#125 - Pia Seeberg - Eating Healthy AND Flexible During Easter (Without Stress or Guilt)

What's up and welcome back to the Talking Nutrition Podcast. Today is part two of my chat with PSA Berg, my friend from Norway, where Easter is a big thing, right? Where we live, people are big on Easter and we want to share with you our approach to including social settings, whether that's an evening out, a weekend away, your holiday vacations, like all that good stuff. After being like on a roll with your usual day to day, like how will you go into now, including something like Easter or maybe Christmas or whatever, without feeling stressed around food, without that guilt because you had some chocolate, but also of course, while still being healthy, making flexible yet, you know, good choices in general, because there's a, it's not all or nothing. That's the main point here. It's not all or nothing. And I'm going to teach you the exact framework that we want to follow. for learning from these situations, I mean, situations like events, real life events that will always come up and how to include that stuff, how to include it, how to make it work for you. And then of course, how to be healthy and flexible and have the chocolate, but also not overdo it, but without the guilt, without the stress. So let's get into it. Enjoy this episode about all things Easter with Pia Sayberg. And I also wanted to talk about, as you mentioned, when we started, like social settings, holidays and vacations, Easter is coming up and I get that and I felt this myself as well. It's easy to do the training and the nutrition when you're at home in your routines, everything is predictable but as soon as you go on a vacation or for me it could just be a weekend, things would be off. Because of my routines, they were different, I had to... be around other people all the time, eat my meals together with other people all the time. I don't know, it can be hard and sometimes stressful for people. But we don't want that. We want them to be able to enjoy their vacations even though they're trying to achieve something with their physique. So I want you to give me the how -to guide so that we all have the answer to how we can solve this in the best way. So... Let me start with the framework that we follow for any special scenario or any social setting. Really anything that's not your usual day to day, because that's the easy stuff. Now we have a whole new different scenario. We got to also understand that it's going to require a different approach, but I just need you to go in with the right expectations and plan as well. Right? So three steps, super simple. We plan, we then execute, and then we reflect. So let's say planning. Okay. You know what? Actually, I'll take that. I'll take a step back. Let's actually start with reflecting because this is not your first Easter. How old are you again? 30 something 30 34 34. Okay. So this is going to be your 34th Easter. So you have experience already. So you then also know, okay, what do I usually struggle with? You know, Christmas and those kinds of things is, is big one too. I think sometimes we tend to forget we already have a lot of reps, you know, under our belts basically. But we need to do the sometimes uncomfortable thing of like, hey, okay, what do I actually have a hard time with? Do I overeat the chocolate? Do I do this and that? Do I maybe, right, not get any steps in at all? Like whatever it may be, like that's different per person. But let's maybe start with reflecting on what we know we usually have a hard time with. so that we can go in with a plan and going in with a plan doesn't mean that you have to pre plan all of your meals. It doesn't mean that you have to pre track or meal prep or do anything that's like exactly the same as what you usually do at home. Because again, that's the easy stuff. Maybe you're going away. Maybe you're not going to make your own meals. Maybe you're eating out a lot. You're going to a hotel, whatever it is. I want you to go in just knowing what your plan is. And that could be as simple as, Hey, you know what? I've been doing very well. I'm just going to mostly focus on hitting my steps. I want to have this many workouts for that week. I want to come to the food I'm going to enjoy, but I'm going to make sure I eat protein with every meal, or I'm going to make sure that I do this, that whatever it is, not even like going specific. We could even say, When I have my meals, I'm going to say, okay, I'm going to have three main meals. And when I have those meals, I'm just going to be mindful. I'm going to eat slowly. I'm going to chew my food and really just enjoy and just be mindful of, okay, how do I want to feel going into this? But also during, especially after, because if you think about it, we're really talking about a couple of days and it's the exact same conversation as with ultra processed foods. Like when If Easter really is that big of a problem, how many days is Easter like officially? Is that four or five, whatever? Yeah, something like that. Yeah. If those four or five days out of the 365 day year is a problem, like I want to, I want to know what the other days look like, you know? Um, so go in with a plan, meaning what is success going to look like for you this Easter? And I could literally be one thing. Hey, I just want to hit my steps. Okay. Now we set the expectation. Now we don't have to stress about it anymore because you said I'm going to hit my steps. Now we go to the next step, execute, right? And then we see how it goes. And maybe you kill it and you absolutely just hit your goals, right? And your goals could literally be one thing, like I said, and then we enjoy the week. And then afterwards we reflect again, but we should not skip that part. And that's why we do that weekly check -in with the clients. It's like, Okay, after Easter, let's reflect. What did we learn? What did you do well? What needs some more work next time? And of course, yes, Easter is going to be in like another year. But I mean, a summer vacation or a weekend away with friends or a birthday or Christmas or whatever is all the same. There's maybe different foods involved, but it's a different scenario that's not at home that we just still need to learn how to include. Yeah, I remember when I had the... When we were working together, I had a weekend away with my boyfriend and my son and I had went overboard and I wanted to just like, okay, let's not think about that. Just let's just look forward and you kind of forced me to dive into it and ask myself why, what happened? And of course you don't do that on your own because you just want to forget it. But it's a lot of learning in like going back and reflecting on why you did what you did and how you can solve. those situations differently. So I think that's a big one to go back on previous vacations and ask yourself, where's like your source of bad feelings? Why do you do the bad choices and how can you solve it like in a different way so that you go into your vacation? Yeah, as you say, kind of prepared for what's coming. Yeah. Yeah. And that's also understanding not even everyone makes worse choices, whatever it is, whatever you want to call it. It's also like, Hey, I've, I've seen people. So one of my clients went on a little trip last week, which I told her, like, this was actually great practice for Easter because I know you're going away again. Uh, so you have to benefit now of, okay. I almost have like a test a week because for her it's new, right? Because we just started recently. Then we have a normal week at home and then you're going away again for Easter. So she emailed me. She's like, Hey, you know, I want to share this because I just feel a little bit stressed and a little maybe guilty or uncertain food choices and whatever it is. So, and by the way, it is very important to reflect for some people though. It is really like you said, Hey, we just continue. Okay. Was it a one -off thing? Do we normally do fine? Okay. We don't have to, we don't have to turn it into a thing, but a lot of times it's worth looking into this. So we did that and. So I asked you like, okay, explain, you know, this scenario or whatever it is and why did you feel like that? And okay. Um, multiple things. One of, one of the aspects was she thought it was difficult to hit her macros. Okay. And then there was bakeries that they all wanted to go through. And then she was like, ah, I kind of missed out because I, you know, I went for this option. I wanted to really have that one. Okay. So let's just stick with those two. Right. So first of all, Did we actually do bad because we didn't hit our macros? Or did we go in with the wrong expectations, knowing that it was going to be different and that we're not going to weigh our food, et cetera. Knowing that, hey, maybe we're just going to use this week to test how we do with our tracking, right? I don't want people to track me Easter. Um, anyone who's in a, in a federal space and who celebrates Easter, we're pulling them to maintenance for a couple of days, at least. whether that's a few days or the full week and that's different per person. Um, cause some people don't really celebrate it either, you know, but it's like, okay, first of all, like should you even be tracking or are we just going to basic, you know, make some basic changes or basic decisions? I should say, if I go out for food, I want to, you know, at least be mindful of my choices. So there's that part. I don't, I don't really think we need to worry about macros at all. doesn't mean they're not going to count, right? Because we can overeat without counting macros. But that's a big one. Because if we don't go in with the expectations of like, I need to hit my macros, okay, then that's already done, you know? And then with the bakery too. Okay, well, how often do we have that same kind of thing? I'm much better to see you actually have that and just be like, Hey, you know what, I really wanted that thing. I actually enjoyed that. Which even goes into having a drink of alcohol. I don't drink but like that doesn't matter. Like, I know a lot of people do. I believe in educating. And I think that we need to understand that, for example, with alcohol, it is high in calories and not because of the carbs, but because the actual alcohol is seven calories per gram. It is a toxin. But if we can understand that as just objectively how it is, and then we can have some moderation and you legit enjoy that thing, right? Isn't it also healthy? just from like a mindset standpoint, even just to actually just have that thing and to be okay with it and be like, you know what I want to, we went to the bakery and instead of the, I don't know, like the, the break, like the egg sandwich, whatever, I actually just went for the cinnamon roll and I just loved it, you know, and then it just went on with my day. Like I, I think that that's usually more healthy. It's going with the right expectations. That's it. That's the main thing here. Yeah. I definitely agree. And also when you start working with nutrition for yourself, you quickly get too preoccupied with macros and calories and having everything right. So that's part of the job to do everything right, but at the same time try to keep the balance so that you don't get stressed out from situations like this, because that's when it gets unhealthy. And you know, the people that was like criticizing me back in days for starting to count calories and sharing that I feel that's where they're coming from. Like when you get, you get too preoccupied with the number and like forgetting the big picture. That's so important to keep that in mind. Yeah. This is just a tool. I tell people always it's like, Hey, I'm your coach. I'm here to, to hold you accountable, to push you, but also to tell you to slow down sometimes. And to push you also in the sense of, Hey, I just gave you this tool to learn about nutrition. And we've just been dialing in your, your protein and all those kinds of things. I'm now also going to tell you, Hey, you know what? I actually want you not to track this week. I, and I would just want you to trust the process and want to trust yourself, you know, and I want you to give yourself a bit of slack and see, Hey, how do I do without tracking? There's two outcomes. We do great or we don't. And then we learn from that, you know, it's just collecting information. And that way, and that's way more of like a growth mindset approach to where we know that we can just always learn if we reflect and we look at the information and the data, because people see this as like failure and people see this as I'm messing up, but I'm like, no, like this is good information because we can learn. Yeah, I want to add just before we close up, I feel for me at least overeating can be a big problem when I enter like vacation social settings because I was sort of overweight when I was a child. So I feel it's like it's sort of ingrained in me that when there's like good foods, you should really secure your share of it. I've gotten better. But also when you eat like we do like pretty healthy and we love it. But when you get access to like big amounts of chocolate and like just different foods. I can sort of go like all blackout mode and just overeats. And of course if I prepare and I'm present, it's easier not to do that. But do you have any tips on like avoiding plain overeating in Easter and other vacation settings? Good question. Thanks for asking that because I think it's good to give the listener a at least a few tools to keep in mind. And then it's all just about picking what sounds right for you and just trying, you know, we can talk about the specific tactics, but it's not until next week, you go into Easter or whatever it is. The week after we go into Easter and we actually try something like that's when you find out. But I mean, a lot of the basic stuff, if we mostly eat whole foods, if we hit our proteins, if we get our fruits and vegetables in, If we do that still for the most part, I think is going to be very difficult in general to get super hungry. A little bonus tool is knowing how traditionally family meetings and dinners and those, you know, are set up or breakfast even knowing there are fewer protein sources. There's usually more candy and chocolate and all that. Maybe let's go in. I don't know. Like when you're driving there, have a protein shake. or before you leave, like have a good amount of protein, because that's going to fill you up. So at least you're not like starving going into it, you know. That's a big one. I think being active and lifting some weights and stuff, that's all going to be great as well. Just staying active in general, go for a walk, especially after a big meal. The good thing in Norway is that people are very much into like skiing and hiking and all that. So that's great. Right. Do something active with the family. Um, I do like managing meal frequency, which I do when I travel, I just try to stick to my three main meals and then have maybe like a protein snack, but it's not my five usual meals that I have at home for that reason. So that, Hey, even if I'm not tracking, I'm probably not overeating either, but I, I do feel you it's hard to be honest with you because this is where like that coaching comes in. It's like, Let's explore, okay, what's the trigger? Like when do we really kind of overdo it? What leads to that? Like how did I feel before? How did I feel during? Like what kind of, you know, it's a difficult one to answer. I will say that. Yeah, but it's a big one for me is to be present and really think about the feeling after going overboard. Like having a piece of chocolate that's... something I should do every day, thumbs up. But the problem for me is when I do, I eat like the whole chocolate without even thinking about it. And afterwards you get like the worst feeling because that wasn't a part of your plan. You didn't enjoy the chocolate. You don't even know why it happened. So really thinking about how you feel afterwards if you were to eat that amount. That really helps me like thinking about the feeling afterwards and how it's not worth it. But to be able to do that, you have to, as you say, really stay full, eat nutritious food during the day. At some point in my life, I've been like, okay, I'm going to fast all day because I have a family dinner this evening. Rarely works out to my favor. So yeah, but staying present, even mindfulness, journaling, those kinds of things. That's how that comes to play. Also when we're talking about like nutrition. I think also this is a big one. This is actually one I want to mention. since it's also a holiday kind of thing, rest, do stretch, stress managing like activities, because stress and fatigue directly plays into self control as well. So one turn is into like a neuroscience lesson, but like basically when you are less stressed, you're less tired. More resources kind of go to your prefrontal cortex where that's where you. You're in control of your feelings, your thoughts, your actions, et cetera. That's where you can do your best planning. And that's where you can actually exert that willpower, that self control. If we're super stressed and we're tired, that's going to be worse. Plus we're also going to be more hungry. We're going to have more cravings. So that's actually a big one to give yourself a little bit of time to recharge. That's a big one. Maybe go off of social media for a little bit. Um, And then the mindfulness is a big one. Eating slowly during family meals, that's a big one too. But specifically to the chocolate, it's like... The reason people sometimes seem to have a lot of willpower and self -control is because their environment is set up so they don't have to exert that. I do believe there's research on willpower and self -control and whether exposure to those challenges will improve it. And I don't believe it does, which was interesting. So it really comes down to being mindful. It's your mindset really also. It's setting up your environment. But of course, we're going to go into a different scenario. We're going to go into a different scenario story environment where it is going to be available. Try to set a limit for yourself. That's going to be a big one. Try not to be starving when you go in, like you said. Usually when people try that, when you fast and then you go in thinking, I'm going to save my calories, like usually that backfires. And then you go, you go big, you know? Yeah. You can't fight the biology. Yeah. But then again, try to at least allow yourself a little bit of more of the fun stuff too. Yeah. Doesn't have to be this big thing. If you do end up overeating just the very next day, just go back to eating healthy. Do you ever overeat? Like eat the whole bag of candy and just like, oh, shouldn't have done that. Yeah. Yes. That's why I don't buy chocolate usually. You know, I can't like - protecting yourself. Or Oreos or something. Cause I've done that. I'm really bad with like Christmas cookies, you know, peppercocker. It's like - I sometimes I can't stop almost, you know what I mean? And that's just, that's, that's not even like a bad thing. It's just like, I know myself, you know? So I know that when I get the bar of chocolate, like it's going to go usually. Um, I have times where that's not the case by the way, but a lot of times it is. Or with like Oreos, you're never going to have to one, you know? Um, I re full transparency. I recently had like, I went to birthday and it was like chocolate and candy, like licorice. I was like, I'll have a little bit, but it wasn't that little bit, you know? Did you tell your coach? Yeah. And I overate. And I was like, hey, you know what? I kind of, you know, I messed up. But you know what we did? Like we just went right back to what I was doing. Yeah. And yeah, for me as well, I've tried the stuff like have just one and then train yourself to be the person that's satisfied. It works in some cases. But for the most part, I have to protect myself from myself, not buying the candy, planning how much I should eat, and just doing my thing and making it... I try to make it as easy as possible for myself to feel good, whether that's having five pieces of candy, ten pieces of candy, or an orange instead, but always having some sort of plan, because that feeling for me is better than just going with the flow, because I'm not going with the flow. candy kind of person that just always backfires. I have one more tip. The easiest way, here's the thing, when you have a bowl of chocolate, like if it's sitting right here on my desk, like I'm going to go for it, you know what I mean? If there's candy like around, and like this goes back to that book, like Atomic Habits, it's like when it's like obvious for something to happen, like you're going to go for it usually. So we can use that principle and also set up an environment so that, hey, okay, maybe we put the chocolate and the candy away in a cupboard and we're going to have an a bowl of apples on the kitchen table. For example, it could be anything else. It could be grapes, could be whatever. Those kinds of things making it easier to have something healthy will be a good one too. So even with a family setting, hey, okay, maybe there's going to be chocolate, but maybe we're going to make sure. And maybe we can be the person bringing that. There's maybe some cut up veggies with like a Greek yogurt, it's kind of like a protein kind of, you know, dip, which is really nice by the way. Um, we're going to make sure that there's also healthier snacks so that we can maybe have both, maybe a bit of fruit and those kinds of things. Cause that's a big one too. Um, cause it's, it's more like then focusing on adding some of the good stuff instead of. I'm going to try to restrict myself from this one thing. Makes sense. Yeah. So instead of just looking out in the air, not having the chocolate, you have something else instead that like. Estater. What's the English word for it? Estater. Replaces the chocolate. Yeah. And you can still have both. But I think at least like you're you're at least more likely to go for it because it's already there. And then there's no effort in making that healthier choice. Make sense? Cool. I think we are going to wrap it up for today. because we gave all the tools. I think we talked about a lot of good stuff. And I think that in general, we're going to learn most by going in and being mindful and then learning from our reflection after Easter again. And then we try again next time. Make sense? Yes, definitely. Thank you so much. I know that my members will really appreciate it and this and also your listeners. It's really valuable. Contact that. inspires us to make good choices into the Easter but also in social settings when we're with other people. And just remember, it's a journey and you're allowed to fuck up and then you just go on the next day like nothing happened. Just like Johan and his coach when Johan eats too much. Yes, absolutely. Try not to punish yourself. You don't have to do like crazy cardio to burn it off or restrict yourself the next day. No, just... Go back to the normal, usual kind of routines and that's all you gotta do. Nice. Thank you so much. I'll talk to you soon, Pia.