Edited_ Episode #66: Easy Self-Care During the Holidays
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Michelle Fox:
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Michelle Fox: Welcome to Nourish with Michelle Fox, your guide to a vibrant [00:01:00] life after 40! If consistency has been a challenge for you and you occasionally forget self-care, you, my friend are in the right place. Tune in for weekly inspiration to nourish your mind. I know your plate's full and I want to help you support a life and a body that you adore. Let's dig in.
Michelle Fox: Hello. And welcome to a shorty episode of Nourish with Michelle Fox. I am thrilled to be able to be in your earbuds. If you're watching me on YouTube to be in your eyes, as you can see, I'm, I'm wearing a nice festive green to go along with the holidays. Here in our household, we do celebrate Christmas and we have a deep respect for all faith traditions and the things that you may be celebrating as well. But. I want to step into your space to [00:02:00] talk about some easy self care tips during this time of the year. If you are like me. You need not one, but maybe 10,000 reminders to take a freaking break and to take care of yourself. And so, yes, I may talk about nutrition every single day but I promise you, my friend, everything that I'm saying is typically something that I need to be hearing that day as well.
Michelle Fox: And so while today, we're not going to get into specifics on nutrition. Although the mama bear in me is already saying like screaming out. Drink more water, drink more water, drink more water. And I'm sure my daughter would be rolling her eyes because she knows that's the answer to everything. You have a sore throat. Drink more water.
Michelle Fox: You're sleepy, drink more water. You need more energy and vibrance, drink more water. So let this be your friendly reminder to drink more water during this time, just to keep your balance and to keep your health intact. [00:03:00] So that's just a little PSA, but what I actually want to get into are four items as I was meditating on this episode.
Michelle Fox: I was thinking what would be the most impactful for my community and what again, what is something that I need to be reminded of? And so before I step into the four things that immediately came to mind. I actually want to share a story with you. This one's pretty close to the heart. So I'm gonna kind of be deliberate in the words that I use and the pacing that I bring to it.
Michelle Fox: It was about a year and a half into Steve and I's relationship.
Michelle Fox: We were newly dating. Although a year and a half, I don't know if that's still considered newly. Well we were dating and at that point we knew it was serious. Like we knew that we would be together for forever. The whole marriage and the proposal. That's a whole nother story for another time. And if you want to hear it, of course, shoot me a [00:04:00] message.
Michelle Fox: Let me know. I'm happy to share that story because it's really fun and really beautiful. But as far as the year and a half, that we were together. It was December and it was the first time our children had been blended together for Christmas and layer on top of that. I had promised to be with my dad's side of the family and Phoenix for the large family reunion type.
Michelle Fox: Celebration.
Michelle Fox: That my friends was the time that I and Steve, actually, he, I think he may have felt some kind of way. But that was the first time we almost broke up. Yeah, it still kind of gets my heart to this day. Just because thinking of what could have been. And I'm just so, so, so grateful we stuck it out and, and clearly we are stronger than ever today. Eight years later. But I want to [00:05:00] share that story with you just to illustrate a few things.
Michelle Fox: So like I said, it was the first Christmas where we had, you know, his two kiddos, my kiddo, we're blended family. So even to this day, we get them every other Christmas and then that kind of alternates with every other Thanksgiving. So this year we got them for Thanksgiving, which was amazing. They'll be with their other parents for Christmas this year, but then we'll get them back for new year's. But back to the story in Phoenix So
Michelle Fox: everybody was just a little out of sorts because of course. He and his kiddos had their own traditions at that point, the children were old enough to know what the holiday traditions were. My kiddo. She was like, this is cool. I've got my family. But this is kind of weird. Like why is my mom giving this man all of this attention, This attention should be on me.
Michelle Fox: So there was some of those dynamics. Also as a lot of us experience [00:06:00] with extended families, there's usually some dynamics that may not always be so comfortable. And so it just felt like layer on top of layer on top of layer. Was really testing Stephen and I's relationship. And so I remember it was Christmas Eve and he had said some things. I had said some things. Ooh, boy. Cause me kinda teary-eyed now. I just didn't feel great.
Michelle Fox: And I was like, I don't think I can move forward. And thank goodness he had the sense of self to be like, let's take a walk. And that's exactly what we did. We walked around. We were staying at my cousin's house at the time. He, and I asked for the adults to watch the kiddos for us. And I think we took almost two hours to walk. And then talk and then walk some more and then talk some more. And. We got it worked out.
Michelle Fox: The main reason I'm sharing this with you is [00:07:00] one. Just to let you add a little bit more into my world. I want you to know.
Michelle Fox: It's not all roses and sunshine over here in my world all of the time. And then two, I want to kind of highlight some of the things that came out of that. That were very meaningful and very positive. One. We moved our bodies.
Michelle Fox: Yes, I have to admit it was Steve's idea to begin with, but I was there too, and I was doing the walking and I was doing the talking. But moving our bodies helped to get some of those emotions out and not make them feel so present of mind. And so speaking of mind, that was a mindfulness practice. So we were walking it out. Two
Michelle Fox: we were talking and we both got really curious about each other's perspectives. I didn't know certain things. And of course, I'm going to be careful here. I'm not going to share his business and his family's business, but I didn't know certain [00:08:00] things about his traditions and his attachment to certain traditions.
Michelle Fox: And then he didn't know certain layers that were happening with me and and dynamics in my family at the time that we're there and Phoenix. And so it was just so wonderful that we were able to be curious about where we were coming from. And then we also of course have made space and time to talk about, okay, well, how do we move forward?
Michelle Fox: How do we make this experience one that works for all of us? And at the time that was five of us that we had to be considerate of: him, me, my daughter and his two kiddos.
Michelle Fox: So deep breath.
Michelle Fox: The meditation piece is another part I want to highlight. When we are in some high stakes environments, which typically comes along with the holidays. I just wanT to encourage us to practice mindfulness. And I know that means [00:09:00] something different for everybody, but for me, that means moving my body when things feel a little bit heated. And also means getting curious about what, what is behind that comment that, you know, Aunt Sally just made, or I'm curious, why did my kiddo just leave that dish on the table, even though they know better after all this time?
Michelle Fox: Or I'm curious. You notice, I'm starting with, I'm curious. And so I just want to offer that up to you as one or two mindfulness practices to add to your holidays. And then to get even deeper. I want to talk about the gift of presence.
Michelle Fox: In that story. I talk about the curiosity, but also Steve and I both had a lot of motivation. Like we knew that we were deeply in love with each other. We knew we wanted multiple more holidays with each other. [00:10:00] And so. We had the gift of being present with each other on that walk. I even specifically remember this beautiful park bench that we ended up finding, this was a whole new neighborhood for both of us. But this park bench appeared and we sat and we talked.
Michelle Fox: And so in that we were able to ground our bodies. Check in with each other. Stay curious. And give each other the gift of presence.
Michelle Fox: So as you listen to this podcast recording and we are in the thick of it with the holidays. Can you think of ways that perhaps you can give yourself the gift of presence, whether it's taking a break from shopping, whether it's just sitting quietly in your car for a moment and being present with yourself. Perhaps it's a gift of presence of being with your children. A lot of us have children that are [00:11:00] in finals season right now, as they gear up for winter break. Can you make those car rides a little bit more present? Perhaps play some fun music that gets you going that makes you feel connected.
Michelle Fox: You can give yourself that gift of presence
Michelle Fox: in your daily work. Whether you're building a business or you are working in eight to five, like I'm sitting at my desk right now. And I have this practice I've recently been working on, .
Michelle Fox: I learned it from the positive intelligence community. Where I rub my fingers. The leader talks about rubbing your fingers so hard that you can feel the ridges on both sides. And that just as another way of bringing me back into my body. Bring me back into curiosity, like Hmm. I wonder why this line is taking so long or.
Michelle Fox: [00:12:00] I wonder why I'm feeling a sense of anxiety. And this is a great tool to help me stay connected. Stay grounded. So I can show up as the person. The human that I want to show up as. So that's the gift of presence. The next thing I want to touch on and we kind of touched on it at the top is mindful nutrition. This time of the year can bring up a lot of stuff for us.
Michelle Fox: I think. Not, I think I know a lot of people that I talked to, we have been trained and, or conditioned to use food as comfort. I'm sure if I say. Holiday. Memory pops up. Like if I say Thanksgiving, What pops up for you?
Michelle Fox: I would be shocked if it's not food related. Cause I will just tell you, I just, in my mind, when I said that,
Michelle Fox: Pumpkin pie came up. I don't even eat [00:13:00] pumpkin pie. I really like it. I make a really delicious sweet potato pie. Gluten-free sugar-free. Dairy free. If you want the recipe for that. Just let me know. You know, your girl hook you up. But all that to say. Holidays. We're often thinking about food and, oh, I ate too much or, oh, I didn't eat enough. I want you to hear my voice and give yourself just a bit more permission. To eat the way you want to eat.
Michelle Fox: And I'm not saying go for gold. I'm not saying overdo it, but I'm saying. I think we have been in a hard enough on ourselves over all these years. Like will you give yourself a break, And yes, I'm talking to myself there as well. I did, I will admit, I ate a little bit more than I was planning on Thanksgiving. And this year, it was a little different.
Michelle Fox: Like, I wasn't hard on myself. I was just like, okay. Got it. I see you, Michelle. Clearly you [00:14:00] wanted that extra serving of gluten-free stuffing. Mom made it. And it was delicious. So, you know, That, that doesn't count, right?
Michelle Fox: Thank you mom, by the way, it was so good. All, that to say things are coming up. If you need more support in that area, please consider joining our community. We have Nourish at the Membership. The doors are open. Our first class is January 9th. The first month we're actually talking about social media and I will be teaching a tools to help you feel more confident on social media. And I purposely, somebody asked me, well, why aren't you talking about weight loss and food in January?
Michelle Fox: I purposely am not talking about it because to the point of the second point of mindful nutrition, I think people get a little over anxious, over excited over everything at the top of the year. We talk [00:15:00] about doing, you know, new year's resolutions and then there's the big push I don't do new year's resolutions, but you still have those voices in your head saying, well, I want to do better this year.
Michelle Fox: And I got to do everything right. And I'm like, no. Oh, no. We're not going to have pressure this January. We're going to have fun. We're going to have fun with social media and then come February. We will have had the time to build up the stamina, but also build up our mindset. Because we'll be getting ready for it.
Michelle Fox: But yes, in February, we absolutely will be talking about body. And how to either lose weight and, or maintain weight, but in a healthy and vibrant way. And so I truly hope you look into this and join us. It's going to be an amazing 20 24. And so that's nourished the membership. You just go to Michelle fox.com. Forward slash nourish.
Michelle Fox: And you'll see all of the goodies I have planned for [00:16:00] you in 2024. Michelle fox.com forward slash nourish head over there. Okay. So that was mindful nutrition. The next is fitness. Part of the reason I didn't feel so bad about myself and or I didn't beat up on myself about eating a bit more on Thanksgiving. It's because one, I did a really fun, step class that morning. And then to the next morning, Friday morning, I got up and I did an extra long walk with Chloe dog, and I was just giving a lot of thanks and gratitude for my body, for this vessel, that houses all the energy that I have and that I put out in the world.
Michelle Fox: And that obviously I take in sometimes with the anxiety piece. I don't know if that's obvious or not, but this body has carried me through so much in my 51 years. And so I'm so grateful. And so I'd like to feed it back the gratitude through fitness, through group [00:17:00] exercise, through walking Chloe dog twice a day, through yoga. That's still one of my favorites to go to, especially as it's getting colder here in Denver, Colorado. Going into a hot yoga classroom. There's nothing better. And so I know that's not always for everybody.
Michelle Fox: So just so you know, in our membership, Nourish the membership. I absolutely meet everybody where they are. So I do not want you to be intimidated. I'm not going to ask you to be doing, you know, yoga pretzels on the first day. In fact, I won't ask you to do yoga pretzels ever. But we'll go at our own pace.
Michelle Fox: And if you're hearing my voice, there's a good chance that you want to be in a community that can help you elevate your fitness goals, your nutrition goals, and your lifestyle goals. And so I would love to guide you in doing that. Okay, last but not least. Another easy way to help you manage [00:18:00] these holidays is finding moments of quiet. And I specifically use the word finding because it's not going to find us. As you already know, like.
Michelle Fox: Life is lifeing and it's not going to slow down until we deliberately take that time to slow it down. The work, it's going to be there my friend. So perhaps you might give yourself the gift of saying "hold up,
Michelle Fox: this is me time". So a few ideas there, perhaps a Friday afternoon, you take off and you don't need to tell anybody where you're going, but if you feel like you need to.
Michelle Fox: The Greenlight card is always I have an appointment. Nobody needs to know that that appointment is with you. But on that appointment, I want you to take yourself to a movie theater. If you're in a warm environment, take yourself to the beach [00:19:00] or on a long walk. Enjoy the weather. Take yourself to your bedroom and take a nap. Like, I want you to find some time for you so that you can show up and be there for the people that you want to show up and be there for. So taking the time. So just to recap, the four ways, that I want you to bring easy self care to the holidays is one: the gift of presence. Being present with each other. Two: mindful nutrition. Number three: fitness taking care of your body through fitness. And then four: finding moments of quiet. One thing I didn't mention with the quiet.
Michelle Fox: I remember when my daughter angel was a toddler and she was a very loud toddler. Sometimes mama just needed a break. And so I would tell her father, Hey, I just [00:20:00] need 10 minutes. I'm going to disappear. And I would go downstairs in the downstairs bathroom. I would close the door quietly. So nobody knew. Sometimes she would know, but I would lock myself in the bathroom just to breathe. And I remember one time my sister saw me taking a break and she's like, how do you do that?
Michelle Fox: Like, how do you say no to your kid? And I'm like, I have to, this is how I keep my sanity. And so I just offer that up to you as well. Whether you have toddlers, teenagers. Puppy dog. Nobody else in the house. I want you to find that time for you that time of quiet for you. All right. Well, thank you so much for joining this shorty episode during the holidays.
Michelle Fox: I truly hope this is one of the better holidays for you. Also just want to give you the heads up. Next week we have a, one of my favorite people in the world on the pod. And that is the only Dr. Regina Groff where we [00:21:00] are talking about how to find your purpose. So come back next Tuesday. You're going to love that one.
Michelle Fox: And then just so you know, we are practicing what we preach here at Michelle Fox culinary nutritionists, and we are taking the last two weeks of December off. What that means though, is a for you, we will be playing two of my favorite replays of the podcast and yes, you have to come back to find out who those are, but I'll just give you a hint.
Michelle Fox: Both of those two are really great friends and both of those two got amazing feedback in real life from our community. And so I know you're going to love those conversations as well. Alright, don't forget to check out Michelle fox.com forward slash nourish. I would love to have you in our community in 2024. And of course reach out.
Michelle Fox: If you have questions, if you have feedback, if you have ideas of things that you want us to talk more about here on the show, I [00:22:00] would love to be there for you. All right. That's all I have for you today. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Have a wonderful holiday and I will talk to you soon.
Michelle Fox: thanks so much for listening to Nourish. Have you been driving, doing laundry or walking around the neighborhood? Sweet. I've got show notes for you. Hop on over to michellefox.com/podcast. When you are ready. I will let you know that on the page, you will find resources to support what you just learned on today's show. And then of course you can grab some health supportive freebies as well.
Michelle Fox: If you enjoyed this episode, I would be honored. If you would leave a review on whichever podcast platform you are listening on. It will help me with my mission to build healthier communities. One person at a time and it will help you because you will be part of that mission.
Michelle Fox: [00:23:00] I'll be back next week and I encourage you to keep showing up for yourself and know that you and your health matter. Big love!
