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
86 - From Panettone Temptations to Healthy Resolutions: Navigating Post-Holiday Indulgence
Our latest episode dives into the relatable struggle of managing festive eating habits post-Christmas. We share personal experiences with holiday indulgence while discussing strategies to regain control and embrace a healthier routine in the new year.
• Discussing post-Christmas feelings and food behaviours
• Sharing personal stories of Christmas bingeing
• Exploring psychological triggers of holiday eating
• Tips for establishing a healthy routine after the holidays
• Strategies for saying no and maintaining balance
• Emphasising resilience and the power of fresh starts
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Welcome to episode 86 of the Unfiltered Health Podcast. You're here with Raquel and Steph, Hello everyone. So today we're discussing Christmas how did everyone go, what is everyone feeling after Christmas and we're going to unpack a little bit of the things that we felt at Christmas and maybe some of the bad behaviors that we indulged in too so maybe you don't feel as bad about it and how we have tackled starting this year. Already there was an episode episode 85, Happy New Year me and so sorry English, Steph's and myself's episode about how to start a happy new year, and some of the ideas we discussed in that previous episode were mostly in relation to the mentality that we think everyone should kind of stop having and how to change it. It was quite a fun episode that we did make short and sweet 26 minutes.
Speaker 1:But this episode we're really going to get into some of the nasty habits that may have trailed through the Christmas holiday season. And look, we're at the tail end of holidays now for parents holiday season. And look, we're at the tail end of holidays now for parents. And I think this will be a bit of a relatable podcast for those who are feeling a little bit stuck. So, Steph, do you want to start, or shall I start the mess that happened?
Speaker 2:I ate a lot of panettone this Christmas and I do regret it. But there did come a point where I said, okay, I think I need to stop.
Speaker 1:When did that happen? Like, how did you know you needed to stop?
Speaker 2:When there was one more left and I said, okay, I'm going to finish this off, and then after that, no more panettone.
Speaker 1:Hey, isn't that quite similar?
Speaker 2:Like people will find that if the whole thing's there, if they just finish it off, then they can be done with it, but it's when you buy it again yes, and the good thing is the panettone only does come out for christmas, so it's not like it's continuing to stay there on the shelf, so I will never go out and look for it, apart from christmas time.
Speaker 1:So okay, I'm good oh, so maybe it sounds like you're a bit limited, you know, and when do get it. That's what happens with binge eaters.
Speaker 2:Although, no, to be honest, like I don't sit there and have the entire panettone like one slice, and I'm good because it's quite buttery, it's full of it's very, it's just bread right, it's like sweet bread with a lot of icing sugar on top. You can get it in different flavors as well these days. But one slice is usually like enough for me, and so you know, the pan de l'or just keep coming out, coming out at Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year's Day.
Speaker 1:So did you have one slice of like each different pan de l'or that was out.
Speaker 2:So I had one slice of like each different one.
Speaker 1:Maybe like two slices max, but it wasn't the whole thing, because that is a monster cake. Well, what's your favorite? Like what's your favorite?
Speaker 2:flavor because I have different. I just like traditional, I like plain with icing sugar on the top. That is probably my go-to, that's classic. But I do also like I try to salted caramel one and it was oh really nice. And I also tried a pear and chocolate which is bougie as yum, it was so yummy where are people getting their panettone's from?
Speaker 1:please, dm us, tell us where you're getting them from, because I I would like to try a bougie one.
Speaker 2:I like the chocolate you gotta go, I went to oh in esseban and it was like panettone heaven yeah, I'm talking. They had a whole aisle of like 50 different Panettones and I was like I want one of everything, like it was amazing.
Speaker 1:Are they expensive? Are Panettone's expensive?
Speaker 2:They can range from $13 all the way up to like $150.
Speaker 1:$150?.
Speaker 2:What are we getting in a $150?
Speaker 1:Panettone.
Speaker 2:You're getting like a fancy Dolce Gabbana tin, so like, real pretty, getting an 150 panettone. You're getting like a fancy dolce cabana tin, so like, so like the tin's really pretty, and then you get a nice panettone in it, so they're like your 10 panettone yum and then your 60 to 100 is like your bakery panettone okay brunettis and all the the smaller businesses, smaller bakeries that do like your sourdoughs and all that they tend to have, like bougie panettone instead of croissant.
Speaker 1:I can't say that. Well, the thing is I'm not extremely close with my Italian side, so we just have, like obviously every family has something and that side I don't really see. So I never have panettone unless my sister brings it along, and I usually don't go for it. I'm like I'll have the double chalk cheesecake instead.
Speaker 2:Oh, you're a cheesecake girl I love cheesecake.
Speaker 1:I love cheesecake. Okay, so hold on. So let's backtrack.
Speaker 2:Your damage was the panettone yeah well that was honestly it that's really nice it was so bad at. It really wasn't. It just felt overload because I'm not used to having that much sugar within, yeah, on the daily sort of thing. But there was a lot of fruit with it.
Speaker 1:Did you find, like once, the first day you didn't have the panettone, you were thinking about it.
Speaker 2:No, I was done. You were done, done, okay, I was like, even when we got to the last Bonetone, my mum was like we should just finish it off, like let's all. There was like six of us there. She's like, let's all just have a piece, that way, like it's not in the cupboard, and I was like, oh, I don't even want it. I was like, eh, it's too much, good job.
Speaker 1:Good job, okay. Well, my damage was worse than way worse than that, worse than that. After christmas, a lot of cheesecake, yeah, cakes, chocolates, chocolates, chocolates, chocolates like I really I do really well towards the christmas week, because for me and my family we separate in a few days, so it's not just one day where you eat twice a day. It's like okay, and because it's with my partner as well we do do his family.
Speaker 1:We do a day with my family and then another day with my family and then another day with his family, and it's kind of scattered in the week slash the month. And this season of Christmas was insane. I have never had such a social calendar ever, so I really started to struggle towards that last week, I'd say the week of like December 13th, 15th onwards. It just started to get chaotic and I started to care less and less and less as we got through that period and I started to binge eat bad on, like chocolates, like I'd eat good food, the lamb, the chicken, the lasagna, that we might have the gyros with my Greek family now. So like whatever we're eating good food, but then as soon as the cakes come out, vanilla slice Like the little what's it called, not truffles.
Speaker 2:Rumbles, protein balls.
Speaker 1:Rumbles oh my God, I love those things. I love a rumble, yeah.
Speaker 2:So we went hard. I could smash hard rumbles same easily. And then I think about the ingredients, and so she just condensed milk and I'm like, oh my god, but it tastes so good.
Speaker 1:So delicious, yeah, and at that time nobody cares anymore. You're kind of just like given in anyway. I know from research that once you start giving into the, the foods, your gut bacteria ramps up. So once you start indulging, those sweet bacteria in your body crave it more. So it's not always actually you mentally, it's your body. Your body has got too much sugar in it and it's literally the bacteria going give me, give me, give me, because I'm currently empty. Anyway, I learned this when I was bikini modeling and I couldn't get out of it. We went camping, we bought so much chocolate, we bought panettone what little one. We bought like a few, just a few things. And I literally said to james, on like the fourth day in, I was like you need to take the pods. Yep, everyone, I had pods.
Speaker 1:You need to take the pods away from me physically, because I will just keep shoving my hand in here and eating and he grabs them and he hid them. I couldn't find them. I was like, okay, fine. Then, by like the sixth day of camping, I was like, okay, I'm officially done, I feel sick, and then that was when I stopped. I don't know, it just takes me sometimes over Christmas to get to the point of like I'm done, done, to stop. I haven't had that for such a long time, like I would say like two years. That hasn't happened two years. And I started to get scared before you keep going yeah an important question what type of pot?
Speaker 1:do you go for? I don't care like mars bar. Mars Bar is James' favourite. No.
Speaker 2:Yuck, yuck Mars Bar. No, why I'm so divided with this? I'm like you, just choose one and that's it. What's yours? I'm Snickers all the way.
Speaker 1:Okay, I like Snickers too I love Snickers. I'm not fussy.
Speaker 2:I'm not fussy, but if I have to choose which, I will choose every time. It's always.
Speaker 1:Is it because of the ooey gooey?
Speaker 2:I think so. Caramel, this is going to sound so weird. I only have pods when I'm at the movies, when I'm watching movies.
Speaker 1:That's cute.
Speaker 2:That's like my go-to. If I'm going to the movies and I go to like Safeway before and I get chocolate, I'm like what am I getting? And it's pods. And it's been that way since I was in high school, because me and my best friend always used to go to Safeway and get pods and so it's always been a thing.
Speaker 1:So I never eat pods outside of the cinemas you know what happened when we were camping. They got hard and stuck together because it was hot, so like the chocolate melted with it and I was having like a pod sandwich and it was like crunchy, gooey goodness and I was just like in heaven and like this is bad. Yum, it was so good you gotta try it. Just like, put some heat on it, let them melt, put in the fridge again and then it's like clusters of pod sticks I'm not advocating.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm not we are.
Speaker 2:Anyone that is currently trying to pull back on the chocolate eating. We are not helping that situation. Let's, let's come back. Do not listen to this podcast episode this was.
Speaker 1:This was christmas time.
Speaker 2:I would need this, I need to give relatability here.
Speaker 1:I think with this kind of stuff, like you found it really easy to just go, no, I'm done, whereas for myself, I did it a few days and I knew that I was kind of like this is becoming borderline problematic because I know myself and this has happened before, so it's a theme I have a bit of an addictive behavior with food. Um, have a bit of an addictive behavior with food. So instead of like blaming myself and being upset, I did the damage. I felt absolutely crap, like worst I felt. And then I was like okay, let's get smart again, realized it's like, actually started to say no again. And that's what you did. You exercised your power. I was like no, I'm actually okay. When it was offered to you, you started to say no and I think if you are finding already that the year has started a little bit shaky and the food uh situation food stuff has started to kind of lingered for too long, you need to start exercising your power and say no.
Speaker 2:There's a lot of power in voicing and saying no there is so much strength in saying no and really limiting yourself, because I know for some people they might have that mindset of I can't limit myself, so I'm just going to keep binging, keep binging, keep going all in until it gets to a point where maybe they've put on quite a bit of weight and feel like they just can't go back.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I think it's hard for people who feel like they get stuck in that, because you do feel like there's nowhere else to hide and there's nowhere else to go. Absolutely yeah, I don't think nobody nobody's stuck, like nobody is stuck. It's such a mental thing. You need to realize that. Your brain is so powerful and I keep having this conversation with myself about other things as well in my day to day and things will keep coming up, and I had a conversation with a client recently like your food. Behaviors are just a reflection also of your mental health and sometimes we choose the worst options because our mental health is being neglected and maybe it's just also for convenience sake. Maybe you know you don't want to do go to the shops and get the good food, or maybe you don't know what to do at the shops when you are looking for something, or maybe it's just, like I just said, it's just convenience. You're just buying whatever's easier for you, what you're used to. It's a bad habit.
Speaker 1:It's a bad, bad habit.
Speaker 2:And I think the beauty of that is you can always start over. If you, if you overindulge, if you stuff up, if you, you know you grab your fast food or takeaway out of convenience, you're feeling like crap, cool, that's fine. There's always tomorrow. Start fresh tomorrow. It doesn't mean you have to repeat that same cycle over and over again each day.
Speaker 1:You can change that and you have the power to change that what would we say are some steps that people could start with to start changing maybe this lingering mindset with food or, you know, maybe they haven't also started training. What would you suggest? What's the first step?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think establishing routine again is probably one of the biggest steps, cause do find, you know, if while I wasn't working, it was very much. Oh, what time is it? Oh, should I eat? You know, meals were a bit all over the place. I might eat a little bit later breakfast, or I might skip lunch. It was a little bit out of whack, whereas usually when I'm working I have my routine routine I eat at certain times.
Speaker 2:So when you have structure, you're more likely to stick to things and you're less likely to want to binge or pick or snack. So I think, first getting back into your routine, even if you've got a couple more weeks away from work before you get started, get back into the routine of eating at certain times yes, things that would replicate what you would usually do during a work day I would also recommend this.
Speaker 1:We have had a fair few new clients sign on with ladies that lift and some of them have wanted to start a little bit later when they're at uni and they've got their schedule, they're at work and they've got their shift shifts rostered and i'm'm like what are you waiting for? Why are we waiting to get a roster when we can start right now? Because in a week's time the roster might be what you don't expect or it also might be something that's like, uh, something that's perfect for you. Who cares? Regardless whether it's perfect or it's not, you're still going to have to find that consistency that works. And, yeah, I think that's a really good step and try, try, write it on something like a Google calendar or use something that you can like.
Speaker 1:I don't know what people do for their meetings and stuff like work. I think they use like outlookcom if it's like a conferencing or whatever, whatever the corporate world stuff is. If you have a calendar for work, can you also have a separate calendar email address that also has your day-to-day stuff. I do this with Google Calendar very, very often. It's my work, it's my personal. I have all my movements everywhere, whether it's a break, whether it's lunch, whether I'm in office, clients meetings, whatever it is, I put it all there. So I think, think, routine is hugely important. What's a step two Routine.
Speaker 2:Something I'm trying to think of, things that I guess I've implemented getting back into the gym this year. I have one, go for it.
Speaker 1:I think if it comes to food depends what like what we're contextualizing, but I think food have a list. What I have found in group fitness is it was always like with F45 and body revival and places where have that kind of challenge set. The meal plan was always different. They didn't have to be like people could always keep the same item, but that constant regurgitating a menu and like changing it constantly was too difficult. So have something that is consistent within your routine, whether it's you know you're going to the gym five times a week, or you're three times a week, or you're going for a walk at a certain time a day, waking up at a certain time a day. This is like where your routine really matters, the structure of it. You also should maybe have a plan when it comes to food or your training schedule. What is it that you actually are doing, not just like training hour or cardio. Is it a run, is it interval with your training? Is it upper, is it lower? Is it a mix? Is it a recovery session? Upper Is it lower, is it a mix? Is it a recovery session? Or is it going to the my therapist and seeing Steph and then food?
Speaker 1:Is it having a menu and going okay, maybe for three days, maybe for four days, I don't know how people plan. I like to plan for maybe two to five days in advance, depending on where I am, where I'm like with my partner or at home. So yeah, plan your proteins, like what do you want to eat for proteins in the week? Plan your carbs. Plan some fats, always have butter, always have olive oil, always have avocado. Have like the staples around so you can pull on those when you might be missing a couple ingredients, like cheese. I always love using cheese as healthy fats and definitely have proteins around. Like. Plan that so that you're not going into the supermarket and going, okay, what do I get? And then all you got is pods yeah, I like the.
Speaker 2:I like the idea of having an actual plan, because if you don't have the plan, you're thinking do I go to the gym today? Oh, see how I feel, maybe I'll go tomorrow yeah, but if you, if you write the plan down I'm going to the gym on these days you're more likely to follow it. Same with your meal plan. If it comes to dinner time you're like, oh, what should I cook? I don't know. Oh, I'll just get takeout, it's easier versus here's what I'm having for dinner.
Speaker 2:I've written it down. Cool Groceries are done, let's get started.
Speaker 1:You're more likely to stick with it. Can I also say that using like meal plan companies, meal prep companies, is not a bad way to go if you are really struggling with time constraints. I struggle sometimes during the week when I'm traveling between my partner's house and my house, to plan all my shopping, because it's it just gets a lot for me to think about and honestly, I have to be honest about that. It's hard. Instead of lying to myself and be like I won't get anything, I'll go home and make something. I got nothing. So just go to the shops, grab a meal plan, a meal prep. It's not the best, fine, but at least it's not eating nothing and at least it's not eating just chocolate.
Speaker 2:And there can be some really got wholesome options there as well that you can have, even though they're considered, you know, your emergency or convenience. It's still better than getting fast food. Yeah absolutely, or you can do what I do and tend to have breakfast for dinner when you're stuck with ideas.
Speaker 1:I have done that so many times.
Speaker 2:I love breakfast. For dinner, eggs.
Speaker 1:What's your breakfast dinner Eggs okay um, yeah, always eggs.
Speaker 2:Uh, if I don't have toast, then I will get a bit fancy I'll boil potatoes and I'll do eggs potato. Then maybe, if I've got bacon, I'll do like little bacon bits and then put cheese on the top.
Speaker 1:Yum, that's easy.
Speaker 2:It's so easy. It's so easy and tastes so good. It's quite nice actually. I look forward to it. My favorites.
Speaker 1:My favorites is like eggs with like sizzle steaks.
Speaker 2:Yum.
Speaker 1:Or in Spanish it's called huevos rancheros and it's like saucy eggs and it's perfect.
Speaker 2:Yum.
Speaker 1:So nice.
Speaker 2:That actually reminds me of a really good um lunch I had a couple of weeks ago, and it was egg.
Speaker 1:Come on and that's all right, and potato and yum they called it something on.
Speaker 2:There was a name for it I can't remember, it was potatoes something, but I can't remember bravos, yeah, oh yeah, I think that might have been. I think that could have been. It was egg potato and then jamon and it was so yum and I and I was like I need that, I need to make that at home.
Speaker 1:It was really yum yeah see guys we're giving you examples can be it could be so yummy at home.
Speaker 2:And how long like it takes two seconds to boil up potatoes and while they're boiling, whip up the eggs Like it doesn't. It doesn't take that long.
Speaker 1:I think sometimes the mental power of like making a meal can also be a little bit draining. So having some things in your back pocket that are your go-to makes it easy. So definitely have those things that you know and I was going to say something about, oh, with your routine, with what, the foods that you're choosing also know yourself better. It's like some people will say, I like to train in the mornings and I like to train at night, so I like to train on the weekends. Okay, that's great, but I think you need to know your body better than what the people on Instagram or on TikTok are saying as well. Like, personally, I prefer to train in the mornings, but I know if I have to, I'm going to train at night because I'm going to be there, like I don't have an excuse if I'm not at the gym. So, to be honest, you don't look at me as the example of when I train best, because I know I can push through whatever I need to, whatever I need to do. You look at yourself and yourself only, and you know yourself better.
Speaker 1:Is it better for you to train at night? Is it better for you to train in the day? Depends. When do you get the best intensity out of your workout, so you know. Or even your meal prep when do you have the most energy, even with your work? When do you have the most energy to do the most productive or the hard tasks? I guess you can kind of like feel when that is better. If there is no best time, you don't know, you got to experiment. So I think step three is like experiment with your plan, your routine, your meal, your meals, menus, experiment, trial it and if it doesn't work, change it so we've got step one structure.
Speaker 2:Make sure you have you're getting back a destruction routine. Step two prepare a plan and preparation, and then step three be ready to change it be ready to change experiment. Have a bit of fun with it.
Speaker 1:If you're not adaptable, then you will sink rather than swim in the year to come, because you need to be ready for things to change. Everyone's routine changes a lot, right? If you can just get your routine and experiment with it and experiment the best times of day that you need, I think you'll be a much more resilient human as the year goes on, because you won't rely on anything or like it. Didn't get to do my workout on Monday, so, oh my God, I'm starting my workout Tuesday. It's like, okay, I didn't get to do my workout on Monday, so, oh my god, I'm starting my workout Tuesday. It's like, okay, I didn't get to do it, I can do it the next day, it's fine, at least you get to just keep on. Keeping on, that's part of growing in the fitness industry, or just being, you know, an individual. That's part of growing. You just have to bounce back bounce back, go with the flow.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I think, yeah, yeah, um, was there anything else?
Speaker 1:I think we mostly. Yeah, Was there anything else? I think we mostly planned for? Yeah, just the post-Christmas binge.
Speaker 2:Post-Christmas binge share what we ate. A little bit of feedback and tips around how you can get back into it.
Speaker 1:Well, I hope that was handy for everyone. Yeah, I think that wraps us up. We are on socials, steph. We need to get out some of those sound bites that we had. But we're on a new platform, guys. We're using Riverside and we're trialing it out, so hopefully we can get some visuals on our Instagram and we hope you like them. We hope you like this episode. We are going to be hitting 100 episodes this year, steph. Did you know?
Speaker 2:We are. I'm excited for that. We'll have to. We'll have to plan something big for the 100th episode.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm really excited. I think we'll hit it in around April, may. Yep, I'm pretty excited, anyway. So, yeah, that's all guys. We will speak to you guys soon. If you need anything, you know where to find us on the Unfiltered Health Podcast on Instagram. Please DM us anything and yeah, we'll see.