Hi babes! I hope everyone had the BEST Thanksgiving everrrr. Ever, ever.
I have a post going up tomorrow all about my time in Carmel + Big Sur with my fam (little photo evidence below for you to soak in the mountain beauty with me), but for now I wanted to drop a quick line about a wee little thing called b a l a n c e.
We all just had Thanksgiving. Not so arguably the most food-centric holiday in our culture, and I know a lot of us are probably feeling a little off balance.
I’ve been seeing a lot of, “coming back to LA 5 lbs heavier!” and “ate my weight in stuffing and I don’t even give a f**k” posts all around Instagram + Facebook, and while it is funny to joke about because we can all relate — it’s also not that funny, because none of us legit want to feel like a stuffed sausage post-holiday.
We want to find balance, and feel freaking awesome.
Without getting into too much detail about the way I ate on Thanksgiving, because that’s not really what this post is about, let’s just say I found a pretty happy medium between being my usual finicky self and enjoying all the delish Thanksgiving traditional foods + desserts.
That being said, we were at a buffet in Carmel (it’s called Stillwater if you’re familiar with the area… the besttttt restaurant on the most gorgeous golf course on the water) that is a hefty amount of $$ per person, so even though balance was on my radar it’s not like I was going to eat only a salad and some shrimp and be THAT girl.
I had some seafood appetizers (heaven!), a big plate with alllll the Thanksgiving goods from turkey to stuffing to yams to mashed potatoes to Brussels and salad, and of course I had to try two diff pies for dessert (which honestly were pretty disappointing — I had a way better dessert the following night at a restaurant in town!).
To me, that is a BALANCED Thanksgiving dinner. I was proud of myself for being pretty dang normal about it, and I didn’t go to bed feeling like a stuffed whale. I was definitely full, very full, but not full to the point of feeling totally bleh.
Also, we were on vacation! So the whole food enjoyment thing didn’t stop there. We were hitting up Big Sur Bakery (famous for their lattes and pastries), cute restaurants in Carmel, delicious dinners downtown, etc. So the whole weekend was a big food fest — which I’m sure anyone traveling for the holiday experienced this past weekend!
That’s why I wanna talk about balance.
Thanksgiving isn’t about the food, it’s about the people. But inevitably, for a lot of us, food was heavily involved in the social and family connectivity aspects of the holiday.
And it’s AWESOME to enjoy food with people we love. I am a foodie, so bonding with people over food is a social enjoyment that really, truly makes me happy. I would have been sad to forego all the usual Thanksgiving food for a salad + veggies the way I did a few years ago.
For a lot of us, there was probably wine + cocktails + desserts involved all weekend too! I’m on one of my “not drinking” kicks, but I know everyone else in my fam was all about the wine and martinis over the holiday.
Yay for everyone who enjoyed all the food, drinks and fun this weekend. That is what life is about. Being able to swing the pendulum one way, and then swing it back the other way to find our balance.
How cute is my fam bam?!
It’s not about stuffing our faces on Thanksgiving to the point of feeling gross and then restricting for days afterward to get back to “balance.” That is not balanced.
It’s also not about going on a full week bender because it’s Thanksgiving and it’s a good time to let loose, and then following up with a crash juice cleanse to “undo” the damage.
It is about finding that happy medium… that happy little balanced place in the middle where we enjoy ourselves and remember what the holiday is all about (people! fun! letting go and being present!) and then maybe take some extra steps afterward to swing our pendulum back into balance.
Arnold Palmers make me happy. <3
For me, getting back onto the balanced side of the spectrum post-Thanksgiving is going to include:
– lots of SWEAT! Hot yoga, light runs (I am getting back into running you guys, YAY!), maybe an infrared sauna sesh (if I do, I’ll Snapchat the whole thing, so follow along!)
– healthy, balanced food! I hit up the farmer’s market yesterday (and I saw RACHEL ZOE… holy shit she is literally perfect in person, I died) and stocked up on a bunch of healthy staples. Lemon soup, veggies, greek yogurt, organic chicken, free-range eggs, almond milk, cold brew — so I can make all of my meals at home and feel that “in control” feeling of meal prepping! I LOVEEEEE cooking at home when I am trying to feel my absolute best.
– SLEEP! You may have seen my Insta post where I said I slept for 15 hours straight the day I got back to LA after Thanksgiving. I have no idea what happened, but I fell asleep at 6pm and woke up at 9am — the old Jordan never would have allowed for such a massive sleep window. My body needed it, and I listened! Early bedtimes after a few too many late nights and early mornings will do your body so, so well.
– Journaling + Meditation — this one is obvi more optional, but I like to journal and meditate so that I can reflect on what I really need. Does my body feel good, or is there something I need to address? I ask myself questions like that to make sure I am always seeking a state of true balance.
There you have it, babes! If you feel off balance today, DO NOT WORRY! This is your official reminder that everything is a-okay and you can swing that pendulum back starting today. Or tomorrow. Or whenever YOU please, because it’s all about listening to your body and doing what feels best. This is just a roadmap — so take it or leave it, but I want you (and all of us) to feel our absolute best, every day. XO