🟣 Your December Meal Plan

Before I was teaching folk to lift via curse words on the internet, I was designing bathrooms.

Yes. Bathrooms. The thug life truly picked me.

But sketching out 100s of bog layouts taught me one thing that’s followed me into coaching:

There will always be compromise.

Every house came with wild expectations. People wanted a walk-in shower and a freestanding bath… inside a box room that was basically a coffin with plumbing welded into place in 1940 by a bloke called Dennis.

Could you override what already existed? Sure. You could move pipes, knock down walls, extend the room.

The compromise being your bank account calling you a silly little bugger.

But my job was never to make things “perfect.” It was to make everything fit: the function, the poop-alluring-vibe and the budget. All via deeply unsexy compromises that delivered the best possible outcome.

Training and nutrition work exactly the same way.

You’re always choosing a compromise, whether you admit it or not.

Skip training and ignore your nutrition?

You’re trading the confidence you could have in 3-6 months for a little more ease today.

Peel yourself away from rewatching Gilmore Girls for the 18th time and get into the gym?

You’re compromising that short-term comfort to create more ease in your future.

I know - it’s really fucking annoying.

And now we enter Christmas… The Olympics of Compromise.

The holidays often bring a fuck tonne of challenges in the shape of mince pies, quality street and Chirstmas parties.

And with it, I see there’s 3 paths you can wiggle down, each paved with compromise

OPTION 1

You don’t give a single shit.

Eat everything, drink everything, live like it’s freshers week again.

Perks: an absolute riot of a month.

Compromise: rolling into January 3-5kg heavier, sluggish, and staring down 5-10 weeks of dieting to get back to pre-Christmas levels.

OPTION 2

You stay rigidly “on track.”

You log your food religiously, you give yourself a few days off around Christmas Day and that’s it.

Perks: you enter January lighter and tighter.

Compromise: you swap memories with the people you actually care about for MyFitnessPal.

Both options, in my opinion, come with a strong whiff of stink.

Which brings me to my favourite option…

OPTION 3

You have a bloody party in the middle ground.

Instead of sleepwalking through December and saying “fuck it” until January - you go into this month with intent to stay consistent without the pressure of a strict goal or rules.

Intentionally setting your nutrition baselines on normal days where there’s no socials. Keeping to 2-3 meals a day packed with plants and protein. 

Keep an eye on the pesky mediocre calories that creep on you - e.g. the handful of quality street everyday that you forget you had within 30 minutes. With these mindless snacks, implement a 20-30 minute pause before you enjoy them to keep intent at the front.

Keep up with movement or build habits that will carry you into January

Adding in a daily walk or stomp on a walking pad

Getting into the gym while it’s quiet to build some confidence. Not to burn calories or any of that bollocks - but to support your body in feeling GOOD at this time.

And Christmas Day? You enjoy it however the hell you’d like.

Perks: way more joy, way less “fucking fuck sticks” vibes come January

Compromise: it requires more thought than Option 1, and you won’t see dramatic change this month. But you’ll hold steady, which is wildly underrated.

Ultimately, it’s about what compromises you’re willing to make, and what aligns with you and your current goals.

And if you want support navigating this period so you don’t roll into January feeling like someone’s dropped a toddler’s backpack of bricks on your shoulders…

Our 1-1 coaching call bookings are open this week.

We’ll walk you through exactly how we’d approach December and set you up for a strong start to 2026. And if you decide to join us, you can hop in before prices increase in January.

Find everything you need or book your call here:

1-1 Coaching with Henley Fitness

Until next time,

Big love,

Rachel