🎁 How to stay healthful during the holidays

Hi friends,

Happy holidays! I hope everyone is feeling warm and cozy at this time, and getting some restful quality time with loved ones.

I’m writing to you from LA. Most of yesterday was spent squished like a cute sardine in the back of a car between my spouse and sister-in-love as our family made the eight hour drive down from Sacramento to Los Angeles to celebrate with extended family.

This got me thinking…

How can I lean into celebration while still maintaining balance?

In the spirit of making a list and checking it twice, here are the three health agreements I made with myself for this holiday week:

1. Exercise every day - The past 90 days I’ve been working out seven days a week. I plan to stick to this routine since it will help me work off any stress, sleep better, eat better, and generally put me in a good mood. However, because it’s family time, and I’m not on my home turf, I’ve made a few tweaks:

   1. Timing - This week I’ll wake up and work out. I normally workout in the late afternoons right before my last meal of the day, but because I know time with family will be very full and a little chaotic working out in the morning is the best way to ensure it happens. Last night I laid out my workout clothes, and so when I woke up this morning in the dark I was able to easily get dressed and out get out the door.

   2. Type of workout - Normally I go to the gym and spend about an hour warming up, doing weights, stretching, etc. This week my main goal is just to get moving and it’s ok that I’m not doing my normal routine - the goal is just to get my blood pumping. So this morning I woke up around 6am, threw on my running shoes and started running / walking outside (note: I’m not generally into running but it’s an easy thing to do when traveling / on the go). I ran for a few minutes, then walked, and repeated that until I’d run 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back. No pressure, no stress. Success for me this week looks like getting up and moving.

   3. Including family - I’ve found a great way to exercise while spending time with family is going for a walk together. I’ll definitely be asking if any family members would like to walk with me as a natural way to get both quality time and some additional movement (after meals are a great time for this).

2. Get to bed by 9pm each night - this is a tough one for me because I just want to soak in every moment with family, and that sometimes looks like staying up late talking. But I’ve come to realize, in order for me to show up as my best self for me and my family that means getting great sleep. And since my body is used to a 9pm bed time I’ll be sticking to that (keeping that circadian rhythm regulated!). Last night, the family was all sitting around together talking. I enjoyed the moment for a little while and then as 9pm drew nearer I excused myself by saying “I’m falling asleep y’all - I’m heading to bed, but I love you and can’t wait to spend time together tomorrow.” The beauty of going to bed early is then I get to enjoy a peaceful, spacious morning to exercise, meditate, and just generally ground myself so that I can fully enjoy a wonderful day today with family.

3. Fast & eat veggies - my family is a mix of many cultures, and that comes with some incredible food during the holiday season - most of which is not on my food plan. I’m also a compulsive eater so I want to eat everything, and it can be hard for me to stop because my brain says “give me more!” So how can I find a balance between feasting and respecting my body? Here are the two things that have helped me in the past that I plan to do this week as well:

   1. Fasting - this one can get tricky because sometimes there are late dinners, but generally my plan is to stop eating around 6pm to give at least 3 hours to digest before bed and delay eating breakfast until about 9am or so.

   2. Eating veggies - focus number one is: where are the veggies? I’m looking to fill my plate with as many colorful veggies as possible first, and then some healthy fat (did someone say avocados?) and protein to keep me satisfied. By focusing on the veggies, I’ve found the ratio on my plate tends to be more in line with what my body actually needs.

Overall though - I intend not to stress out about any of this and just enjoy time with family. It’s great to make a plan to reduce decision fatigue and make it easier to know what to do in any given moment. By exercising in the mornings, going to bed by 9pm, and fasting/feasting, I know I’ll be on track. And with that plan in action I can just relax and soak in all the goodness of this time of the year.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday - If you have any tips on what works for you during the holiday season, or you just want to share your action plan with someone else, please reply to this email. I’m here as a resource and love connecting with you.

Until next week :)

With love,
Sierra

—

🌈 My latest videos

I Delivered my Results to Bryan Johnson. This video is popping off! It’s been very exciting to see such a positive response to the end of the series and the interview / results delivery to Bryan. If you haven’t seen it yet, feel free to check it out here.