Top 10 Fall Weight Loss Pitfalls and Power Plays for a Healthy Season

James Hill:

Welcome to Weight Loss And, where we delve into the world of weight loss. I'm Jim Hill.

Holly Wyatt:

And I'm Holly Wyatt. We're both dedicated to helping you lose weight, keep it off, and live your best life while you're doing it.

James Hill:

Indeed, we now realize successful weight loss combines the science and art of medicine, knowing what to do and why you will do it.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes, the “And” allows us to talk about all the other stuff that makes your journey so much bigger, better, and exciting.

James Hill:

Ready for the “And” factor?

Holly Wyatt:

Let's dive in.

James Hill:

Here we go.

Holly Wyatt:

Today, we're diving into one of the, maybe the toughest season for weight management for a lot of people, the fall. The fall is when we have shorter days, comfort foods, lots of holidays, stress. It's like a perfect storm for weight gain and weight regain.

James Hill:

You're right, but there is some good news. If you know the pitfalls that can sneak up on you in autumn, you can plan your power plays to avoid them. And that's what this podcast is about.

Holly Wyatt:

I like that, Jim. Pitfalls and power plays. See what could throw you off and then something you can do about it. So this episode is going to be all about showing you how to fall forward. So instead of getting behind during this holiday season, you roll into winter ahead of the game. So let's get started.

James Hill:

I like it. And as we've been doing a lot, we're doing our top 10.

Holly Wyatt:

Do we have 10?

James Hill:

I think we have 10.

Holly Wyatt:

We do. I know that's me and my like kind of controlling…

James Hill:

You can't help yourself.

Holly Wyatt:

I can't help it. Yeah.

James Hill:

Well, let's dive into it. You want me to go first?

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, you start it off.

James Hill:

This is one that hits home to me. Shorter days, less daylight. Holly, I love it when it's light later.

Holly Wyatt:

Me too.

James Hill:

I should probably live up north where it's light to 11 or 12 p.m., but daylight is a strong biological cue especially for activity. We move more when it's light. And studies show that, that people are less active in the fall and winter, averaging 15 to 20 minutes less movement per day compared to summer. And that's not planned exercise. That's just moving around because it's light and you're out.

Holly Wyatt:

And Jim, 15, I mean, some people may be saying, well, 15 to 20 minutes, big deal. That is a big deal.

James Hill:

Some people only get 15 to 20 minutes of exercise a day. But, Holly, less light, it's a biological thing. It affects neurotransmitters like serotonin in your brain. It affects your circadian rhythm. And I find this. It's harder to be motivated, to be active when it's dark.

Holly Wyatt:

Absolutely. This is a huge pitfall for me is the shorter days. I just start dreading it when I know that they're coming. And I think the listeners need to realize, like you said, there's science associated with that. We know that for the average person means less movement. So what do we do about that? If we know that's coming, we can take some action.

James Hill:

So what is the play? What is the play to overcome this, the power play? So the idea, I think, is to anchor movement to your routine, not daylight.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

James Hill:

The light's going to change, but doesn't mean your routine has to change. Now that might take some getting used to. For example, if you typically go out and run or walk at 5 p.m., which in the summer is very light, maybe getting dusks. But as best you can, keep anchoring movement to your routine.

Holly Wyatt:

Well, I think what it means is you want to still do the activity, but you can anchor it to something else instead of the daylight.

James Hill:

Maybe you have to walk on the treadmill rather than outside if it's dark.

Holly Wyatt:

Well, for me, my favorite kind of routine in the summer is I come home, I park my car, and then I get ready and I go walk to get Bodie at daycare and walk him home. And I just love it because I'm being active. I get to do something with Bodie. And that's my routine. Well, that's going to have to change in the fall because by the time I get home, it's going to be dark. Right now, it's not, but I know it will be. So that, I know, isn't going to be something that I'm going to be able to continue doing. but I want to still get my walking in. So I need to think about how can I anchor movement or walking to something else and probably not necessarily outside because we know the daylight's getting shorter. So what I was thinking, for instance, is I may start walking in the fall to my favorite TV shows. When my favorite TV show's on, I'm gonna get on the treadmill or anchor it to something else I enjoy because we know the ritual means I enjoy it for some other reason. I enjoy it for multiple reasons. but a new normal for getting my activity.

James Hill:

One of the things I think is coming out of here, Holly, is have a plan. Don't just let it happen and disrupt your routine. It's no mystery. Fall is coming. You know that. You know the days are getting shorter. You can look at how sunset is going to change. So I think the idea is have a plan. Don't let it sneak up on you and say, “Oh, my gosh, it’s dark, I can't exercise.” Have a plan.

Holly Wyatt:

I think for all these, we're saying, here's a pitfall. There's science behind it. We know this is coming. We know this impacts body weight regulation in some way. So since you know it's coming, you have that information, do something about it. Have a power play, right?

James Hill:

Yeah.

Holly Wyatt:

Be on the offense.

James Hill:

All right. What's next?

Holly Wyatt:

Number two. This is another one that really gets me this time of year. Fall is really the time what we're calling comfort food overload. When the days are getting shorter, you also start kind of craving. The days getting shorter, the weather's getting colder. I think both of those things have you crave these calorie dense foods because they tend to be heavy in carbohydrate. And that can boost, once again, things like serotonin and dopamine. And we're kind of wired for when it gets colder and the days are shorter that to want that serotonin to want that. So we start craving these foods and comfort foods like chili and with corn bread and some of these things are really energy dense, meaning have a lot of calories.

James Hill:

But Holly, what the heck is up with pumpkin spice latte? I don't get it. That set does not sound appealing to me, but I see it everywhere in the fall.

Holly Wyatt:

But people like it. And I think it is kind of a fall tradition.

James Hill:

It's got a lot of calories, right?

Holly Wyatt:

Oh, well, sugar. I mean, it's not the pumpkin so much. Pumpkin itself isn't necessarily bad, but then they put a lot of sugar and stuff in it.

James Hill:

Seems to me like it's a dessert rather than a coffee drink. It's a dessert.

Holly Wyatt:

It's a dessert. And people don't necessarily think of it. Oh, I'm just having a coffee. No, you're having a lot of sugar in it. But it is one of those things tied to this time of year that you just have to be aware. That's giving me a lot more calories when I'm eating different kind of comfort foods. That's normal. My body's craving that. It's giving me more calories, which can then result in weight gain. So what do we do? What's the power play?

James Hill:

What's the power play, Holly?

Holly Wyatt:

You know this is happening. Be strategic. Think about cozy swaps, things you can do that still feel cozy, make the food feel like comfort food, you know, cozy food, but have less calories. So soups like vegetable soups or roasted squash. Maybe use the pumpkin, but don't put a lot of sugar in it. There's things that you can do that still give you that kind of comfort feeling, like baked fruit with cinnamon. That can give you that feeling of comfort with less calories. And warm foods. A lot of times we're wanting kind of warm foods because it's getting colder. So if you know the tendency is to go for comfort foods and they tend to have a lot of calories, you can design some specific comfort foods you like with less calories.

James Hill:

And if you have to have the pumpkin spice latte, do the small size.

Holly Wyatt:

Small size or see if you can make it less sugar. Use some of the sugar-free syrups or something like that.

James Hill:

Okay, that's a good one. All right, number three. Oh man, is this a key issue here. Holiday creep starts early. We've got Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. And Halloween starts, wow, it starts in September. You've got four months that's really influenced by holidays here. And a lot of research shows that it's during this period that a lot of people gain a little extra weight, sometimes consuming a couple hundred extra calories a day. And that can lead to this fall weight gain.

Holly Wyatt:

Right. I think a lot of people think, “Oh, it's the weight gain season is just from Thanksgiving to the new year.” But the research would say, actually, it starts earlier than that. So you need to be aware of it earlier than that.

James Hill:

Halloween is all that candy, Holly. We stock up with candy and we don't give it away. So we eat it for days afterwards.

Holly Wyatt:

You know, I tell this story and this true. Oh, I need to buy some candy to be ready for the kids. No, you don't need to buy candy in September to be ready for October 31st. What do you really want? You want some candy around to be able to eat it. So I wait now till very, really close to get the candy. And then I make sure I give it away.

James Hill:

You know, Holly, many years ago when we lived in Denver, I did a Halloween experiment where I gave the trick-or-treaters a choice of candy or in another bag, I had little activity-like things. And they could choose where they wanted something from the candy or something from, I don't to remember what they were, a yo-yo or some little something they could do with activity.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, little toys.

James Hill:

Yeah. What do you think the results were?

Holly Wyatt:

Oh, candy.

James Hill:

50-50.

Holly Wyatt:

Really?

James Hill:

It was about equal of people that chose the activity versus the candy. So that's a fun thing to try. You can buy these little toy kinds of things as cheap as candy and do your own experiment and give your trick-or-treaters a choice and see what they take.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, no, that's a great thing. So what's the power play? So we know the tendency is from now to the new year, you could be gaining weight. What do you do instead?

James Hill:

So there are a couple of things I think you can do. Let's look at two. So protein, we talk about protein, very, very important. And high protein foods are generally going to be not the worst kinds of foods. And the second one is move daily. You have to get your movement in. So even though you know holidays are here, routine's going to be disrupted a little bit, plan ahead. And we've always said, if you get up in the morning and you don't know how you're going to exercise today, you're probably not. Make sure you have a plan. Know a day or a couple days or even a week ahead when you're going to exercise. So, protein first and move daily. And this will create some consistency even when the celebrations stack up.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. And when we say protein first, lean protein.

James Hill:

Lean protein.

Holly Wyatt:

Lean protein. And I think that can actually help with satiety kind of help manage your appetite. And I like this. If you're doing some behavior that's pretty easy, like always having some protein first or moving daily, you tend to then feel good about what you're doing and more behaviors tend to come.

James Hill:

Yep. Number four, Holly.

Holly Wyatt:

All right. Ah, this is one that affects me. I think all these affect me. That's scary. Okay. Mood dips with darker days. So we've talked about the fact that you have less light. What also happens when you have less light is for some people, and actually they're showing that the day's showing it's not an insignificant number of people. A lot of people also, their mood decreases. There's something called seasonal affective disorder or SAD, and up to 20% of adults have this disorder where less light means lower serotonin (we've been talking about that hormone), higher melatonin and more cravings and lower energy. So there's a kind of a physiological piece that goes with this darker, less light that affects and makes people sad. The mood dips. When it's dark at 5 p.m., your mood has dipped and you tend to pull out the mac and cheese because that feels like the only solution.

James Hill:

I think our listeners in Alaska know this that there are certain climates where you have so little light in the fall and winter that they're particularly prone to seasonal affective disorders. Light is so positive for us. So this is a big one. Holly, what's the power play here?

Holly Wyatt:

I've been thinking about this one because I want to do this year. I don't want to wait to like have a low mood, feel a little bit depressed to then try to figure it out. I want to be proactive. I want to put something in place and see if I can kind of head this off. And so one of the things that I'm going to do is I'm going to keep a gratitude journal every morning. I'm going to add that to my morning ritual where I really concentrate on gratitude. Once again, they show in the brain when you really feel appreciation and feel gratitude, it changes the neurotransmitters. It affects your brain. So I'm going to try to use that. I don't have as much light. The gratitude journal actually kind of substitute for some light and I'm going to make sure that I get 15 minutes of morning light. When it is light out, I'm going to go sit outside and try to make sure I get at least 15 minutes of light every day. And some people said that can be very helpful. So I'm going to also think about things that tend to uplift my mood and make sure I put some of them in my day, like maybe listening to music I like, that gratitude journal. And then, like I said, sitting out in some light. I'm going to try some of those things.

James Hill:

And Holly, in our new book, the whole mind state section talks about things you can do to help avoid situations like this. The brain is so important in our lives.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. And people don't realize like the gratitude actually is changing your brain. It's impacting those hormones. It's making a difference. It's not just, oh, I'm thinking good thoughts. No, it's having a physiological effect, just like low light has a physiological effect. So we can counter the low daylight.

James Hill:

So you can use your brain to help manage this. I love it.

Holly Wyatt:

A power play with the brain to help the brain. All right. What's next, Jim?

James Hill:

Oh, next one is the wait until January mindset. This is a big one. Okay. It's coming up Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. It's going to be tough. But in January, I'll really get on it. I will relax until the end of the year and January, man, I'm going to go full blast. I'm going to go rejoin the gym and I'm going to go on a diet.

Holly Wyatt:

People just throw their hands up like, I can't do anything about that. I'm just going to let go this season and wait.

James Hill:

Holly, people gain weight during the holidays. Some people gain one to three pounds during the holidays. Doesn't sound like a lot, but you're going backwards. You're gaining weight. And at some point, you're going to have to get that weight back off. The problem is people put it on and they don't take it off. So every year around this time, if you added one to three pounds over time, that's pretty significant.

Holly Wyatt:

Well, think about, Jim, over five years, if you added, you'd be adding 15 pounds potentially. That's a lot.

James Hill:

So there is some pretty good science to suggest that this period around the holidays and the fall is probably a high risk period for weight gain. Not everybody does it, but you can see for all the reasons we talked about, comfort foods, it's dark, you can't exercise. You see why it sets you up for weight gain.

Holly Wyatt:

I think the other thing is, Jim, the average is like one to three. We know an average doesn't describe everybody. Some people don't gain anything, but some people gain five pounds or seven pounds or 10 pounds. And so this can be a big problem for certain individuals.

James Hill:

Think about it. We're talking about a pretty long runway, at least 90 days, maybe now a little bit longer. That's a lot of time for weight to creep up.

Holly Wyatt:

So what do we do? Power play time.

James Hill:

Well, one of the things that we've been thinking about is turn it around and sort of say, use this as a launch pad. Even though you know all this stuff is going on. Come on, you're strong. If you listen to our podcast, you know the tools. So rather than say, wait until January, get on the offense and say, “You know what? I'm going to go after this.” And the goals can be, “I'm going to maintain my weight. I'm not going to lose weight.” Or you can say, “You know, even in this season, I can lose weight. I can have a small pumpkin spice latte, but I can still do other things to lose weight.” So turn it around and be aggressive during this time.

Holly Wyatt:

I love this. And for my State-of-Slimmers and my Energizers out there, we do a Fall 15 Challenge every year, which is where if you want to, you can lose up to 15 pounds in the fall because of this exact reason. And so many people kind of throw their hands up in the fall and it doesn't have to be that way. And imagine how it would feel to be in January and to be at not having to kind of undo what you did. If anything, be ahead of the game in January, be on offense. Like you said, I love that feeling. The Fall 15 Challenge.

James Hill:

Oh, I think it's great.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. All right. Am I up?

James Hill:

You're up. What's number six?

Holly Wyatt:

Okay. So this is one that, especially because we're in Alabama, I think we had to put this. It may be different in different parts of the country, but I'm calling this one travel and tailgates. They tend to disrupt our routines. So travel for sure. There's lots of travel during this time of year. And in Alabama, there's lots of tailgates because of football.

James Hill:

Yeah, that's right. And tailgates can last a long time and they can have all the comfort food.

Holly Wyatt:

Every weekend, tailgates. So travel and tailgates tend to disrupt our routines. And there is good science. I pulled this up, Jim. There's science that they've looked at that show that travel and social events tend to reduce, I guess, our access to structured meals. And when that happens, we tend to choose higher calorie foods. It tends to increase the amount of calories we eat. And when we tend to eat more calories, what do we do? We tend to gain weight. So there are studies that have linked kind of these routine disruptions to higher calorie intake and, your favorite, lower activity.

James Hill:

I love it when science backs up our advice, Holly.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. I love it when we can actually pull studies, and there's several of them out there.

James Hill:

And again, that's what we try to do. I mean, we try when possible to make our research science-based. So we draw from the research, which is our favorite place to draw from. And then when there's not research, we draw sometimes from personal experiences.

Holly Wyatt:

One study that I pulled showed that social eating, so when you're eating, and a lot of times when you travel or you do the tailgates, you're eating with groups of people, social eating, you tend to consume anywhere from like 14 to 25% more calories when you're in a group versus eating alone. So you can see how you're starting to put yourself in the fall period when you're around more people traveling and going places and doing these tailgates where you're really setting yourself up potentially to eat more calories. Then you add things like alcohol, you know, you're really creating a situation, a pitfall that can happen.

James Hill:

I've been interviewed many times on food around the football stadiums and so forth. And again, what do you get? You get nachos, hot dogs, beer. And the idea is, well, why don't they serve healthy food? The problem, though, Holly, is that's not what people want. They come to celebrate, and unfortunately, they're not looking to, well, where's the steamed broccoli for a side? And so that's probably not going to happen, or at least it's going to be slow to change. So what can you do? What's the power play here?

Holly Wyatt:

I think if you're only doing it episodically, then it's not a big deal. But let's say you are tailgating every weekend, or you have a lot of travel, then I do think you need some ideas that can keep that in check whether that's you carry some some snacks with you if you're traveling or you decide ahead of time what you may have. I went to a baseball game the other day and there was nothing except there was one place I found, one place that had salads that you could make what you know and pick and so I had to walk all the way around. It wasn't…

James Hill:

I bet the line wasn't long.

Holly Wyatt:

No it was not. I passed a lot of nachos and I had to pass a lot of chips.

James Hill:

You passed chips?

Holly Wyatt:

I did. They were there.

James Hill:

Wow. Way to go, Holly.

Holly Wyatt:

I passed like three nacho places to get to the salad place. But the point is, I knew it was there. I'd done some research. So I knew it. I wanted to stay intentional.

James Hill:

Ah, you had a plan.

Holly Wyatt:

I had a plan.

Holly Wyatt:

And then the other thing, if you are going to have some nachos, and you will during this time of year, commit to having some movement breaks. So I liked it that I had to walk all the way around the stadium.

James Hill:

Movement snacks.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes.

James Hill:

Didn't we use that term somewhere?

Holly Wyatt:

We did. We did.

James Hill:

Movement snacks.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. So it's planning ahead, putting some movement snacks in there, seeing where you can be intentional, especially if you're going to be doing something like a tailgate over and over and over again. What can you bring to the tailgate that would be a little bit healthier or help you stay on plan?

James Hill:

Okay. Number seven, Holly, sugar season never ends.

Holly Wyatt:

Yep, yep.

James Hill:

I think sometimes we get a little too far out on all the evils of sugar. But the fact is, sugar can create this dopamine-driven wanting loop that primes your appetite to eat more overall. So there is a good reason to limit sugar intake. And that's why, you know, those little tiny candy bars you give out for Halloween and you go and have one. And one, this is a bite. I want another one. And pretty soon you've eaten three.

Holly Wyatt:

Or I'll stop with one and then a few minutes later. Oh, right? It does. Some people know that they tend to be really sensitive to this. Once they start having sugar, they want more sugar and then more sugar. And that's that loop you're talking about. And some of us are very sensitive to that. And so to be aware of that. And unfortunately, this season, you start with Halloween, and it's just sugar all the way through.

James Hill:

Yep. Thanksgiving, Christmas, sugar, sugar, sugar. The candy bowl's always out.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. You don't have to put it up this time. Just sitting out the whole time.

James Hill:

Absolutely.

Holly Wyatt:

So what are we going to do?

James Hill:

Well, the power play here is a couple things you can do. And again, what we're talking about is you aren't going to totally get rid of the sugar, but there are a few things you can do. So when you have control, keep the sweets out of sight or look at portions, etc. When possible, look at alternatives. Again, now you aren't going to substitute broccoli for your candy, but maybe a fruit-based treat or something. So limit your exposure. If that candy bowl's there, you're going to eat it. If it's up in the cupboard, you're less so. So look at restricting availability of the sugar and look at, are there some substitutions, sugar, fruit-based snacks, etc., you could use instead.

Holly Wyatt:

And portion them. One of my favorite things instead of a candy bowl is the little individual almonds packs and you can even get them in kind of chocolate flavor, right? They're dusted with cocoa and so they're pre-packed, they're a hundred calories. You could put them in a dish, and so it becomes a treat dish, but it's going to be a hundred calories. It's not going to have as much sugar so you're kind of breaking that cycle. Because once you have some sugar for some people, they just want some more. So, break the cycle. I always say, keep it out of sight. They've done good research that a bowl sitting on your desk or sitting where you can see it, you're more likely to eat more than if you just move the bowl where you can't see it.

James Hill:

Absolutely.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. So those are some power plays to try.

James Hill:

All right, Holly, number eight.

Holly Wyatt:

Okay. Another one of my favorites. I've talked about this before. I hope some people really take this to heart because this is something I'm going to do this year. Sweater season hides weight creep.

James Hill:

Ooh.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. So this is the season where we kind of stop wearing our shorts. We start putting on stretchy pants, leggings, big sweaters, and that type of clothing, you can gain five pounds and kind of hide from it. Not really think it's there, not realize it's there versus you put on some shorts or some tight pants and it's getting tighter and you kind of see it. And, Jim, we know the science shows, and we say this all the time because we talk about getting on the scale every morning, that self-monitoring is a strong predictor of success in maintaining your weight.

James Hill:

So during this season, there's maybe the tendency of, “I'm not going to get on the scale here. January, I'll get back on the scale.”

Holly Wyatt:

And I'm not going to wear clothes that show me what's happened. I mean, the tendency is to put on sweaters anyway, and sweaters just don't fit the same as our summer clothes. So loose clothes really kind of blunt our awareness, I guess.

James Hill:

Sweaters hide it until suddenly your jeans don't button.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes, exactly. And then January comes around and we're all shocked.

James Hill:

So what do we do? What's the power play here, Holly?

Holly Wyatt:

I would say weigh every day. You got to just continue to get on the scale. You need that feedback. You need that data. And I also have a pair of pants that I call my fall pants. And I make sure I'm putting those on. They're in my wardrobe and I'm not avoiding them. I can almost tell when I'm gaining weight because I'm like, “Oh, I don't want to put on those pants.” Well, why, Holly? Because I know I've gained a little bit of weight and they're going to be a little bit uncomfortable. But those fall pants could be very helpful so that when I recognize, yes, Holly, it's creeping up. What can I do right now to prevent a couple pounds from becoming, you know, five, six, eight pounds in the future?

James Hill:

Yep. Good one. What are we up to? Number nine?

Holly Wyatt:

Number nine.

James Hill:

Oh, number nine is an important one. Sleep. Oftentimes you suffer and sleep less during the busy fall time. So you've got so much to do. The relatives are coming in. You've got parties. It can be really busy. And oftentimes what suffers is sleep. And the importance of sleep for body weight cannot be underestimated. Science shows that sleep deprivation raises ghrelin, lowers leptins, and boosts cravings up to 30%, all of which can facilitate weight gain. And more and more research now associates lack of sleep directly with a higher body mass index.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. We're starting to learn that sleep is important for body weight regulation. We don't completely understand exactly how, but we know when you don't get enough sleep, it tends to push you toward weight gain and higher BMIs. And what are we talking about? The fall tends to be a time when we get busy. You're up late wrapping those gifts. You're on the tailgate. You're going to the parties and you get six hours of sleep and you're up again.

James Hill:

And there's always good things to eat while you're up late. You're wrapping those gifts and scarfing down the candy or the muffins.

Holly Wyatt:

The muffins, you're getting the comfort food then when you get up.

James Hill:

So the power play here is pretty straightforward. Prioritize sleep. Give up on other things. Do not give up on sleep. Most people, Holly, need seven to eight hours of sleep. Some people maybe a little less, some a little more. But science has shown these people that say, “Oh, I get by with one or two hours of sleep.” That's not true.

Holly Wyatt:

That's not true.

James Hill:

Most people need seven or eight, and most people know how much they need. Seven hours for me. If I get seven hours, I'm good. Less than seven hours, I'm not. So treat sleep like part of your training. Set a bedtime alarm. It's time to go to bed. Create a ritual. Protect those seven to eight hours of sleep.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, I'm seven hours too. I've got to get the seven hours. I know I'm not going to be able to function as well the next day. I'm going to eat foods that I normally wouldn't eat to try to make up for it. So I like to have my TV on a timer where it goes off and reminds me, okay, you need to go to bed now if you're going to get that seven hours of sleep.

James Hill:

I like that.

Holly Wyatt:

All right.

James Hill:

The last one, Holly.

Holly Wyatt:

Number 10, when we get into the fall, we have these schedules that are packed, right? We add a lot of stuff to our normal schedules, and that can tend to crowd out self-care. So the fall tends to be a time where you're doing things for a lot of other people. You have a lot of things on your schedule. And what gets pushed out? Sleep, which we already talked about, but also self-care.

James Hill:

We talk a lot about the importance of self-care.

Holly Wyatt:

The science shows that high stress can raise your cortisol level. And with that, you're not taking care of yourself, which keeps that stress high. And a lot of times stress and less time means I just won't take care of myself. That's the first thing that goes. But if you're aware of that, you can make a different choice. Like I said, there's school events, there's work deadlines, there's holiday prep, but there's no kind of to-do on your schedule that says you. What are you going to do for you, this time of year? But you could put that, you could add that. So I think the power play is recognizing this and adding you to your list and thinking about something you can do that really takes care of yourself this time of year.

James Hill:

A common theme among all 10, Holly, is recognize it's a potential problem, have a plan for addressing it.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, and we gave you 10 things, but you don't have to necessarily do all 10. Pick the few that really resonate with you. Oh yeah, this is what happens to me. These three things are the big three that really I noticed in the past, thinking about my past falls, have had an impact and work on those three.

James Hill:

I love it. You want to do some listener questions?

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, I think we got three that kind of fit this topic.

James Hill:

All right, you go for it.

Holly Wyatt:

All right, the first one I have down is, how do I enjoy holiday foods without losing momentum? And I get this question. It's like, I want to enjoy this time of year. It's the fall. I don't want to give up all my candy. I don't want to give up all my comfort foods. I'm on a roll and I don't want to lose my momentum. I either want to maintain where I am or even maybe want to lose a little bit more. So, this is a common question. I think that you can have both. You just got to be really strategic. You've got to decide ahead of time which foods are worth it. I think a lot of times we eat things that aren't really worth it. And during the fall, if I eat something and I take a bite and I'm like, eh, I'll stop. I'll stop. I won't finish eating it. So pick which foods are worth it, your favorite pie, you know, but not every cookie, not every Christmas cookie may be a cookie you need to eat. And so come a little bit of a fall food snob. How do you like that? Fall food snob.

James Hill:

I like it.

Holly Wyatt:

Another thing you can do is practice one plate, one portion. Do you do that, Jim? I think that may have come from you. Just in other words, one plate of food. You don't have to go back and get more.

James Hill:

Yes, absolutely. Because what happens is you get a lot of cues from your body telling you you're full. Some of those happen right away. Some take a little while. And what I always talk about, and I think everybody can relate to this, you're at a party or something, you have a plate of food, you start to go back to get more, you get distracted talking to somebody, and after a minute, you realize, “Well, I'm really not hungry anymore.” You've given your body time for those additional cues to set in.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. So have your favorite foods, but say, “Okay, I'm not going to have three plates of them.” I get to have them, but let's start with one plate. Let's then wait, what you're saying, then after you eat one plate, wait and wait. See if that's enough. And a lot of times it will be.

James Hill:

Absolutely. Okay. Here's another one, Holly. Is it realistic to lose weight during the fall or should I just aim to maintain? Okay. First thing you don't want is to gain.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes.

James Hill:

Now, either of those is a good goal. Simply saying, “Look, I know fall's a tough time. My goal is not to gain weight.” Great plan. If that's something you're comfortable with, great plan. If you say, “You know what? I'm pretty comfortable I'm not going to gain weight. I think I can be a little bit more aggressive and maybe even lose a couple pounds.” So it's up to you. Either is okay, but the key is don't wait until January. Don't say, “I'm not going to do anything now.” You either need a plan to maintain your weight or a plan to lose a little weight. And it would really be nice to go into January maybe one to three pounds down from where you were before. Boy, that'll really get you going for the new year.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, I think it's about what you want, what's your goal. And I think sometimes people think, “Oh, I can't lose weight in the fall.” You can, if it's important to you. There's strategies you can use. And I always tell myself, I wanna at least, for me, I like to lose three to five pounds because it just gives me so much momentum when I start January. I don't wanna have to get off five pounds that I've gained. I wanna start kind of in a new place. So I think it is realistic. You just have to be strategic about it and recognize that you're gonna have to have a plan in place to restrict calories if you're wanting to lose weight. And you need a plan in place even if you're trying to maintain because if you have no plan, you're pretty much saying, my plan is to regain one to three pounds. That's what the data would show. That's what the science would show. So I would say don't pause your efforts until January. You can be strategic and use this time to move forward in either direction, whether you want to just prevent it.

James Hill:

You don't want to be playing catch up in January.

Holly Wyatt:

Exactly. All right, question number three is, how do I handle constant candy, snacks and treats at work this time of year? People say, you know, everybody's bringing in everything and leaving it in the kitchen or on their desk and there's just snacks everywhere all the time this time of year. And a lot of times people say they don't want them at home, so they bring them to work to try to get rid of them. A couple things you can do. Once again, we talked about this. Don't keep them on your desk for sure. Keep them away from you. And I know sometimes you can't control where other people are putting them, but for sure don't have candy sitting on your desk. You do control your environment. So as much as you can control it, control that, move that candy jar if it's on your desk or don't put a plate of cookies on your desk. And then once again, have a plan or a boundary. Sometimes I call it “I will have one treat after lunch”. One treat isn't probably going to cause a problem. It's when you're continually going back for the third and fourth cookie and you're grazing through all the snacks. So sometimes if you say, “Okay, I'm going to have one after lunch.” That can help you get through the day. And then what else, Jim? Is there anything else that you kind of think about this time of year that would work in the workplace?

James Hill:

Yeah. In the workplace, you've always got that co-worker that's always got the candy bowl out and everything. You could simply say, “Hey, you know what, I'm really trying to manage my weight. Would you put that in your drawer or something where people know where it is, but it's not just real handy there.” If there are always parties around and people bring in treats to celebrate, maybe bring something yourself that's a little healthier.

Holly Wyatt:

This is a be the change moment. Bring things you wish other people would bring.

James Hill:

Bring enough because other people might want some of yours.

Holly Wyatt:

Yes. So bring some things. And then once again, I say, bring your own protein because a lot of times these snacks and candy and cookies are high in sugar, high in carbohydrate. And if you can bring protein and pair it, you may be able to control that appetite a little bit better than if you just are eating sugar all day. So bring some protein to couple with that carbohydrate.

James Hill:

All right, Holly, you know what time it is?

Holly Wyatt:

Vulnerability questions.

James Hill:

And it's just you and I, we don't have a guest to ask, so we have to ask each other.

Holly Wyatt:

I know, I know.

James Hill:

Which of these is the hardest pitfall for you, Holly?

Holly Wyatt:

You know, I was looking through this because I had a feeling that was what you were going to ask me. And there's definitely several of them. But I think the shorter days, less daylight, which really couples to less movement, that's the hardest one for me because I really like to do my movement outside and I just don't have as many hours. So I've got to come up with a new routine, a new fall routine. I kind of miss that. I want to hold on to my summer routine. Sometimes I don't get a new routine going quick enough. And this year I'm going to do it because I know this is a problem for me over and over and over again. So I've got to put a new routine in place to prevent this from happening.

James Hill:

That's my hardest one, too, Holly. It's the shorter daylight. I love daylight, and I like it when it gets light early and stays light late.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. I don't know, Jim, if this has ever happened to you. It's definitely happened to me. But have you ever fallen into the wait until January, that pitfall?

James Hill:

I don't think that's one that I've fallen into. I don't think that's an issue for me.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. I used to do that all the time. I don't do it anymore. But over the years, it was like this was a free-for-all time. The fall was a free-for-all. I'll deal with it in January. And, oh, I'm kind of glad I'm over that. That just didn't feel very good. All right, we have another question? Oh, I like this one. I have one written down.

James Hill:

Okay.

Holly Wyatt:

What's one comfort food that still tempts you every fall? I know what mine is.

James Hill:

Oh, I totally know what mine is. I grew up in the South and we cook a lot of comfort food in the South. Mine is beans and cornbread, pinto beans and cornbread. I love it.

Holly Wyatt:

Probably some butter. Is it sweet cornbread?

James Hill:

Oh, you cook it with a little ham. You cook the beans with a little ham. And then put the beans over cornbread. Mmm, great meal.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, and believe it or not, some cornbread can be sweet. Is it sweet cornbread or?

James Hill:

Well, there's different kinds of cornbread. I don't like the really sweet cornbread. I'd rather have the more traditional. But yeah, some cornbreads have sugar in it. But again, it's not too unhealthy. The problem is I just eat a lot of it. I end up overeating.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

James Hill:

What's yours?

Holly Wyatt:

Mine is macaroni and cheese. For some reason, this time of year, I crave that. I want it. There was one year where I literally went out to my goal, which is this was not a good goal. My goal was to find the best macaroni and cheese. So, of course, I had to try macaroni and cheese everywhere, which was not a good strategy. But I do love this time of year. I just a really good macaroni and cheese. It's my favorite thing at Thanksgiving. It's my favorite food when I go to a party.

James Hill:

That's funny. That's my wife's favorite too. Trish, she loves the macaroni and cheese. You guys will have to get together and have a mac and cheese party over the holidays.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah, no, we don't need to do that. We don't need to do that. But I have some. I just got to control it.

James Hill:

Okay, Holly, we went through 10 things, but the takeaway here is fall doesn't have to mean falling behind. Recognize your potential problems. Have a plan. Have a power play ready.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah. If you spot the pitfalls and you know they're coming, there's some of these that happen every year to you. So if you can spot them, you can use some of these power plays to push back and I would even say to move forward.

James Hill:

Consistency. That's the key here.

Holly Wyatt:

Yeah.

James Hill:

So thanks everybody for this episode. We'd love to hear from you. Did you put some of these power plays into action? Did they work? And do you have a strategy for not falling behind in the fall? We'll see you next time on Weight Loss And.

Holly Wyatt:

Bye, everybody.

James Hill:

And that's a wrap for today's episode of Weight Loss And. We hope you enjoy diving into the world of weight loss with us.

Holly Wyatt:

If you want to stay connected and continue exploring the “Ands” of weight loss, be sure to follow our podcast on your favorite platform.

James Hill:

We'd also love to hear from you. Share your thoughts, questions, or topic suggestions by reaching out at [weightlossand.com](http://weightlossand.com/). Your feedback helps us tailor future episodes to your needs.

Holly Wyatt:

And remember, the journey doesn't end here. Keep applying the knowledge and strategies you've learned and embrace the power of the “And” in your own weight loss journey.