On Sunday morning, over on Instagram, I hosted a morning coffee chat to talk about Holidays, Food & Mood. It was a good chance to chat about some last-minute reminders heading into the holiday season but also a chance to interact a little bit more one on one with all of you. Instead of having a completely separate podcast this week, I decided to share the audio from the live. In case you missed it, you can stream it here.

This week I’ve had some great conversations in DMs with different people about how easy it is to ignore the simple things going on with our bodies. It’s easy to chalk stress up to the time of the year. Brain fog can be attributed to the to-do list that is a mile long.

However, this time of the year there are ways around pushing your body and brain to the limit. Everything going on around you isn’t perfect but by using food that your body reacts the best to, you can put yourself in a better position going through the holiday season.

How To Control Your Mood With Food

Find The Right Balance: This time of the year, the treats are everywhere and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. However, when we ONLY indulge in treats, it’s easy for our body to want to shut down. When we eat too much processed sugars, the good nutrients can’t get to where they need to go, leaving our brains to try and functino on what it has. This can lead to an increase in anxiety and brain fog.

By adding balance to your day with whole foods, you can indulge in the sweet treats while still helping your body function at it’s best.

Watch Out For Too Many Inflammatory Foods: Piggybacking off the balance note, watch out for too much of these inflammatory foods: corn, wheat, soy, dairy & egg. All of these can lead to an inflamed gut which can lead to your body not quite functioning properly.

Instead of Focusing On Weight Loss… Go Back To Basics: All of my clients have heard this one recently. Focus on what you can control and stick to the basics. Make sure you are getting a solid breakfast and including whole foods with each meal.

Keep Moving Your Body: As hard as it might seem right now, continuing through your morning routine or workout routine will keep your body on a schedule.

Focus on What You Can Control: Listen to what your body’s telling you. If your mood is starting to swing and you are struggling, take a step back, go back to basics.

What were your biggest takeaways?