The Unfiltered Health Podcast
The Unfiltered Health Podcast delivers real, authentic conversations about health, wellness, and longevity. We break down complex health topics, sharing evidence-based insights, practical advice, and personal experiences. Our mission is to educate, inspire, and build a supportive community committed to living well and thriving together—no filters, just the truth about what it takes to achieve lasting health.
The Unfiltered Health Podcast
84 - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL; How to Navigate the Social Season with Food and Family
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Of course, Christmas isn't just about food; it's about traditions, celebrations, and a little bit of friendly debate! From the joy of decorating trees versus wrapping gifts to choosing between classic holiday movies like "The Grinch" and "Home Alone," we'll cover it all. Discover the magic of Advent calendars, the real versus artificial tree debate, and embrace your personal holiday traditions. Plus, we'll share our favorite holiday movie recommendations to ensure your Christmas season is filled with warmth, laughter, and a touch of nostalgia.
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Navigating the Holiday Season Food Challenges
Speaker 1Welcome to episode 84. This is our Christmas special edition, our very first one. Now, today we're talking about navigating the event season. It's coming up to Christmas. You'll be listening to this. Actually, I will post this and make sure it's on the 23rd so that people can actually listen to this and get a little bit of insight before the Christmas events may be happening, if they haven't already. We know there's going to be some food challenges to people, for people on this podcast, because you know we do talk about health and fitness. So I'm assuming there are some challenges to overcome with food and the amount of food that might be around, and maybe just some social anxiety stuff that you might be feeling. Just to shed some light on practices that I we may suggest for you to help you calm the nerves. First off, do we start with the nitty-gritty or the fun thing that we had planned?
Speaker 2Let's start off with the nitty-gritty, okay, and then wrap it up with the fun, okay.
Speaker 1All right. Well, firstly, I think, the event season. There's a lot of events and there's a lot of food. I do know there are people trying to still diet in this season, still trying to commit to their weight loss goal, and it is tough out there because, you know, you just got so much food around you, everyone's celebrating. You're probably getting gifts that are chocolate liquor got so much food around you, everyone's celebrating you're probably getting gifts that are chocolate, liquor, alcohol. You know it's coming up, so I just wanted to let everyone know.
Speaker 1If you are getting a gift that is chocolate, that is alcohol, you don't have to eat it, you don't have to open it. You can park it, leave it in your pantry and walk away. Don't store it in your room. That's my first suggestion, but you can also leave it and you can re-gift it. I don't know it in your room, that's my first suggestion, but you can also leave it and you can re-gift it. I don't know if that's controversial for you, steph, but you can re-gift these things. Like, let's say, you're going to a party, someone's house, you didn't get someone that was there a gift, or you forgot, or you've been too busy maybe to get gifts. You can repurpose that gift, especially if it's chocolate, it's easy so so so easy or liquor, and just give it away, like pay it forward.
Speaker 1Essentially, I think that is such an easy way to go. I don't really need this Like I'd love to give it to somebody else. That's also really like fine, there's nothing wrong with regifting, especially when it's chocolate or liquor or even perfumes. I know a lot of people give perfume gifting, especially when it's chocolate or liquor or even perfumes.
Speaker 2I know a lot of people give perfume you don't want the perfume, you don't want that on your skin. Re-gift it. It's I. I think, um, christmas time is so interesting because, especially if people are trying to lose weight or trying to be in a deficit or whatever, it may be going into the silly season, it's kind of if they binge or if they, you know, if they eat on the day and they're like crap, I probably should have done that then they just very much have this like well, I've done it now, so I'm just gonna go hard approach yeah, the, the all-in mindset, all in it's like oh well, like I, like I've done crap today, I've eaten way too much today.
Speaker 2So like that's it, I'm just going to throw in the towel and I'm just going to binge the rest of this Christmas period.
Speaker 1Speaking from personal experience, I've done that before and it's the worst feeling in the gut. Mentally you also feel a bit of like shame, maybe a bit like guilt. I have done that multiple times for multiple Christmases, especially as a young adult and young kid. I would just gorge because I was like all this good food, I cannot possibly not eat it.
Speaker 2I can't waste it. I need to eat all of it.
Speaker 1Yeah, like just this ultimate fat kid inside going like I'm so happy.
Speaker 2Yeah, yeah, let me do it. Let me have me have everything. It's like you're so full and your button's about to pop be like I need that. I haven't. I haven't tried that yet. I haven't tried that rumble, I haven't tried that chocolate cake.
Speaker 1I need this yeah, you just keep going, you keep going and there is a lot like it's not a lie. There is a lot of food, especially if you know you're with families who immediate families, who bring a lot of things try this. Oh, did you try my thing? And then you feel bad. I still feel that I'm like, oh, no, I didn't. So what do you do? I guess, have a little bit Try, have a little bit of like one thing of everything rather than like three things of one thing. Yeah, that can kind of spread the board a little bit easier.
Speaker 1Learn how to say no, truly Truly. Learn how to say no, and you don't have to say no, fuck off. You just get to say no, not right now. Thanks, I'll have some soon. Oh, I just want to finish my drink. Oh, I just want to finish this plate. I've just started. There's so much food to come and that's a really easy way to connect with somebody else who's also feeling it, who will go oh, yeah, I know, isn't there so much food? Right, you can slow down the pace and a white lie doesn't go very far. You can also say, yeah, I did have some, it was really nice. Or if you've had it last year. You can also say yeah, I did, it was delicious, like it doesn't matter.
Speaker 2Okay, it was delicious, like it doesn't matter.
Speaker 1Yeah Okay, it's just freaking food guys.
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1And if you also want to take some home. I know people do ask can I take some home? And like, people don't necessarily want to keep three lasagnas and a whole ham, turkey and lamb and chicken in their fridge and salads and stuff Like, can I take some home? Oh, I'd love to have some home. Oh no, I didn't get to have any. Can I actually have a plate?
Navigating Food Choices and Relationships
Speaker 2is that okay, you can, you can play that, yeah, you so can, because most people will. Most people want you to take over the take home their leftovers, because there's that much that they're not going to finish it and then it's going to end up going to waste and yeah yeah, most people are not eating the leftovers like all in the one family, if it's like a family of two or three or four.
Speaker 1If the kids aren't, you know. If the kids are there then fantastic, but after a couple days people don't really want to eat the same christmas food they've had. So I'm assuming they would love to have like bring a tupperware, bring a glass container. I brought some to take home. Like I reckon people will be like cool, sweet people were down for that.
Speaker 2I think definitely sharing is caring.
Speaker 1who's gonna be upset that you took a sausage, I don't know? Um depends what you have for christmas, right, anyway, yeah, um, so I think the food conversation is actually a lot easier and it's just like having these strategies to talk and say and palm it off quick or connect or just make it more relatable, rather than trying to be like standoffish and like leave me alone, like it doesn't have to be like that.
Speaker 2I guess it's also having that discipline to not give in as well because it's, you know it's.
Speaker 2However, you want to play it right. If you know you've been eating really well and you want christmas to just enjoy you don't want to think about, you know, being restricted or this isn't that cool do it, enjoy it, reset the next day, you know. If you don't want to do that and you'd prefer to watch what you eat, you know, then you know, have that discipline to eat extra I don't know veggies or only eat a little bit of the cake or whatever everything, and you know your moderation, um. Or if you don't want to do that at all and you don't want to eat any sweets, then do it. Like.
Speaker 2It's entirely up to you how you want to play it, but I just think it's very much. If you have a set goal, stick to it, like, be disciplined enough to stick to it. And if you don't want to stick to it, well then just own it, enjoy it and then restart the next day. I definitely think it doesn't have to be you know as difficult as what and maybe this is me just being a bit, I don't know um harsh, but it's. I very much have that opinion of if you want to be, if you want to eat healthy on the day. Eat healthy if you don't give a crap and you just want to enjoy. Enjoy if you want to binge, binge but own it and then, however, you want to play it out the next day. Like that, that's up to you that's up.
Speaker 1I'm trying to think like how I have learned to stop binging because I can relate to people who do like go in with the intention to not over yeah, yes, yeah you originally start with the thoughts of like, okay, I'm gonna, I'm gonna take my time, I'm gonna do this, I'm gonna do that, or I would really like to not make myself sick, I'd really like to control, and you go in with a little bit of that intention, but then you start eating and you just can't stop. I'm trying to think like how I just have changed. I think it was just like honestly owning it as an adult. Like you said, own it.
Speaker 1I think really being aware of that and saying, like I am a binge eater to yourself and going okay, like to yourself and going okay, like what do I particularly gravitate towards? And maybe how can I make my plate a little bit more consistent? Protein salads, some potatoes always nice. A little bit of rice maybe, if you really wanted to. Learning what makes you feel good is always important, but I think once it takes a long time, it it's not a day thing. I don't think you just go into the one day with all the amazing foods and be like I'm not gonna do it.
Speaker 1I just I think it takes like working with someone as a coach who is a leader, who can help educate you over a course of a year, two years, three years, however long that's going to take to educate you on your food relationship and how to eat sustainably.
Speaker 1I think over that many times you start to realize, if I had a bit extra, that's fine, you own it and you get on with it the next day. I think it can be really hard, but you know it doesn't have to be like you said, doesn't have to be it, just you need to take steps to change if you want it if you want to.
Speaker 2I think you're right in that sense in terms of like it's. It really is to do with your relationship with food, because if you have a good relationship with food then you can make that decision quite easy. Like, if you just want to like very much, I go into Christmas being like if I want to eat crap, I'll eat crap. If I don't like, I just very much see how I feel on the day and sometimes I look at all the like junk food and I'm like, oh, I just want a little bit. I don't want, I don't want that much Like.
Speaker 2I think the older I get, the more it's very much. I'll stick to still the really nourishing foods and I'll make that my main 80% and then of the you know eating of the day, and then my 20% will just be like okay, what sweets do I really want? And most of the time it's not going to be like a big slice, it's going to be like a little bit of this and a little bit of that, cause I kind of want to try everything. And then that's me done and I'm quite happy with that and I think it's because I do tend to have a good relationship with food.
Speaker 2So I think, that foundation of how yeah, how you have a relationship with food probably does Sets the tone. Yeah, it does set the tone for how you approach it.
Speaker 1I think it's amazing that we both have that relationship with food because it's so beautiful. But how like, how did this happen? How did this happen? Yeah, how do you get that? How do you get there? And I just, I don't think there is a secret, I just think, like I said, it's time. It's time and experience.
Speaker 2Yeah, I think so, Because very much when I was growing up it was always go hard when it comes to Christmas in terms of you make yourself so sick on chocolate and, like my mum's Italian, so, panettone, which, for those of you who don't know, it's literally just like this big bread and butter cake, essentially loaf of sugar. It's the icing sugar on top and you can get in different flavours, but it was very much like that. And then you know, being Italian, it's very carby lasagna and arancini and this and that. So it's very carb, carb, carb, sugar, sugar, sugar. So I very much did go through phases where I I ate that, like you know, I ate that during christmas and I went hard during christmas, but then I think the older I got, I just didn't like the feeling of how sick you felt and how crap you felt afterwards and then it was very much more of a.
Speaker 2the food I'm putting into my body is nourishing me and that's what I crave more of. Like it's really weird to say now, and people might think I'm crazy, but I actually crave like salads, I crave veggies. I crave steaks, Like all the time. I'm very much like oh, I could go a good steak and salad or a good steak and veggies.
Speaker 2Like I very much crave that stuff but it wasn't always like that. But as of getting older and understanding you know food is fuel and how to look after your body. I have very much shifted to food nourishing first and then enjoy, and knowing you know when to enjoy it and when to you know overindulge but, also that overindulging is.
Speaker 1You know 20 of your overall food intake and it's 80 yeah, I was just also thinking the people who have like multiple families to run to in the day, like that's so challenging, it's not going to be perfect.
Christmas Traditions and Celebrations
Speaker 1I think just take the pressure off yourself and don't, don't, don't get in your head about it. Let it be what it is. It's one day, maybe two days of the year, that you are over indulging. I think take the pointers like steph has just said, which are really good, relatable points, and try to sit in that and maybe journal on it a little bit, write some notes down for yourself and take what Steph has said and just try to realize you need to nourish yourself first, primarily, and if you do eat some sweets or you do have two families to visit, three families to visit in one day, and you are going to overindulge, it is just what, what it is, and you're there for the company. Maybe also sit in that fact that you get to connect with people that you don't always get to see whether that's, you know, anxiety driven or excited, driven, yeah, like, at the end of the day, try connect.
Speaker 1I think that also helps. When you're in a conversation with someone, you can slow down how fast you eat. I try not to talk and eat at the same time. When I get asked something, I stop because if I'm talking and eating I'm not actually paying attention, I'm not actually present and I'm just like smacking it down without tasting the flavors and enjoying it and sitting in that. So that's something else I would say really channel, like the people around you and just try to connect a little bit more.
Speaker 1Slow down how fast you eat is also a really good idea. People who eat really fast typically will eat more, which is a well-known fact, because their gastric emptying like the mouth to stomach of how fast that food can get down, is slower and you just gorge. So you will feel sick eventually at some point once it all sits in there. So slow down, which also and this is why like 10 course meals, they are so small because by the time you get to like the seventh I reckon sixth or seventh you're starting to feel a bit like, okay, satiated because your tummy's had time to sit.
Speaker 2Yes, yes.
Speaker 1Fun facts, fun facts all around, and christmas facts. Yeah, I hope that's helpful, guys. I think, um, we're going to move to our this or that edition now where we're going to talk about well, we've just found on google, literally, a christmas this or that version and we're just going to ask each other questions what would we prefer? So I'm going to start with you uh, decorating together do we do it together oh yeah, we can answer together yeah, we can answer together so we'll go decorating a tree or wrapping gifts oh I'm definitely gonna say decorating the.
Speaker 2I do love decorating a tree, but I also love wrapping gifts. I'm a sucker for, like the clean, precise folds in the perfectly square boxes.
Speaker 1I suck at that.
Speaker 2Adding the wrapping and the bows, and I do love that, but I also do love decorating a tree, so I'm going to go tree.
Speaker 1I'm going to go tree uh movie the Grinch, or Home Alone.
Speaker 2I'm gonna say the Grinch, I love the Grinch.
Speaker 1I think I'm gonna say the Grinch too. Yeah, I absolutely love. That's probably one of the most memorable, like the lines that I've always yes, yes, yeah oh my god, he gets advent calendar or 12 days of christmas advent calendar with the chocolates yeah, yeah, or you can get ones with like jewelry or like other gifts, like dior and like all those bougie brands have like some sick things.
Speaker 2Oh, okay, I'm clearly not being paying attention. I've just gone like yep Safeway chocolate Advent calendars.
Speaker 1No, Advent calendars have all.
Speaker 2No, no, no, Dior.
Speaker 1I've seen people with it and I was like fire it. That'd be amazing, but it's like $1, thousand dollars, something for the advent calendar like that's the christmas gift in itself oh my god, a thousand dollars.
Speaker 2What's in it? Like little perfumes and, yeah, perfumes jewelry lipsticks makeup.
Speaker 1Wow, yeah, cool, cool stuff. Um real tree or an artificial tree real.
Speaker 2I get one every single year, do you actually? Yeah, my family gets a real one every year and it's it's always been like that. I love that we've never had a fake tree.
Speaker 1I've always had a fake tree and I've all I said to James and I can move out like I would love to get like a real tree it would smell nice. Does it get messy?
Speaker 2nice, it gets not really like moving it in. It gets a little bit messy, but that's it, that's it.
Speaker 1When do you know it's done?
Speaker 2It starts to brown.
Speaker 1Okay, like a regular fucking tree, raquel Christmas away or Christmas at home.
Speaker 2At home.
Speaker 1Definitely at home.
Speaker 2I love hosting, do you? Yeah, I absolutely love hosting.
Speaker 1Who's hosting in your family this year?
Speaker 2We're not hosting this year, actually my aunt is hosting, okay, so it is going to be a way, but I think we will do an immediate Christmas Eve family dinner.
Speaker 1Okay. So, do you do one family each like on the Christmas Eve?
Speaker 2Christmas Day, yeah depending on who's doing who like, who's got where, but this year it's actually being split, so it'll be at my partner's house during Christmas Day and then my auntie's house at night in the one day. An immediate family will be Christmas Eve eve on my side now, that's a good split so how about you?
Speaker 1well, my parents are separated, divorced. Technical term um mom's is earlier, like two weeks in two weeks, just before christmas, because everyone was busy. It's always such a good idea my dad will do christmas eve every year, which is so good, and then james's family. We're trying to pick a date, but it seems like it's getting a little bit tricky, so we're trying to find out so hard trying to navigate dates and pick times I don't think I've ever had this many christmas parties ever, yeah, yeah I'm the same anyway, all right.
Speaker 1So are we sleeping in on christmas day or are we rising early for the presents?
Speaker 2uh, I always rise early regardless, so I'm gonna go rising early I think, as I've gotten older, I'm a sleep in girl now. Yeah, sleep in and what's your sleep?
Speaker 1until like 8, 39 o'clock.
Speaker 2Okay, yeah yeah, which is still for some people. It's still quite. That's still early, like most people. Sleeping is like 10 11 yeah, to me that's late if I'm waking up at 10.
Speaker 1I must be wrecked from something yeah yeah, um dressing up for christmas or pjs all day dressing up. I think dressing up's nice I love that, especially for us, because we've got summer yes, definitely australia yeah, um, what else we've got here presents before dinner or presents after dinner? After dinner okay, okay, I think, like we do it as Christmas Eve and we do it at midnight.
Speaker 2Cute, I like that?
Speaker 1Are we going out for dinners, or are we dinner cooked at home?
Speaker 2At home. I do not like going out for dinner on Christmas.
Speaker 1Have you done that before?
Speaker 2Yeah.
Speaker 1Yeah, so have we and I much prefer at home.
Speaker 2At home is so nice. There's no limit to how long you can stay. You can get up and do whatever you want, if you want to go outside. You can go outside like it's just. You have the freedom to just chill I prefer it too.
Speaker 1Yeah, um, okay, last ones. I reckon table seating plan or sit where you like sit where you like and maybe let's do another movie one. Oh, actually I'll tell you that in a second, open gifts one by one or open gifts all at the same time.
Speaker 2I think one by one's, nice, I don't know. I think depends actually. So if it's like a kk situation, then one by one.
Speaker 1Okay.
Speaker 2Otherwise all together.
Speaker 1I actually don't know, because like the gifts, as a kid like you'd go. All right, raquel, this is your audition title. I don't know.
Speaker 2And then, as an adult, it's like you kind of get gifts sporadically, like depending where you're at that's right.
Speaker 1yeah, oh, I don't know, maybe one by one actually.
Speaker 2I don't know.
Speaker 1Maybe one by one. Actually, I don't know. I don't know that one.
Speaker 2What were you going to say before you had a thought?
Speaker 1Oh my God, I watched this really good Christmas movie. It was like something. I forgot the title, and that's the bad thing. It was El Camino, something on Netflix and it had the actor from Yellowstone, if anyone knows, casey and Tim Allen, not this time being Santa. Oh, which the Santa Claus movies were so good too. Yeah, as kids, and it was actually really really good. It was short and sweet and it was like quite intense.
Speaker 2Have you watched any?
Speaker 1No, I've been watching so many Hot Cold or Hot Frosty or something like that. That was good, like really random, but good oh my goodness.
Speaker 2No, I have to be honest. I can't remember the last time I actually watched a movie. It's been a couple of weeks maybe.
Speaker 1Okay, and the other Christmas movie I'll give you was Daddy's Home 2. It was actually hilarious. I do like that movie, oh, you seen it.
Speaker 2No, the first one, I haven't seen the second one watch the second one. It is good I do. Yeah, I did like the first one. That was quite funny yeah okay, that might be, that might be Christmas break and Grinch.
Speaker 1Don't forget the Grinch I have to watch, have to re-watch the Grinch have you seen the kids Grinch the animated?
Speaker 2version. Yeah, I think I have to watch, have to rewatch.
Speaker 1The Grinch Every year. Have you seen the Kids Grinch?
Speaker 2The animated version.
Speaker 1Yeah, I think I have. I didn't watch it all though. That was really good, I like that, okay, maybe I'll put it back on, all right? Well, that wraps up our Christmas edition for today. Thank you everyone for being here. I hope you enjoyed it.
Speaker 2Hope you got some laughs and we hope you have a lovely Christmas.
Speaker 1Yes, Merry Christmas everyone and a happy new year.