Cori (00:00):
Welcome to the Redefining Strength Podcast, everything you need to succeed on your health and fitness journey. Even the stuff you don't want to hear festive without the frenzy. We're talking, navigating the holiday season so that you can have your weight loss goals and potentially your pumpkin pie too. I'm super excited to be joined by Coach Mika today who may or may not be doing a contest prep through the holidays. We don't want her crying on Thanksgiving, but super excited to talk about how we can navigate the holidays and stay on track towards our goals. So thank you Mika for joining me.

Meka (00:34):
I'm so excited to be here. Thanks for having me. So

Cori (00:37):
You are a big holiday person. I have to own. I am very untraditional with the holidays and how we celebrate them. So I'm curious, what do you love most about the holidays?

Meka (00:49):
I think I never grew out of the magic. I clearly know there's no Santa, but I never grew out of that. So I just, it's to the point where I have specific candles that I matched for specific seasons, so my kids have the memory and the smell. It's a whole thing. It's just magical. I can't help myself.

Cori (01:10):
So you love the holidays and yet you willing potentially to put that holiday love on hold to pursue specific goals. How do you navigate that personally and how do you help clients navigate the balance of something they love with something they want to achieve?

Meka (01:28):
So I think, I don't necessarily think I'm putting it on hold, right? It's in the same, it's a level playing field and I always tell my clients this whole program or teaching you how to eat is not about keeping you in a bubble, not about keeping you in a box. It's about eating in the wild and the holidays is the wild frontier. So it's just teaching them. You can, even if it's summer festivities, if you practice eating well in these situations, you will play. How you practice is how you play. You will do well in these high tense situations. So for me, I think it's more of a, I like structure. So when I am thinking about putting together this holiday function or whatever, but also having to know what I can eat, that's the thing I don't have to worry about. So that's helpful for me because that takes it off my plate. I don't have to worry about what I'm eating. I have a plan.

Cori (02:22):
I think that's really key to hit on because I think a lot of times we think about structure as being restrictive or having to cut things out, but really it's not about that. It's about owning what you want to give yourself the freedom to just embrace that and not feel like guilty even for pursuing a specific goals. But if you are going to a party, let's just say you have been one to always indulge or you have a food pusher there, how do you navigate that while staying true to what you want?

Meka (02:50):
So several hacks, and I've been known to do these also things I give my clients, but I'll also do this, sometimes I'll have a protein shake before I go. I know that's going to help cause it tidy. That's going to help me not to eat as many cookies as I might. Or I'll have my own dinner before I go, especially if I'm in prep, I have a specific thing I have to eat, that's cool. And then I will go there and not be hungry. So those are tactics I use. Those are tactics I have my clients use and they work out really well because I think taking out the fear of walking into a party and going, what can I eat? What can I eat? And actually being at home and going, all right, I got this under control where I have control. There's a sense of security in that and you can go into that party resting assured that you might, you're not going to go over and you can go have a good time and have a cookie. It's cool

Cori (03:41):
If that cookie is your holiday non-negotiable, right? Because I think it is also owning what is truly important to us about these different events. And for you, what is important when you go to these holiday parties, what do you talk about with clients in terms of navigating, here are your non-negotiables, here's how you work them in.

Meka (03:58):
So 80 20 rule, right? Go to that party. Typically there's going to be a protein in a nice carb you should eat, fill your plate up with that, but don't forget to have the thing that you want. It's when we start restricting and telling you that you can't have that is when you have it and then in abundance. So it's the 80 20 rule, have fun, eat well, and then treat yourself. That's okay, have a non-negotiable. If you say, I'm going to set, I'm going to go to this party and have five sugar cookies, cool. Put in your tracker if it make it fit, right? It's about eating in the wild,

Cori (04:33):
But that's planning ahead and giving yourself structure, which ultimately creates that freedom because there is no guilt. You're like, Hey, I planned for this. No, maybe it wasn't exactly the calorie deficit or the macro ratio you needed or want most of the time, but just by planning that you don't have that guilt, which I feel like is so often what sabotages us more. Now the question is when you want to reach a loftier goal, how much sacrifice do you have to be willing to make through the holidays to really achieve that? Because if you're in deep contest prep, if someone's really trying to reach that next level of leanness and they've really struggled, there might be some more sacrifices involved. How do you determine if it's worth it to you?

Meka (05:14):
What's your why? And is it big enough? Do you really want it? Right? You have to really dive into yourself and go, is this really something I want to do? And remember that you're fully capable of doing it once you get your mindset on it. Also leaning on my community, like my husband, my family, if they know I'm going through prep, they're very helpful. Leaning on my coach. I could text my coach that day and go, today is not a great day. And that coach will talk me through it. That's what we're here for. That's what I'm here for. But also, it's one of those things where because I have a coach, I have guideline, it's like GPS, right? You don't know where you're going yet, but when you get in your car that GPS is doing this thing, it doesn't know which way to turn. But once you have a route and you make a right, then it's like, all right, we're going this way. So it's just making sure that, yeah, I have a support system and even if I don't, my coach has got my back, my coach has the plan, I'm going to trust my coach with that plan.

Cori (06:11):
I love that example of the GPS because I think with that too, you can trust it's going to give you the next turn. So often we get worried about the turn towards the end of close to our destination. It's like, okay, but you're not there yet. So just focus on this first turn. So going into the holiday season, even before the holiday season, what can you do right now to build? And then you mentioned practicing as you want to play because if you practice differently from how you play, you're not going to play that way. Then it's got to be that innate reaction. How does that really sort of manifest itself during the holiday season?

Meka (06:45):
It's practicing. It's just like anything else. If you want to be good at piano, you play for that big recital. If you want to get on stage and pose, then you have to do your poses in private so that when you do get to that point, it's autopilot. It's easy because your brain and your body knows exactly what you need to do. So before the holidays, before things get nuts. When you are in situations, which everybody has something crazy going on all the time, embrace that crazy because sometimes your life is just crazy. It just might be. There may not be a lull for a while. Embrace that crazy live in it, but make sure your priority in that crazy, schedule yourself in the crazy, make sure that you're eating enough to be able to handle the crazy or whatever it is. But if you can do that now when it's just here, anything else is cake is literally cake. Anything else is easy.

Cori (07:36):
Icing on the cake, right? It's a bonus. But it's so true. Life is always crazy. And I think a lot of times what keeps us stuck is that we go into January with probably often more of a quiet time or a time more focused on goals because we've had the travel, we've had the holiday. So it is a more perfect time, a better time, an easier time to do things in our ideal version. But that's what keeps us stuck because we're practicing for a game. We ultimately won't play long term. And it's not that it's bad to use those times, but you have to own that. Life can't be the excuse. It's got to be the reality and you've got to own for it, which is why I love that you mentioned the structure to help you really build. So thinking about this, how can we help ourselves avoid waiting till January, getting caught up in those ideals and embrace even doing the minimum when it comes to our workout, when it comes to our nutrition,

Meka (08:30):
Because we're worth it because my clients are worth it. Because you should have good health, because you should have longevity, because you need it. It's not about this end game, this moment in time where I'm done working out your whole life has to be something that you treasure and that you take care of your body so that it can take you through all these adventures that you want to do. Even if you don't want to be adventurous, even if you want to sit on your front porch, you still got to get up off of your chair. So it's not about powering through all the time, it's about making sure your body is primed and ready to go for the long haul. So there is no waiting. It's just doing. Did Yoda say that I,

Cori (09:16):
I'm calling it Amica. It's not a Yoda, it's Amica. That was amazing. I mean it's the forever process. And off of that, what minimums do you usually set? How do you set minimums? What would you recommend in terms of minimums, if we're trying to find that way to keep moving forward so that we aren't putting our life on pause?

Meka (09:34):
So anything can be a minimum. Anything that kind of holds you true to your goal or the plan. So typically for my clients it's protein. Protein is the big one. We always talk about protein. If you can hit your protein that day, boom, that's a win. Everything else is fine. If you can drink your water that day, boom, that's a win. If you can get 10 K steps a day, boom, that's a win. It doesn't have to be all or nothing all the time. Just needs to be something

Cori (10:01):
It does. And those little wins really stack and they create that success mindset, that motivation now, I think it's interesting, and in talking to you, it's sort of occurred to me that a lot of these parties are at night. A lot of the celebrations are at night. A lot of the time stress accumulates the most is at night. And also when we eat not so well or drink not so healthier things, alcohol included our nighttime routine, our sleep can really be interrupted. How can we navigate the impact that this might have? And also, do you think that our nighttime routine needs to adjust at all potentially during the holiday seasons? Not to mention when it gets darker earlier, I don't know about you, but I want to go to

Meka (10:46):
Bed. I am in, I got my fuzzy socks on and I'm in the bed. Let's be real. Yes, everything needs to shift because everything is shifting. So in regards to your nighttime routine, make sure you're sleeping, even if that means if you can catch a quick nap before you go to that party, do it. If you can sleep in the next day, do it. If you have a call, the bash brothers like I do that wake up at five in the morning and you can't sleep in, make sure at least you take it easy. Sit on the couch and relax and read with them. But recovery is always key, no matter if you're working out or staying up late, especially if it's off what you normally do, you will feel that in your body sometimes even inflammation from what you're eating or drinking the night before. So yes, the best bet is to shift your nighttime routine, try to get some sleep, maybe take magnesium at night so you can get some sleep and recover. But yes, definitely shift your routine for nighttime activities.

Cori (11:39):
And I would say that's kind of a habit to anchor in right now before the holidays. Along those lines, are there any other habits you'd really recommend that right now before we have Halloween, Thanksgiving, all the different holidays coming up that we really focus to ingrain because the more we practice them now, the more they'll be sort of natural as more challenges come up.

Meka (12:00):
So for me, I have a coach and I'm also a coach, but I will talk with my coach about, alright, these is my non-negotiables. Going to Halloween, I'm going to have a Reese's Peanut butter cup, probably several. How does this fit in? How does this work during the holidays? I bake a ton of cookies. I may have a couple. How does this work? So just knowing that if I fall short, it's okay. And what does it look like to make sure I can get everything I need to get in and still have a good time and not dread the holidays every year and not opt out of going to these parties because I feel insecure. It's just making sure right now with your coach or whoever it may be, that you know that it's going to be okay, that there's a plan and this is doable and fun. Absolutely fun.

Cori (12:49):
That's not something we often think about when we're trying to push hard towards a goal, the fun of it. And while not everything is fun, there needs to be some fun and we can be friends forever because you like the Reese's, and I've seen far too many memes about the protein in them. I think the pumpkins even have more because they have more peanut butter or something like that, whatever. But off of that, I think it's really important that we own what matters to us and aren't afraid to let go of some of the things that we've done, but that don't, how do you navigate peer pressure when you used to do something and now you might be changing and someone else might see that and make a comment about it.

Meka (13:28):
Make, I'm pretty harsh though, because if you're my friend, you should be pliable as I change. If you're coming at me real hard about something that I'm doing that you don't like, then I need to reevaluate my friendships. I'm sorry, that's just how I work, but I don't need that negativity in my life.

Cori (13:46):
I think that's a great perspective. And honestly, I'm very much the same way of owning who I am. And I think a lot of times we don't give that pushback. We almost more try and filter ourselves. And that can be a challenge as well, where we create our own doubts by voicing the doubts of someone else. And so when you have those food pushers, how do you handle them being as solid in your goals as you are?

Meka (14:10):
Honestly, if I feel like I need to explain, then I will, Hey, I'm doing this right now. Thank you though, maybe in a couple weeks if you want to make that for me again, I'll try it. But right now I'm just not doing that. Thank you though. I mean, kill 'em with kindness. Be polite, obviously. But if they keep coming, then that's a situation that you just have to handle. But most people will ask you once, if you say no, they'll kind of go about their way. But holding to your convictions, remembering who you are, remembering what your plan is, and your plan isn't everyone else's plan. And what people may not know, your journey is not their journey. So educating them on where you're going, what you want, that normally tends to help. Situations like that,

Cori (14:51):
I think that's such a key point. We don't necessarily express what we want out of life, and so other people don't know it. So all they see is the change. And they wonder if we're feeling bad about the change or good about the change and out of feeling like we've loved our life before then, right? Because they want to think we loved our life. They're going to even push back on you to enjoy in the way you always have. And it's remembering that they aren't aware of where your attention now is going. And off of that, for someone going into their first holiday season, maybe trying to build healthy lifestyle habits, what are three to five things you would tell them to really focus on and get clear on so that they're going in prepared?

Meka (15:33):
Obviously the plan with your coach, but remembering when you're in parties, festivities, protein first. If you have an opportunity to fill up your plate with vegetables to do so, if you can even eat before, do so. Make sure you're drinking your water, but making sure that this doesn't become a chore, right? That you're not going in, I have to do this sucks. No, making sure that this is something I'm learning. I'm learning how to eat in the wild, and that's okay. And again, these are little things we practice. If somebody has a birthday coming up, practice that. That way when the holiday comes up, you're good to go. So just little tiny habits that you can do now. Make a big difference in how you do holidays now and then holidays in the future.

Cori (16:16):
I think that's important to recognize too, that even how you're planning now for this holiday, it might evolve, but you have a plan and you know what did and didn't work, going into the next one to keep making those 1% improvements. Now, as a holiday lover, and I don't usually do this, but I want to ask you some little rapid fire questions because I have very untraditional holidays. We do barbecue for Thanksgiving and don't even necessarily get Turkey. We sometimes do the Thanksgiving day sandwiches the day of. We do very strange things. So being untraditional, I want to hear from somebody who truly appreciates the holiday. What you think. So question pumpkin pie or pecan pie.

Meka (16:57):
I'm going off and saying sweet potato pie. That's what, yeah, neither. Neither one.

Cori (17:04):
Okay. Why?

Meka (17:06):
I grew up on sweet potato pie. I dunno. Yeah, not a fun answer.

Cori (17:12):
No, but that is a fun answer because that's one of your non-negotiables. It's something you grew up on, it's something that's important to you, so you're going to include it. But hey, maybe if there's pumpkin or pecan pie at a party, you don't care as much, right?

Meka (17:23):
Correct. Yes.

Cori (17:25):
Next one. Eggnog, yes or no?

Meka (17:28):
Nope. Lactose intolerant. Can't do it.

Cori (17:32):
I used to eggnog lattes and I think it was like Starbucks that made them, but other than that, I never really grew up on it. And then as the macros came out on some of those things, I was like cost reward. Cost reward. Not really for me. Nest. Okay, so I have a very strong opinion on this morning workouts or evening workouts,

Meka (17:50):
Morning, like 4:00 AM

Cori (17:54):
Not that strong an opinion to go that early. And actually I've had to shift my workouts the evening because of schedule. But I love morning workouts, especially around the holidays where you start the day, right with that workout, even the day after, maybe you went to a party, you get that workout in, you just feel like back on track. You feel positive in moving forward. So four ams, very dedicated. I love it. What about

Meka (18:13):
6:00 PM I'm awake till 11. It's a whole thing.

Cori (18:17):
Hey, you make it work though. It's your non-negotiable too. Healthy habits can be non-negotiable, right? All right, so Christmas decor music before Thanksgiving. Love it or hate it,

Meka (18:29):
Girl, if I could start it now, I would. I watch Christmas movies year round. It's a whole thing. I have a problem if there's a group that I go to for an AA, but for Christmas music, then I need to be there.

Cori (18:45):
Oh, all on board with the Reese's at Halloween. But the Christmas music, I don't know. I don't know about that. Alright, Turkey trot or holiday nap,

Meka (18:54):
Turkey trott.

Cori (18:57):
I'll take the Turkey without the trot. In terms of exercise part, I'll do a lift. I prefer lifting to the running part. But yes, the workout definitely is a must. It makes you feel good. I feel like That's the other thing, when we sometimes do things off our normal routines or off our normal plans, we start to do a little bit more of less and that's where we see the slide really happen. So the more we can keep in some of those healthy habits that make us feel successful and even set those minimums to be successful at the more we keep moving forward. Right?

Meka (19:25):
Yeah. And it's also a thing where, like I said, I have two boys and my 8-year-old runs distance, so it's also showing them, yeah, these are things that we can do. This is what we do as a family and teaching them how to be active through the holidays also.

Cori (19:40):
I love that you're getting 'em involved. It's something you do together and yes, it is active keeping you on track. Now, last question, what is your favorite holiday tradition as a holiday lover

Meka (19:53):
For Thanksgiving, we typically don't make anything at home. We actually go to the Great Wolf Lodge every Thanksgiving and we go to a water park and we have someone else make our food for us. That's what we do for Thanksgiving.

Cori (20:08):
I love that. It's the weird traditions that you make together that are the best about the holidays.

Meka (20:14):
The boys love it. It's a lot of fun.

Cori (20:16):
I'll take my barbecue and be happy with that too, even if it's barbecue brisket instead of Turkey.

Meka (20:22):
I would do that. We might have to add that one in this year. Thanks for that.

Cori (20:26):
You're welcome. Any closing thoughts, Mika, on how someone can make sure that they are staying true to their goals during the holidays, but also striking that balance.

Meka (20:35):
Just remember that your goals are your goals and you're an remember how strong you are. Remember that this doesn't have to be hard, especially if you have someone like a coach that has your back. This going to be super easy and a lot of fun. Just make sure there's a lot of communication and don't be afraid even if you mess up. Don't be afraid. Everything's fixable and you're going to be just fine.

Cori (20:58):
Always moving forward while trying to plan ahead. I love it. Thank you so much for joining me today, guys. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, any ways you really have navigated the holidays in the past that have worked, please feel free to comment and share those. We love all the tips and tricks so that we can all have a fabulous holiday season.

*Note: This transcript is autogenerated there may be some unintended errors.