7. Boundaries: Why We Need Them - Especially Around the Holidays & Study Review

Coach Dylan & Coach Sam do a deep dive on the role of boundaries within our health and fitness journeys. They get into the research on the impact of neglecting our boundaries during the holidays, and discuss the importance of figuring out where your personal boundaries lie so you can better uphold them.

Roses & Thorns:

• Dylan’s love for punch buggy, disdain for change and the challenge of self-worth
• Sam’s big rosy-thorn reframe: life expectations, hardship, and being repeatedly “thrown from the nest”
• The importance of gratitude

The Big Boundary Chat

• Holidays are a loaded gun, full of food + family
• Why weight gain over the holidays is so common
• How dieting during this season might be more detrimental than maintaining
• "The Effect of the Holiday Season on Weight Gain: a Narrative Review"
• The impact of utilizing some measure of cognitive restraint
• How the role of support might be the difference between success & setback
• The surprising role environment plays in our behaviour: the difference between friction & ease
• Sometimes support is the people in your life: the importance of community & feeling understood
• Why navigating the holidays used to be Sam's nightmare: the family commentary surrounding body image, weight, & food choices
• Changing the dynamic of relationship as we experience personal change
• Why those closest to us feel resistant to seeing us change
• The difference between personal boundaries + relational boundaries, internal boundaries + external boundaries
• Why setting a boundary isn't nearly as challenging as upholding the boundary
• The harm in commenting on someone's body or weight
• Why the holidays are exceptionally hard for those suffering with disorders eating
• The harm in commenting on what or how much someone's eating
• What to do when people can't seem to understand your lifestyle choices
• The necessity of being willing to disappoint others when you say no and stand up for you
• It's not our job to control the way people receive our boundaries
• Honouring the hunger & fullness scale (the RPE of your stomach) to be more mindful + intuitive
• The problem with teaching children they can't leave the table until they've finished all the food on their plate
• Setting boundaries inside your home, in relationship with your equal partner
• Why Dylan's pseudonym is "The Boundary Pusher" or "The Cupboard Hunter"
• When it's time to take away the scale
• Being a product of your environment
• Alcohol as a personal boundary
• When there's room to compromise on a boundary: the difference between rigidity & flexibility
• Intentionally scaling back on fitness goals during the holidays
• Upholding boundaries to make sure you're getting enough: it's not just about weight loss
• The importance of taking stock in order to set boundaries: finding out what means most to you, what your goals are, who you want to be
• "We don't rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems" - James Clear
• Why having boundaries can lead to less guilt & less resentment

Happy Holidays from us to you. Enjoy them, guilt free!

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https://www.five-elements.ca/contactus

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Coach Dylan @coach_dylandacosta
Coach Sam @fiveelementscoaching

Post-production, music & overall wizardry by Jonathan Gavin @gonathanjavin