81: Holiday Eating Strategy for Moms Over 40: The 4-Pillar Playbook for Thanksgiving Success

Thanksgiving is in two weeks, and if you're a mom over 40 wondering how to navigate the big meal without derailing your fitness goals, this episode delivers your game plan. Host Kat, a mom of two and strength trainer in her 40s, breaks down her proven 4-pillar holiday event playbook that keeps you energized, strong, and guilt-free through every gathering.

Learn the biggest mistake women make on Thanksgiving morning (hint: it involves skipping meals), why hydration is critical when your routine gets disrupted, and how to balance your plate so you can enjoy both stuffing AND pie. Kat shares practical strategies for maintaining baseline habits when schedules go sideways, incorporating movement without formal workouts, and protecting your recovery during the marathon (not sprint) of the holiday season.

Discover why showing up to dinner nourished changes everything, how to return to routine without punishment or restriction, and the framework that stops you from starting over every January. This is your permission slip to enjoy your family's traditional dishes, be fully present, and still feel connected to your health goals—no guilt required.

Ready for personalized support this holiday season? Kat is taking on new clients for her Essentials and Premier online coaching programs. Whether you need expert programming or full-service coaching with weekly video calls, she'll help you navigate the holidays with a plan built for your real life. Book a call to find out which program is right for you.

Perfect for: Moms 40+ who want a realistic, sustainable approach to Thanksgiving and holiday eating that actually works with real life.

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Transcript

0:01

Next week is Thanksgiving, and I know what you're thinking. Here we are in the midst of the holiday season between the planning, the shopping, the scheduling, and all the festivities that come with big meals, busy calendars, it can feel overwhelming. But here's the thing, you don't have to choose between enjoying the season and. Staying on track with your fitness goals. Today we're gonna talk about how to navigate the entire holiday season without guilt. Let's find that sweet spot of balance and joy together.

Kat: 0:33

Welcome to MilesFromHerView, the podcast powered by KatFit Strength, where busy women like you find practical solutions to fuel your fitness journey with authenticity and resilience. I'm Kat, your host, a mom of two active boys, a business owner, and an ultra marathon runner and a strength trainer in her forties with nearly two decades of experience. I'm here to help you cut through the noise of fads, hacks, and quick fixes. This is a space where we celebrate womanhood and motherhood. All while building strength and resilience and reconnecting with you from a place of self-compassion and worthiness. Whether you're lacing up your running shoes to go out for a run, driving your kids to practice or squeezing in a moment for yourself, I'm right here in the trenches with you. Let's dive in.

1:21

Welcome back to another episode of Miles From Review. I am Kat, your host, and I'm glad you're here. Whether you're tuning in for the first time or you're a regular listener, I'm excited to provide you with a game plan so that you can feel at peace with your fitness and. Going through the holiday season this time of year is such a fantastic time of year, and it can also be so stressful, but here's what I want to normalize right now. It's perfectly normal to feel like you're disconnected or that you have fallen off the wagon during the holidays. That is so normal and it's part of the unrest that comes with our schedules being disrupted. Everybody goes through it. I go through it, so I don't want you to think that you're doing it wrong because it happens to everyone. The key is having a flexible framework that you can return to, no rigid plan that makes you feel like a failure. A couple weeks ago I talked about four key strategies in how to stay consistent. This is going to be. More of a survival. I don't wanna just say survive a thriving guide. It's a thriving guide through the holiday gatherings as well as the season. All right, so first thing, keep your baseline going. Number one, keep your baseline habits going. It's really important. You keep everything going as normal and adjust when needed. So look at your schedule now. I don't want you to look at your schedule the week of maybe Thanksgiving travel, other holiday travel that follows into December, and identify where things are going to be really tight. And I want you to get proactive about it. So here's what it can look like. So look at your training schedule. Look at what can you do or what can't you do during the times where it's going to be busy meal prep, is there anything you can prepare ahead of time so that you have food on hand If you're hosting. You know, make sure you have food on hand while you're cooking and preparing your home for guests to arrive. This one I love and it's so overlooked. Recovery. Where are you scheduling in time for that downtime? Are you protecting your sleep? That is a huge, huge one. Recovery helps us continue to thrive from sleep to downtime. Think of November and December as a marathon and not a sprint. You're not trying to pr your lifts or, add more workouts or you are trying to maintain staying consistent where you can and being strategic about your energy. Number two, the holiday event playbook. Okay. Let's talk about the holiday gatherings, parties, big meals, and here are the four pillars I want you to focus on. Number one, the food approach. Do not skip meals to save calories. This is a huge mistake I see. Typically, it follows something like this. Oh, I'm not going to eat breakfast. This is typically on a Thanksgiving day. I'm not gonna eat breakfast because we're gonna have appetizers and a big dinner later. You think you're being strategic here, but you show up starving, your blood sugar is tanked and you wind up eating way more than you planned. Eat normally throughout the day, have your regular breakfast, have a balanced lunch, and show up to dinner. Nourished. You'll make better choices and you will actually enjoy the food more. And listen, if that day is totally out of the norm, one day is not going to make or break your whole plan. It's, it's just simply not, trust me, enjoy the traditional dishes, have the dessert and move on. Number two, the hydration. So we're in this holiday event playbook here. Hydration stay hydrated. So in the northeast it's getting cooler and your water intake tends to go down because you're just not as hot or sweating as much. Add in holiday gatherings where you might enjoy an alcoholic beverage or more coffee and dehydration is gonna sneak up on you. Drink water intentionally. Start your day with water. Keep a water bottle with you alternate alcoholic beverages or other, non-water beverages with water. This is going to help keep your energy levels up help you feel your best, aid in digestion, and it'll also help you sleep better. Movement. So your activity is gonna look different during holidays and that's a hundred percent okay. I'm not expecting you or myself to hit the gym for intense training sessions while you're traveling or have family in town. But instead, think about incorporating movement throughout your day, morning walk, playing with the kids or family outside a quick mobility session, dancing in the kitchen while cooking, or maybe. You're a family who enjoys a Turkey trotter or a local 5K. Look at ways you can incorporate it throughout the whole time. And if there's just not a time for you to move your body, then that's the week you plan that you're off you can schedule in breaks. I do it in my plans with my coach stating this is a time where I'm off because my schedule is so disrupted and it would be more stressful for me to try to find the time or to get a workout in because of the setup than it would be to take the time off. So figure out what movement is going to work for you. The last thing you really, really wanna feel is you're missing time with your family just to check off the workout box. Do what makes you feel good. And then number four, in this holiday event playbook. So looking at the day and or that week that you are traveling the plan ahead. This doesn't mean scheduling your day down to the last minute. It means thinking about where can I nurture myself with my wellbeing at the top of mind? If you're traveling, what can you bring? Resistance bands, sneakers for a walk if you're hosting. Can you delegate tasks so you're not so exhausted? And where can you build moments of quiet and rest? That one's really important. It's okay to take a moment to yourself if it's maybe stepping outside, feeling the cool air on your face. Maybe it's retiring up to your own, you know, if you're staying in a guest room or in your own space. Do that for a moment. Take those moments for you. It is not selfish. You are allowed to nourish your own wellbeing. That is not selfish on anything. So here is my approach when I'm at holiday gatherings. This is my approach when I'm at holiday gatherings first. I enjoy myself. The last thing you want to do is be so stressed out about every single bite that you put in your mouth. So for me, and what I encourage you to do is focus on enjoying and connecting. There are gonna be traditional dishes, so for me, there are traditional dishes in my family that my mom makes and they're not really the healthiest, but I enjoy them because that's what the time is about. Second. I drink water. I cannot stress this enough. Keep drinking that water because it helps with energy, digestion and recovery. When I'm at holiday gatherings, I'm eating more foods that have maybe higher sugar count, higher fat contents, and that's. Totally fine. I don't eat like that outside of holidays, so drinking water is aiding my digestion, that I feel better, that I sleep better. And then third, I really look at balancing my plate. Yeah, I'm going to eat everything. But I'm gonna put. A ton of veggies on my plate. And just because you have stuffing and mashed potatoes doesn't mean you can't have pie. Enjoy it. Knowing one day isn't going to make or break anything. And number four, I work on trying to get moving. Get outside, play games. Movement doesn't have to be formal exercise. So after a holiday is over, do not punish yourself. No burning off the bird or, detoxing that needs to happen. You don't need extra workouts. There's no burpees until you pass out time. You don't need to make up for enjoying the holiday. It is simply ridiculous. You return to your usual habits the next day. Drink, water, resume, focus on whole foods, fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains. Get back into your routine. Do some mobility work if you have been sitting or standing a lot, and leftovers are totally fine to eat. Getting back on quote unquote track does not mean restriction. It remains nourishment and routine. Here's the big picture I want you to remember. The whole game plan is pretty simple. And simple. Doesn't always mean easy to execute, but it's not complicated. And if no movement happens in a week, if you don't see a vegetable for a few days, that's okay. Just focus on easing back into your routine when you can. Holidays are gonna happen every year. But building that sustainable approach now means you're not starting from scratch every January, every Monday. You're not in that endless cycle of restrict, binge guilt, restart. You are living your life enjoying special moments and staying connected to your health and fitness in a way that works for you. Speaking of navigating the holidays and staying connected to your fitness goals. If you are someone who needs more support, accountability, or structured plan to keep you on track, I have something for you. Currently, I'm taking on new clients for my online programs, Essentials and premier Essentials is for someone who just wants expert programming without all the guesswork. You get customized strength training to your specific goals. This, the equipment you have access to and the workouts align with your schedule. This is ideal if you're self-motivated, but want the confidence of knowing you're following a plan created by an experienced coach. Premier is my full service coaching experience. It includes everything from Essentials Plus you get live video conferencing with me once a week. This is for you if you wanna coach in your corner who understands the reality of balancing fitness with a busy life, especially during the seasons, like the holidays when everything feels chaotic. Both programs are completely online, so whether you train at a gym or at home, we can work together. If you're interested in learning more or you wanna chat about what program is right for you, head to the notes in this podcast and there's a link to click on, and I look forward to hearing from you. With this holiday season, I would love to know what you take from this episode. Message the podcast and let me know what is working for you, what doesn't work for you. And if you have an idea for something you want me to talk about, share it with me. I will gladly do the research and put together an episode for you. And if you could do me a favor, I'd love for you to leave a rating of the show and to follow the show because it helps more amazing women like you Find authentic real conversations. I appreciate you so much for listening and so grateful you're here. Let's keep moving forward. Let's keep moving forward one step at a time. Until next time, take care of yourself.

Kat: 13:17

Thank you for tuning in to MilesFromHerView, powered by KatFit Strength. If this podcast inspires you, don't keep it for yourself. Hit follow or subscribe to stay updated on the new episodes, and leave us a review to help more women and moms discover this space. Your feedback fuels this podcast and I'd love to hear what's working for you or what topics you want to dive into Next. You can connect with me on Instagram at KatFit or share this episode. Road with a friend who is ready to embrace her strength. Remember, fitness isn't about perfection. It's about showing up for yourself and finding strength in every step of your journey. Until next time, keep moving forward one mile at a time.