What I’m Building This Season

Strength, Health, Freedom, & Capacity While Enjoying the Holidays.

It’s October.

We're heading into soup season, sweatshirt season, holiday season...

and if you ask me, Building Season.

I've actually come to enjoy this time of year, not because I'm suddenly a fan of cold weather (let's not get crazy), but because I like working with the season instead of constantly fighting it.

I think our bodies and our lives have seasons, too.

Winter, for me, is about shutting down a little. Cozy blankets, a colorful hoodie rotation, soft fuzzy sockies...

All while building behind the scenes. Getting stronger. Restoring. Preparing.

Spring is growth and renewal.

Summer is play and endurance.

And autumn? Comfort and recovery.

So instead of looking at the next few months and thinking,

Oh boy...here come the holidays. I better be careful; 

I'm asking a different question:

How can I Live Life Better in this season?

Let's just acknowledge the obvious. Sweatshirts. Jeans. Jackets.

Layers!

And while I'm not suggesting we should only feel good about our bodies when they're hidden,

there IS something freeing about having a few months where aesthetics aren't the loudest voice in the room.

Even though I DO now love myself, I still grew up with the judgments, the diet culture, the idea that women should always be trying to be smaller.

That stuff gets in your head and becomes a core belief.

So, for me, a GenX woman, it's complicated, but I think a lot of us can relate!

I can love myself and still have some old wiring to unpack.

Maybe, though, being covered up for a few months gives us a little breathing room.

A chance to focus on what's underneath all those layers:

Strength.

Muscle.

Energy.

Recovery.

Because muscle isn't just for bodybuilders;

it's one of the most important things we can build as we get older.

I don't want 50 to mean what 50 meant when I was a kid.

I refuse to enter some weird “you're old now, life is basically over” chapter.

I think we're just getting started.

We're finally getting to the chapter where we know ourselves better, we're more comfortable saying no to things we don't want, and we have time to spend doing the things we actually do want.

I WILL BE strong enough to enjoy that chapter!

Which brings me to my own Build Season.

I'm working toward my 50th birthday next July,

and I'm not waiting until next summer to suddenly decide I should probably take better care of myself.

Everything I'm doing right now is part of that process:

Aesthetically.

Medically.

Biomarker-ly.

Mentally.

Physically.

Spiritually.

Resiliency.

Injury-prevention-ly!

You get it.

Ritually...

Because I'm building a body that can handle my adventure-filled idea bank,

alongside habits that will help keep my life independent as I age.

I want to look good, sure.

But I also want good energy.

Strength.

Better health.

A better relationship with food.

And a body that can actually do things.

And I want you to see from me that those goals don't require spending the holidays

(or BBQ season, birthdays, or any other day)

“being good.” Ugh, I'm seriously sick of that sentiment!

My personal goals do require me to be consistent... RITUALISTIC!

So, yes, I'm going to eat the comfort food, because comfort food doesn't mean "bad food", or unhealthy food, or excess!

I'm going to be good to the things that help me feel good.

Really actually "enjoying my life"!

I don't know about you, but cold weather makes me want soup.

All kinds of soup:

Creamy, stewy soups, sometimes.

Bone broth, which I basically consider liquid gold.

Wild rice with chicken soup, from Kwik Trip when I'm running errands and need an easy win.

Other comfort foods I enjoy are:

I make really yummy rosemary baby potatoes.

I actually enjoy warm, freshly baked bread, even though I'm usually not a “bread person.”

I host, so white mac and cheese, yellow rice, and lots of veggies are on the menu for the holidays.

And this is the time of year I start to swap salads for a really good ooey-gooey grilled cheese for lunch.

And you know what?

That's okay.

Actually, more than okay.

Comfort food (especially cooked at home) doesn't mean you've stopped caring about your health.

Sometimes a bowl of soup is exactly what your brain needs.

Sometimes potatoes are exactly what your workout needs.

Sometimes a grilled cheese before you train gives you the push to show up better!

Sometimes you can load them up with protein and veggies, because health should taste awesome!

I'm learning to trust that.

Not in a “I'm living my life, so nothing matters!” kinda way.

And not in a “I'd better eat this now because Monday I'm going back on my diet” kinda way.

There's a middle ground.

There is no food I need to be afraid of.

There is no food I have to earn.

And there is no food I have to binge just because it's there.

The power is in my hands!

Or, more accurately, in my hands and my brain.

There's an old concept that basically says the dose makes the poison.

I think that's much more useful than simply saying “everything in moderation.”

A cookie isn't the problem.

Buuut... eating cookies all day every day isn't doing me any favors.

The answer isn't fear. It's awareness.

I can choose to have the cookie. Or 5!

I can enjoy it without guilt or thinking I'll have to “burn it off” tomorrow.

I can stop when I've had enough... not after the inevitable food coma.

And then I can choose to eat a meal full of protein and fiber later because those things make me feel good, too.

That's a pretty powerful place to be. Awareness and connection to how food makes you feel.

And I used to be in Camp Dirty Bulk. IYKYK.

With some newfound education and research,

I'm leaning into shorter periods of intentional building and leaning out

rather than spending months and months in either direction.

And I'm not too proud to admit my views have changed.

I think the old-school idea of a “dirty bulk”

(just shovel everything in because you're trying to gain)

is completely outdated.

A calorie surplus is useful during a heavy lifting and building phase.

If we're asking our bodies to build muscle, we need enough food and enough stimulus to do that.

That doesn't mean eating everything in sight because it's cookie and pie season.

It means lifting heavy.

Eating enough.

Getting good nutrients, fiber, and water.

Moving after meals.

Recovering.

Sleeping.

And then doing it again.

The details of how to structure that are a whole other post!

So, for now, I'm much more interested in the bigger picture:

What am I building?

Because I'm not just building muscle.

I'm building CAPACITY:

Energy to keep up with the chaos of the holidays.

Stamina to host, cook, clean, laugh, shop, wrap presents, carry things,

and still have enough left in the tank to actually enjoy my family.

Endurance to carry my own luggage when I travel.

Strength to squat the grandbabies when they challenge me!

Mental resiliency to handle a busy store full of "joyful" holiday shoppers(wink wink).

Agility to bob and weave around kids running randomly through the aisles without pulling a muscle.

Stability to get on the outer edge of a boat in March to enjoy a powerful catamaran ride instead of sitting

"safely" inside and watching my life pass by through a window...

And yes, I'm going somewhere tropical for my anniversary.

So there will be a bikini involved!

I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to feel proud of the body I bring with me.

But more than that, I want to feel comfortable in my body.

I don't want January to arrive and be thinking: “

Okay, now I have 6 weeks to lose the holiday weight.”

I want to be thinking:

Damn. I took care of myself!

And that's what I want March to feel like, too!

I want to look back and know that I enjoyed the holiday season and took care of myself.

I ate the soup.

I had the potatoes and the pasta.

I ate the bread, cookies, and pie.

I enjoyed the festivities.

I also lifted heavy things.

I didn't feel puffy or bloated!

I moved my body after meals.

I stretched while watching TV.

I lived my actual life.

And I kept building.

That's the beautiful thing about a sustainable lifestyle:

You don't have to "get back on track" when your track is your normal life.

Every day is a good day to take care of yourself. (period. full sentence.)

And taking care of yourself doesn't mean seven days a week at the gym and

a refrigerator full of chicken and broccoli.

Sometimes it looks like a workout.

Sometimes it looks like soup.

Sometimes it looks like eating the cookie without turning it into a three-day event.

Sometimes it looks like getting your butt off the couch and doing ten squats because that's all you've got in you today.

Sometimes it looks like resting today so you can show up better tomorrow.

It's not perfection.

It's not restriction.

It's not excess, either.

It's building your version of "Live Life Better".

So while everyone else is already talking about how they're going to “get back on track” in January, I'm going to be over here asking a different question:

What can I build this season?

And honestly?

I can't wait to find out.

What does your version look like?