For the Holiday Season, here are some helpful hints and resources. It’s the season of giving! While many individuals are getting set to celebrate their favourite traditions, you may notice another seasonal difference. I’m not referring to the change in weather or the reduction in daylight hours, but rather the gradual departure of your clientele as they become carried away by Christmas parties, family obligations, shopping frenzy, and feasts of all kinds.
Our customers frequently face significant hurdles in pursuing their fitness goals at the end of the year. We witness it happen as they fall into a location from which they have just lately expressed great delight, pride, and thankfulness for escaping. As health and fitness experts, our first reaction is to rush in and save them, pleading with them not to lose all of their hard-won gains. Instead, we base our decisions on science and facts. The research shows that rushing in to “rescue” our clients won’t work and would instead push them further away from the long-term transformation they desire. The impulse to help our clients in this way is known as the “righting reflex,” and it’s an important part of understanding behaviour change.
Justin Fink, MS, an ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Fitness Nutrition Specialist, and Weight Management Specialist, says, “I assist my clients find, articulate, and embrace an attitude of grace with themselves, rather than rigorous expectations.” “Rather of striving for perfection, which may lead to emotions of shame and guilt, my clients draw on self-compassion to create resilience and a more steady reaction to the Holiday Season obstacles,” she says. This proactive approach to fostering a mentality of self-acceptance, according to Fink, helps clients avoid the usual cognitive distortion of all-or-nothing thinking and supports their capacity to be present, aware, and engaged as they go through the hurdles.
During the holiday season, routines and habits can get fractured, but there are plenty of helpful diet and exercise recommendations accessible. But what about the skills our customers need to navigate the tricky terrain of Christmas Holiday Season “have just one more, we’re all doing it, but I made it special for you” appeals? Judith S. Beck, PhD, president of the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy and associate professor of psychology in psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania, offers two powerful tools to empower and strengthen your clients’ ability to advance their personal wellness initiatives in the face of social pressure:
Food Pusher Trap: Often well-intentioned, the food pusher encourages a person to eat a little bit of this and a little bit of that, and appears to be driven by a desire to have people eat what, when, and how they want. The food pusher will focus on the person who is now in their sights until that person submits to their will. They will frequently recruit the group and invite others to join them in exerting pressure to fulfil their desire to have the individual eat whatever they want.
Instead of offering a litany of reasons why your customer doesn’t want to do what the food pusher is asking, advise they employ the broken record strategy. In this situation, a person repeats their no response, never adding further explanations and sticking to no or no thank you. Matching the verbal broken-record answer with nonverbal indicators that show a lack of emotion and indicate respect but apathy is an efficient method to divert the food pusher’s attention away from you. The food pusher has nothing to push without drama and involvement; they become a teeter without a totter, the ride is ended, and they finally move on.
People Pleaser Trap: A person who feels obligated to make others feel better about what they eat and drink has fallen victim to the people pleaser trap. “I don’t want to make everyone feel awful about how much they’re drinking,” a people-pleaser could think, or “I’ll disappoint my mother/father/brother/aunt, etc., if I don’t eat [insert item].” This trap can trigger self-destructive ideas and lead to feelings of guilt, whether you choose to capitulate or believe you have wrecked someone else’s pleasure.
To avoid disregarding the apparent problem, just remind your client that they have no influence over other people’s sentiments and that they should adhere to their strategy. This is basically a strict all-or-nothing approach that leaves no room for the true feelings your client may be feeling. When your client is gripped by the dread of disappointment, guide them through some self-analysis by asking them the following questions:
Use these strategies and resources to help your client become a champion, staying interested and committed to their health and wellness objectives throughout the year and beyond.
