy healing qualifications to help you. You can even try out a quick assessment for free (see below).

Here’s to wishing you the BEST Christmas season you can manifest.

Loving you,

Meditating Mama Hannah

Worldwide Online Holistic Health Counsellor.