We are in the midst of what is typically the busiest, most travel-prone, food-centric time of the year. So for my frequent flier clients AND the majority of the population at this time, most of our normal “controls” aren’t quite able to happen. Food choices look different, we may not have access to a gym, and we may be enjoying more meals out or savoring more of the foods that only come around this time of year. These higher variable times don’t have to add stress to our lives! One of my favorite parts of coaching is helping clients see that there is no “on or off track,” no matter where they are or how many variables are at work in their lives. 

As we say goodbye to warmer months and head into seasons of shorter days and colder temperatures, it is common for those shifts to translate into some seasonal gloom. We feel the impacts of less perceived time in the day and less sunlight, and we may initially feel a bit less motivated in the way of our normal health habits. During these colder months when we may find ourselves with a less zeal for prioritizing our nutrition, getting those workouts in or staying mindful of our sleep and stress management, we can meet our bodies and brains where they are at and create winter action plans that still support us feeling our best and in flexible ways.

Becoming knowledgeable and proficient in providing our bodies with the macronutrients they need to work most optimally is an incredible place to start when digging into personal nutrition. When that sound foundation with those major nutrients is met, or while working to become more confident in consistently meeting those macronutrient needs, we can also begin to dig in a little deeper and work to understand our micronutrients needs as well.

For many, our nutrition history has been very confusing. There has been so much right or wrong thrown our way via marketing; so many “good” foods and “bad” foods as decided by some particular fad within diet culture; fleeting trends with changing definitions of what’s right and wrong; and certain thoughts and feelings we’ve attached to certain food choices. So, how do we go about breaking these habits of guilt and shame around our food choices?

Saying goodbye to the longer, sunnier days can cause many of us a bit of seasonal gloom. So what do we do? I take this as an annual opportunity to really dig into my best self care practices. We can’t change the seasons, but we can lean into the things that we know will help us feel our best during these months when we’ll be missing out on a bit of sunlight each day. Enter: The Winter Action Plan.