The time between October to January is a pretty intense holiday season…
What with Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years sandwiched into little more than two months.
Ideally, the holidays would help you on your health journey by providing the opportunity to:
🔋 Recharge your batteries;
🏠 Spend quality time with family and friends;
🥩 And enjoy real nutritious home-cooked food;
But the reality is often quite different.
In fact, if you let them…
The holidays will completely derail your health goals.
Because we’re bombarded with hyper-palatable processed foods during the holidays, often by friends and family trying to be nice.
But a taste of Halloween candy can quickly become a multi-week battle to get back on track…
Before eventually throwing in the towel and waiting until January 1st to start over.
Then there’s expectations to entertain, travel, attend parties, and spend money…
Which can inflame already stressed schedules and budgets.
So how do you navigate Thanksgiving without losing your mind (or your progress)?
Here are 5 practical tips.
#1: HAVE A PLAN (BUT KEEP IT REALISTIC)
Only you can decide what’s right for you based on your circumstances.
Ask yourself:
• What foods do I want to avoid completely today?
• What’s my plan with alcohol?
• Are there any triggers I need to steer clear of?
• What does an ideal Thanksgiving look like for me?
Having a plan doesn’t mean being perfect. It just means knowing your boundaries ahead of time.
#2: DON’T SKIP YOUR MORNING ROUTINE
Even on Thanksgiving, start your day right.
Get some morning sunlight. Move your body. Take your Beef Organs.
When you anchor the day with your non-negotiables, you’re less likely to completely fall off track later.
Plus, starting strong gives you momentum and reminds you why you care about this stuff in the first place.
The feast is just one meal. Don’t let it hijack your entire day.
#3: EAT BEFORE YOU GO
This sounds counterintuitive for Thanksgiving, but hear us out.
If you show up starving, you’re way more likely to cave on the stuff you wanted to avoid.
Have a solid animal-based meal a couple hours before dinner – eggs, steak, some fruit. Whatever keeps you satisfied.
That way, you’re eating at Thanksgiving because you want to, not because you’re desperately hungry and making decisions you’ll regret later.
#4: BRING AN ANIMAL-BASED DISH EVERYONE WILL LOVE
The best way to guarantee you’ll have something to eat? Bring it yourself.
We’ve got lots of delicious recipes here on our blog…
And this Baked Apple Crumble with Raw Milk Ice Cream will definitely be a hit.
Or keep it super simple with tallow-roasted sweet potatoes or a massive cheese and fruit board.
Nobody needs to know these are “animal-based.” They’re just healthier than the alternatives (and taste better)
#5: WHEN PEOPLE ASK ABOUT YOUR “WEIRD DIET”
❌ Bad answer:
“I’m on the carnivore diet. Seed oils are engine oil and vegetables have defense chemicals…”
(You’ve lost them. They think you’re insane.)
✅ Better answer:
“I focus on nutrient-dense foods – meat, eggs, fruit, dairy. It’s been helping me feel a lot better.”
(Short. Vague. Focuses on YOU, not them.)
Don’t eat to please others. And don’t feel pressured to eat things you don’t want to eat.
But do it delicately:
“Sorry Aunt Molly, your bread rolls smell delicious, but I think I have an intolerance to flour. Any time I eat it, I have an upset tummy for an entire week.”
Most people don’t want a lecture. They want reassurance you’re not judging them.
Don’t be this guy:
THE REAL WIN:
Look, one meal won’t ruin you.
But constantly compromising your standards because “it’s just this once” will.
So set your boundaries. Stick to them. And don’t let guilt override what you know is right for your body.
The real victory? Showing up as the healthiest, most energized version of yourself – while everyone else is complaining about being tired and bloated.
That’s the example that actually changes minds.
Enjoy the day. Eat the good stuff. Skip the garbage.
And remember: radical health is about the long game, not one meal.
To your radical health (even on holidays),
The Heart & Soil Team
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This week on Radical Health Radio:
The Lost Power of Grounding: Why Touching the Earth Heals Your Body & Mind | Rob Iron Shell Ep. 142
This week in customer reviews: Histamine & Immune
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