Preparing Your Body for the Holidays When You’re in Perimenopause (Without “Being Good”)

The holidays are coming, and for so many women in perimenopause, this time of year brings a complicated mix of joy, anticipation, overwhelm, and pressure. One moment you can feel excited about the cozy evenings, the gatherings, the food, and the traditions, and in the next moment you feel like you are white knuckling your way through cravings, bloating, exhaustion, and the belief that you need to “be good” so you do not lose control.

If you are nodding along, you are not alone. Almost every woman I support tells me the same thing this time of year: “I want to enjoy the holidays, but I am scared of how my body will react.”
 This fear usually comes from experiences like:

• Feeling physically uncomfortable after holiday meals

• Struggling with cravings that feel louder than usual

• Gaining weight quickly and not understanding why

• Feeling stressed, tired, emotional, or wired at night

• Trying to follow rules during the holidays that only backfire later

And behind it all is the deeper truth that perimenopause changes your metabolism, your blood sugar responses, your stress tolerance, your sleep, and your cravings. So if you are wondering why the holidays feel harder now than they did five or ten years ago, there is a very real physiological reason.

This blog will teach you exactly how to prepare your body for the holidays in a way that keeps your metabolism steady, your cravings calm, and your energy protected. And the best part is that nothing here requires “being good,” restriction, guilt, or perfection. In fact, you will enjoy the holidays more when your body feels balanced, nourished, and supported.

I help women in perimenopause break free from sugar addiction and stabilize their metabolism year-round, and the holidays are a time when this work becomes especially important. My goal is to give you simple, effective steps that allow you to enjoy holiday foods, feel confident, experience fewer cravings, and stay in control of your body without stress.

Let’s begin with why the holidays hit differently during perimenopause.

Why the Holidays Feel Harder in Perimenopause

During perimenopause, your hormones shift constantly. This affects the very systems that regulate your appetite, cravings, mood, blood sugar, and metabolism.

The main changes include:

• Lower progesterone levels, which can raise cortisol

• Fluctuating estrogen levels, which affect insulin sensitivity

• Greater susceptibility to blood sugar spikes

• Increased inflammation and fluid retention

• Lower stress tolerance

• Higher emotional sensitivity

• Changes in sleep patterns that worsen cravings

Now combine these physiological changes with holiday realities like:

• Big meals

• Alcohol

• Late nights

• Stress

• Social pressure

• Sugar everywhere

• Breaking routines

• Travel

• Less sleep

It becomes very clear why perimenopausal bodies struggle during this season. You are not imagining it. You are not weak. You are not lacking discipline. Your body is simply more sensitive now.

When you understand this, the entire holiday season becomes easier. You stop fighting your body and start working with it.

Everything in this blog is designed to help you do exactly that.

Step One: Start With Stabilizing Your Blood Sugar Now

One of the most powerful things you can do before the holidays begin is to get your blood sugar into a stable rhythm. When blood sugar is stable, you naturally:

• Crave less sugar and carbs

• Experience fewer emotional eating urges

• Sleep better

• Handle stress more effectively

• Eat more balanced portions

• Have fewer evening binges

• Digest food more efficiently

Blood sugar stability is the simplest path toward feeling grounded during the holiday season.

The best part is that this does not require dieting or saying no to holiday treats. Instead, you want to focus on the daily habits that keep your glucose curve gentle and steady.

For example:

• Eat protein at every meal

• Add fiber rich vegetables first

• Eat every four to five hours

• Avoid skipping meals

• Have balanced snacks

• Drink water consistently

• Include healthy fats to support fullness

These habits prepare your metabolism so that when you do have a special holiday meal, your body handles it far better.

Step Two: Calm Your Nervous System Before the Season Starts

Holiday stress is not just emotional. It is physiological.

When your nervous system is activated for long periods of time, your cravings increase dramatically. Cortisol tells your body it needs fast energy, so you crave sugar and refined carbohydrates.

• Stress also worsens sleep

• Poor sleep leads to more cravings

• More cravings lead to overeating

• Overeating leads to guilt and more stress

It becomes a vicious cycle that so many women are stuck in without even realizing it.

This is why calming your nervous system before the holiday stress begins can change the entire trajectory of the season.

A few simple ways to do this include:

• Deep breathing before meals

• A ten minute walk after eating

• Soothing herbal teas in the evenings

• Regulating your caffeine intake

• Setting boundaries around your schedule

• Creating pockets of quiet time

• Taking magnesium glycinate at night

• Journaling to release emotional overload

You do not need to meditate for an hour or commit to practices that feel unrealistic. Tiny nervous system resets add up quickly.

Step Three: Support Your Digestion so Holiday Meals Do Not Overwhelm You

Women in perimenopause often experience slower digestion, bloating, constipation, acid reflux, or discomfort after meals. Holiday foods can intensify these symptoms.

Supporting digestion now reduces discomfort later.

Here are simple ways to do this:

• Start meals with vegetables

• Eat slowly and chew thoroughly

• Take a ten minute walk after eating

• Consider a digestive enzyme before big meals

• Avoid drinking large amounts of liquid with meals

• Eat regular meals to keep stomach acid balanced

When digestion works well, you stay fuller longer, you experience fewer cravings, and you have less bloating.

Step Four: Break Up With the “Be Good” Mentality

If there is one mindset that sabotages women every holiday season, it is the idea that they need to eat perfectly, avoid certain foods, or be “good.”

This mentality is harmful because:

• It creates stress around food

• It triggers the binge and restrict cycle

• It makes you feel guilty for enjoying food

• It disconnects you from your body

• It leads to overeating when the rules break

• It fuels shame and emotional eating

The truth is that you do not need to be perfect to feel good this season. You need to be consistent with the habits that support your metabolism.

Consistency matters more than perfection.

You can enjoy holiday meals without swinging between restriction and overeating.

The key is balance. You eat nourishing meals most of the time and you enjoy holiday foods when they come up. Not as a cheat meal. Not as a reward. As a normal part of life.

Step Five: Build a Holiday Eating Strategy That Actually Works

This is not a diet. This is not a rulebook. This is a simple structure that keeps you grounded and nourished through the season.

Here is your holiday strategy:

• Eat a high protein breakfast

• Start every meal with vegetables

• Include fat and protein at every eating time

• Eat mindfully and slowly

• Avoid grazing

• Drink water throughout the day

• Choose one intentional treat instead of sampling everything

• Pause when you are eighty percent full

This strategy keeps your blood sugar steady, your digestion calm, and your cravings minimal.

It also gives you confidence because you feel in control without restricting yourself.

Step Six: Add Targeted Supplements to Support Your Body

The holidays create higher demand on your metabolism, your digestion, and your stress response.

This is where supplements like magnesium, omega three, B complex vitamins, digestive enzymes, or adaptogens can be extremely helpful.

This is why I created bundles inside my Fullscript shop tailored specifically for:

• Hormone balance

• Cravings

• Stress

• Digestion

• Metabolic health

These bundles take the guesswork out of what to take, how much, and why.

Step Seven: Protect Your Sleep and Your Energy

Sleep impacts:

• Hunger

• Cravings

• Hormone regulation

• Mood

• Metabolism

• Fatigue

• Stress tolerance

Holiday schedules can disrupt sleep, but there are ways to protect it.

Supportive habits include:

• A calming evening routine

• Magnesium glycinate

• Limiting screen time

• Going to bed at the same time

• Keeping the room cool

• Avoiding sugar at night

• Herbal teas that support relaxation

When sleep is steady, everything else becomes easier.

Step Eight: Practice Gentle Movement Instead of Punishing Exercise

Holiday exercise should not be punishment for eating.

Gentle, supportive movement will help your metabolism far more than intense workouts during a stressful season.

Examples include:

• Walking

• Strength training

• Pilates

• Yoga

• Stretching

• Body weight workouts

• Outdoor movement

• Ten minute bursts throughout your day

Movement should regulate your nervous system, not drain it.

Step Nine: Go Into the Season With a Grounded Plan, Not Willpower

Willpower fails.
 Habits support you.
 Balance nourishes you.

The goal is not to fight your body through the holidays. The goal is to understand what it needs so you can move through the season with ease, stability, and confidence.

When you prepare your metabolism now, you:

• Reduce cravings

• Feel calmer

• Avoid overeating

• Stay energized

• Enjoy the season without guilt

You deserve to celebrate without feeling like your body is working against you.

If you are ready to take back control of your eating and feel good in your body again, I have two ways to help you get started.

Download my free 7 Day Sugar Reset Guide. It is your step by step blueprint to balance your meals, stop cravings, and stabilize blood sugar naturally.
Check out my 7 Day Meal Plans available on my Linktree. They are designed to make healthy eating simple, balanced, and sustainable for only 9.99.
And visit my Shop Page on my Linktree where you will find my favourite health and wellness products that support your energy, blood sugar, metabolism, and hormone balance.

If you are new here, Hi I am Sarah Seguin, a Holistic Nutritionist and Metabolic Balance Coach who helps women in perimenopause break free from sugar addiction, stabilize their blood sugar, rebalance their hormones, and finally feel energized, clear, calm, and in control again. I work with women who feel stuck in the cycle of cravings, emotional eating, brain fog, fatigue, bloating, and stubborn weight that will not move and I show you how to reset your metabolism in a way that is gentle, nourishing, and sustainable.

The program I run, The Sugar Reset Method powered by Metabolic Balance, is a personalized nutrition and metabolic healing system designed specifically for your unique biochemistry. This is not a diet, not restriction, and not a temporary fix. It is a complete metabolic reset that teaches your body how to use food for fuel, stabilize hunger, reduce cravings naturally, support nervous system regulation, repair insulin sensitivity, and rebalance hormones from the inside out. Women who go through this program not only lose weight, gain energy, and improve mood, they learn how to trust themselves and their body again.

If you are ready to start small, download my free 7 Day Sugar Reset Guide to begin balancing blood sugar and calming cravings right now. And if you are feeling called to deeper support, you can explore my coaching options and book a discovery call.

Get all the links here at Linktree.

And make sure to follow me on social media so you do not miss daily guidance, recipes, education, and encouragement on your healing journey. You are not meant to do this alone, I am right here with you.

To Your Health,
Sarah