Hustle with Aloha

This is Hustle with Aloha , A podcast for entrepreneurs who want success without burnout. Here you'll hear real strategies and conversations to help you grow while staying true to yourself. I 'm Alicia Nagel, brand strategist and founder of Alicia Nagel Creative. I've helped over 130 brands stand out with strategy-first marketing and design. Living for years in Hawaii taught me the deeper meaning of aloha- presence, kindness, and connection. In a world that glorifies nonstop hustle culture, Aloha reminds us to pause and appreciate. That's why I created Hustle with Aloha.

The holiday season and Q4 crunch are notorious for causing stress and entrepreneurial burnout. 43% of Americans report the stress of the holidays interferes with their ability to enjoy them (APA), and 71% of respondents regret not taking the time to relax (AHA). If you want to run a profitable business and enjoy your life, you need this Healthy Entrepreneur’s Holiday Survival Guide.

Hustle With Aloha's host Alicia Nagel sits down with Manhattan's favorite registered dietitian and women's nutrition coach, Brigitte Zeitlin, MPH, RD, CDN, to deliver actionable, non-restrictive strategies for business owners navigating high-stress holiday periods. Brigitte's "all-foods-fit" philosophy helps you find balance—from the kale to the cookies—by focusing on intentional habits over frantic dieting.

In this episode, you will learn practical tips to stop burnout and thrive:
  • Mindset strategies to build resilience to the stresses and the temptations of the holidays
  • The Cocktail Cap Trick: Brigitte’s method for setting an intention before a social event to enjoy your drinks without sacrificing productivity the next morning.
  • The anti-hangover 1:1 secret formula and two specific foods to eat that stop a hangover before it starts.
  • The single most important eating habit that can help fuel focus, energy, and resilience for busy entrepreneurs.
  • How to set "polite but firm" boundaries with "Food Pushers" at holiday gatherings.
  • Why the 80/20 Rule makes one day of indulgence completely harmless to your overall wellness goals.
If you're ready to stop the hustle and grind and start hustling with aloha this holiday season, this episode is for you!


Resources Mentioned & Connection Links

Connect with Brigitte Zeitlin
Connect with Hustle With Aloha

Creators and Guests

Host
Alicia Nagel
Guest
Brigitte Zeitlin

What is Hustle with Aloha?

Hustle With Aloha is an informal interview style podcast full of juicy insider tips and game-changing advice from some of the top entrepreneurial minds in their industry - as well as a glimpse into the founder's journey. To Hustle With Aloha is to be ambitious, not frantic; driven, not grinding. Let's rise up without burning out. Join host Alicia Nagel as she picks the brains of some of the smartest and most interesting people she knows, on topics that impact the success of small businesses.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Why
aren't you having the fries?

You look fine.

Your weight is fine.

Why don't you want this?

This is their insecurity.

Me not having the fries, me not having a
second piece is about them second guessing

their own choices, it's all because
it's triggering their own insecurity.

We hold true to our healthy eating
habits, we have to understand

that this is not about me.

This is about them.

You don't get triggered by other
people's food insecurities.

And then you can rock on.

Alicia Nagel: Hello, welcome
to Hustle With Aloha.

I am so excited to be here at this time
of year sitting down with Manhattan's

health coach Bridget Zeitlin, to
have a conversation about staying

healthy in spite of the holidays.

Bridget, welcome.

Would you like to tell us a little bit
about your background and what you do?

Absolutely.

Brigitte Zeitlin: I'm
so excited to be here.

Thank you for having me.

So I am, like you said, Bridget Zeitlin.

I'm a registered dietician
and women's nutrition coach.

I work with women 20 ages, 25 to 65,
who are like on the go, juggling a

lot of different balls in the air
constantly, who wanna take really,

really great care of themselves.

Um, women, they come to me to lose
weight without calorie counting, without

restriction, and without dieting because
I wholeheartedly believe that taking

care of yourself and enjoying the
foods you love get to go hand in hand.

And that's the only way to effectively
lose the weight you want, but also to

easily keep it off for the long term.

And that's the name of the game.

I want you to lose the weight now, but I
want you to keep the weight off forever.

And so the only way we can
do that is when we balance.

Um, the foods that take care of you
really well with the foods that you enjoy.

So from the kale to the
cookies, you get to have it all.

Alicia Nagel: I love that.

And you know, it's so funny, it
sounds like such common sense coming

out of your mouth, but it is hard.

Um, and here we are,
November this time of year.

Black Friday is looming around the corner.

The holidays are lurking.

Um, I pulled this statistic, which I
thought was pretty impressive, that 43%

of Americans said that the stress this
time of year in the holidays interferes

with their ability to even enjoy them.

So here we are, like late Q4.

Um, all Americans are stressed, right?

But especially entrepreneurs
and business owners, which is

what this podcast is about.

They're either like gearing up for a
really busy time of year because maybe

this is maybe when they make most of their
money or if this is a slow time for them.

They're like struggling to
stay relevant and like maintain

sales during this time of year.

Whatever the situation,
they've got additional stress

in your typical American.

Um, and unfortunately, our healthy
habits sometimes fall by the wayside.

Uh, Bridget, thank you for letting me
pick your brain on what we can do as

entrepreneurs and small business owners
to stay healthy and take better care

of ourselves during this time of year.

Do you take a different approach
with your clients this time of year?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Absolutely.

It's such a great question and so true.

I think also something else that like
contributes to the stress of it all

is that everyone is like so happy,
quote unquote this time of year.

'cause the decorations and there's so
many family events and there's all these

holiday parties, all of those things
just add more stress because sometimes

maybe like we could have complicated
relationships with people that are

going to be at our holiday dinners.

We might not really like love having
to, you know, if we're introverts

having to be at all these holiday
parties can also add stress.

So there's the work stress that maximizes
during this time, like you pointed out.

And then we also have the life
stress that entrepreneurs have to

deal with on top of the work stress.

So it's can be, I don't know
if I can curse here or not,

but it can be a cluster F of

Alicia Nagel: totally you can curse.

I have that blanket setting
on all of my podcast episodes.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Okay.

It is a total cluster fuck of stress.

So.

What I, what I, how I coach my clients,
particularly the entrepreneurs during

this time of year, is to understand
that there's a really big difference.

So what I do with my clients is
we create healthy eating habits.

I wholeheartedly believe that there
is no healthy food or unhealthy food.

There is a healthy habit and
an unhealthy habit, right?

It's not about, if you like, the
pumpkin pie being healthy or unhealthy,

it's about how much of it, how
frequently you're having it, right?

That's a, that's a habit versus,
right, like a healthy habit

versus an unhealthy habit.

So with my clients, we create healthier
eating habits during this time of year.

What, what I really try to focus on
is that while our habit, our eating

habits stays the same, understanding
that our routine is going to be

a little bit different, right?

And, and allowing for that routine
to be a little bit different.

So if you're someone who typically
I. You know, you wake up, you wake up

really early, and you go to the gym
or you take a walk, you work out, um,

and then you get into your work mode.

But now, because work is so
overwhelming and because maybe you

have a party at night, you wake up,
you skip the workout and you, and

you hit your email box earlier than
usual, so the routines can be off.

So understanding what does your
Q4 holiday tight time routine

look like, first and foremost?

And then, and then if that means
that you have to work out at 5:00

PM instead of 5:00 AM Okay, great.

If that means during this, this
time, um, you're actually working

out on Saturday and Sunday
versus Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Okay, great.

Like, I think so often what makes
us entrepreneurs successful is

that we ha they're really, we're
really disciplined with our routine.

And it can be hard to,
to figure out that like.

Some seasons, and again, that could
be the actual season of the world,

like the season of like fall, winter,
spring, um, summer seasons of our

business, the ebbs and flow of our
business or seasons of our life that

through different seasons, our routine
has to look a little bit different.

So really anchoring into what, what your
eating habit or your workout habit is,

and then ing it to fit a new routine.

So an eating habit that I really encourage
everybody to who want, who wants to lose

weight and keep the weight off, um, is
to eat consistently throughout the day.

Generally, like that's every
three to four hours because

it's what keeps you energized.

It's what helps to keep your
brain focused and attentive.

It's what helps you problem solve
and be more efficient during the day.

So, so if that's the habit to eat every
three to four hours, the routine might

be, well now that you're waking up.

Earlier and you're not working
out, maybe breakfast is at six

instead of at seven, right?

So the routine, the time of day can
shift a little bit, but the habit

of you staying energized and focused
from fueling your body with nutrition

consistently that stays the same.

I don't know, did I answer your question?

Alicia Nagel: Yes.

And

Brigitte Zeitlin: okay.

Alicia Nagel: You know, it's funny, I'm
hearing like literally yesterday, um,

I went to that networking meeting that
I saw you at and I didn't get to work

out yesterday morning, and I'm like
trying not to beat myself up about it.

I'm like, I get to do it
Friday and then Saturday.

And I think you really hit a nail on
the head is that as entrepreneurs and

small business owners, we put, we'll
bend up, like bend over backwards for our

customers and our clients and fit them in.

But it doesn't have to be the
expense of our own schedule.

Like we can fit ourself into
like, okay, a hundred percent we

can't do a. 10:00 AM or whatever.

Maybe we could do a

Brigitte Zeitlin: 5:00 PM.

Exactly, exactly.

And I think something too that might
need to be added to this Q4 routine is

assessing like the night before or like
Sunday night mapping out your week.

Okay.

So my coming week is busier than you know.

It is in Q1 or Q2, whatever.

Look at your week before, look,
look at the coming week and plug in.

Your your me time and so your me time,
maybe that's a workout in the gym.

Maybe it's a walk.

Maybe it's when you meal prep a little
bit ahead of dinner time so that you have

nourishing food waiting for you as soon
as your day ends versus first having to

cook at six or seven o'clock at night.

Right?

If you, if it turns out that you had
a little, like 30 minute break in the

middle of your day and you enjoy cooking
and if cooking like is something that

relaxes you, it's one of my self-care
routines, it really, really relaxes me.

Um, right.

Maybe you can do that for 30 minutes
in between, like where can you map,

where can you plug in a little bit of
you time to fill in with whatever would

fill your cup mo most in those moments

week?

Alicia Nagel: I love that.

That's such a good reminder.

And again, we do that in
our businesses, right?

A lot of us are percent army of
one and we have to be clever.

Um.

I love the idea of meal prepping
at lunch or even making a

little bit of extra dinner.

So you have lunch the next day instead
of having to make yourself lunch.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yeah, a hundred percent.

Alicia Nagel: Um, that's really cool.

So do you have any like, tips on the
psychological challenge of staying

loyal to like, to stay devoted and loyal
to our own healthy habits in the face

of the temptations of the holidays?

Maybe our favorite cookies or social
obligations that are, were stressful

and we're tempted to drink a little
bit more than we might usual usually,

or maybe in scenarios where we
don't have control over the menu.

What are your tips on that?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Absolutely.

This is such a, such a juicy topic.

Um, and I have so many tips and tricks.

I actually put them all together in
a, um, self-paced, do it yourself,

like on demand video course, it's
called Socially Fit to help you say

fit during like your social life.

Um, that's available.

Um, you have lifetime access to it.

You can find it on my website,
watch the videos in your own time.

Take me on a walk with you so
you have me and my Long Island

accent in your ear the whole time.

But so a few, a few things.

Again, there is one of the
healthiest habits we can be in no

matter what your health goal is.

If your health goal is to lose
weight, maintain your weight loss.

If your goal is just longevity
and energy, um, right.

No matter what your health goal
is, there's one universal habit

that will always be your best
friend, and that is planning.

It's true as the entrepreneur, it's
true when we wanna like have an amazing

vacation, we wanna see all the sites.

We need, we need to plan the itinerary.

There's no, like, we need to plan.

So if you are again, and you can do
it Sunday night, you can do it at the

start of every single individual day.

Whatever is more, you have to
know yourself a little bit.

Um, whatever feels like
the most supportive way for

you to map out your week.

So, so look, so again, I'm a Sunday night
girly, so I'm gonna do it Sunday night

and then, and look at my whole week.

So if I know, okay, I have an event
Wednesday night, Thursday night, and

then I'm out with my friends on Saturday
night, that's three nights out, which

means the other four nights I can cook.

So what am I gonna make?

And I can like totally control all
the ingredients that go into it.

I know the amount of salt I'm gonna use.

I know the amount of olive
oil I'm going to use, right?

I can map out, I can batch, like
you had mentioned, I could double up

recipes and batch for, for lunches.

I know three nights out, four nights
in, what am I making my nights.

Um, and then on those, on those days
that I'm going out, if I know ahead

of time what restaurant I'm going
to, I'll be like, Ooh, Saturday

night we're going for Italian.

I'm definitely gonna have the pasta.

Wonderful.

What does that mean throughout
For the rest of my Saturday, that

means that I'm going to go, I'm
going to really, really look for a

protein and a produce at breakfast.

So eggs would be a great protein.

Um, and maybe I'm gonna scramble
it with some spinach, tomatoes

and mushrooms, the produce.

Um, and then for lunch.

I happen to be a big salad person, so
I'll go to Sweet Green, I'll get a salad.

But if you're not, you want, um, if
you, again, if you could have the,

your leftovers from the night before a
stir fry, you know, look for a thing.

Look for something that is going to
be focus on protein and, and then a

produce, produce meaning a fruit or a veg.

Because at dinner time you're
gonna have what I call starch.

But you, the general public
would refer to as carbs.

You know, you're going
to have a carby dinner.

Fabulous.

So we don't wanna, we don't want, we wanna
be really, really conscious of the amount

of carbs we're having throughout the rest
of the day and save it for our dinner.

So that, so a little bit of
planning goes a really long way.

That's how you're able to like, have
the pasta without the scale really

going up because you've managed it.

You're not having, um, you're not having.

Toast your avocado toast for
breakfast, which is a carb, um,

not the avocado, but the toast.

And then you're not having
a sandwich for lunch, right?

So more carbs and then your,
and then your pasta for dinner.

It's too, it would overload
your system and, and be too, um,

what's the word I'm looking for?

It won't give your body enough
throughout any given day.

We need protein and, and vegetables and
fruit to give our bodies the amount of

nutrition we, we need for, for energy
again, for focus, for thinking, for

problem solving, for helping us to stay
resilient to stressful, stressful times.

So like that feeling
of being hangry, right?

That is that so frequently comes
we, when we snap at people, it's

because our resiliency is lower.

We can't deal with stressful situations,
we can't deal with other people

because our resiliency is lower
because we haven't eaten for a while.

So making sure you're eating
consistently throughout the day

keeps your stress resiliency higher.

So you're able to process and
interact more comfortably and

from a more grounded, calm state.

And it also helps you to not, um, so
that way you're getting, so if dinner

is going to be more what I call soul
nourishing versus body nourishing,

we want the rest of your meals to
be really, really body nourishing.

So the protein and the produce of the
other meals, and then the soul nourishing

carbs, um, just at dinner time when it
comes to alcohol, which is also free

flowing this time of year, which is great.

I love, love, right?

I love Mia.

Spicy Margarita like forever.

Ooh.

And this time of year, I really
do get into old fashions as well.

But, but when it comes to alcohol,
again, you wanna plan it out.

I think a really good, like a, a golden
rule when it comes to alcohol is to

give yourself a realistic cocktail cap.

So, Saturday night with my girlfriends,
a realistic cocktail cap for me is

probably three drinks, one drink
at the bar while we're waiting for

our table one drink with our apps.

Maybe I'll have one drink towards the end
while we're lingering and just catching

up while we're, you know, so three drinks.

When, if Wednesday night, um, I'm
going to a networking event or a

holiday party with like, colleagues,
coworker, you know, people in my,

that I'm trying to mingle with.

I'm not gonna have three drinks.

My cocktail cap is gonna be one.

So know your, and that's just me.

Zero judgment.

You pick your own cocktail cap.

But what's really empowering about
this is that you, you knowing, you,

you pick your cocktail cap and then you
keep it ahead of time, ahead of time.

Alicia Nagel: You pick it ahead of time.

Not in the moment.

Brigitte Zeitlin: No, no, no, no.

A hundred percent yes.

You pick, everything
happens ahead of time.

You pick it ahead of time, and
then you hold yourself accountable.

And what that does is it builds
self-trust that I can hold myself

accountable to certain rule, like
certain, um, certain health habits

that I'm trying to create for myself.

So if I, that, if I'm trying to
be conscious of the amount that

I drink, um, because alcohol, you
know, makes me sleep in the next

day out, I will miss my workout.

Or I won't, it won't, it
will make me more sluggish.

I won't be as effective in
my morning meeting, right?

Knowing how alcohol affects you.

Making, having a cocktail cap that you
stick to versus being somebody who, well,

I'm gonna go in my cocktail cap is one.

But then, you know, he suggested
we get another round and so now

I'm gonna have another round.

It erodes yourself trust and it doesn't
feel, that's really interesting.

Yeah, and I think self-trust when
it comes to holding our ourselves

accountable with everything, um,
self-trust is a huge factor in

that, trusting that you can do it.

So have a cocktail cap and then with
your cocktail cap, no judgment on

the amount, whether it's one or you
know, five you do, you my friend.

But for every one cocktail you
have, have one full glass of water.

This will help to slow down your,
the amount that you're drinking.

Right.

You don't have to chug the
water, drink it slowly.

You can make it sparkling with a
lime and like trick people into

thinking it's another cocktail.

Or you can keep it however you wish,
but it will help you to, it will help

prevent any next day, sluggishness,
next day, brain fog, next day,

fatigue, all of those things that
happen on the back end of us drinking.

Um, so for every full glass of
water, uh, for every cocktail you

have, have a full glass of water.

Alicia Nagel: I love that.

So to recap, yeah, set an attention,
intention ahead of time, whether that's

Sunday the morning of or like before
you go out so that you're having a

conversation with yourself when you're
in a good head space, not when the you're

having fun and the waiter's coming around
and you're susceptible to suggestion.

Also, if you.

Setting attention about a cocktail
cap, you enjoy that cocktail knowing

that it's a one of two or one of one
or one of three where, and I feel like

you enjoy it more and you're not going
to mindlessly drink it quickly and

then accidentally order another one.

And I love the
encouragement to plan ahead.

In my business, I have
something I tell myself.

I say I'm the kind of person that plans
ahead, so in the moment I look amazing.

So if you do that with your dieting habits
and stuff, you plan ahead in the moment.

You act as if the self that you wanna be.

Right?

Brigitte Zeitlin: A hundred percent.

Perfect.

Beautiful recap.

Fabulous, wonderful summation.

Way more succinct than I said it, but Yes.

Alicia Nagel: No, you're the expert.

I love it.

And

I love the way you're going into like,
the social situations, the emotions,

the like self-talk and stuff like that.

Speaking of, um, drinking water so that
your cocktails are offset, do you have

any advice for the person who doesn't
stick to their ahead plan and they

have to be functional in the morning
or they wanna do that morning run?

Do you have any advice on things they
could eat or, uh, consume during the

workout or the night before to help
them maintain momentum in the morning?

Right.

So meaning if they drank too much
specifically, I didn't wanna use

the H word hangover, but Yes.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Right, right.

Okay.

Okay.

Got it, got it, got it.

I know, I feel like that's
common this, this time of year.

Oh, a hundred percent.

A hundred percent.

That's a great question.

What I'll say is that, um, it is what
I, what I love to do with, with my

clients, why it's, why it's effective
for the long term is because I

don't teach my clients how to diet.

I teach my clients how to live and
what, and life happens in color.

Life is not black and white.

Right.

Life happens in color.

And what that means is that, I don't wanna
say in the gray 'cause, like that's not,

life is not gray, life is full of color.

Holidays.

No.

There's so much color.

So, and that means that not
everything is going to go as planned.

Right.

Understanding that, having the
flexibility of that, you know, when

it comes to, when it comes to your,
your health goals, your weight goals.

What really matters is what's
happening 80% of the time.

So if you have a plan and you're
able to stick to it, like, you know,

80% of the time, the 20% of the
time that like gets technicolor is

not really going to make a dent.

Because 80% of the time you're,
you know, what you're doing.

You're in control.

You feel empowered.

You're making empowered food choices.

It's right.

It's, it's more up to you.

The, so the 20% technicolor, it happens
to all of us, myself included, even

as the expert, even as the dietician.

Um, so what we wanna do,
first and foremost, we don't

wanna feel guilty about it.

We wanna understand
that like, life happens.

Not everything goes to plan.

I ha you know.

I drank more than I thought I
would ultimately, or I ate less.

And so the, the alcohol
hit me harder, right?

Like I had a smaller dinner than I was
expecting, or I skipped dinner 'cause I

thought there would be food at the event.

There wasn't.

Right?

That happened so frequently,
so it hit you harder.

And so now you're a little bit, you're
a little bit hungover, um, or whatever

word we're using instead of the H words.

First and foremost, be vitamins.

Be vitamins.

My friend and I, I will say,
I'm going, I am always, always,

always a proponent of food.

First.

I want to supplement.

We, we supplement, but we
supplement to fill in the gaps.

Not to make up the total
nutrition panel for you.

So we always wanna go food first.

Foods that are high in B vitamins
that are really, really good.

B vitamin sources would be, um, avocado.

So having that avocado toast for breakfast
would be fabulous also, because whole

grains are a great source of B vitamins.

So if your toast is a
whole grain version, right?

Whole wheat or whole grain with avocado.

Wonderful.

Um, it's like a two for one.

So B vitamins and whole grains,
avocado, bananas are also a

great source of B vitamins.

So first thing in the morning, you know,
before you do anything, have a banana.

It will also give you a little bit
more energy because it's fruit and

fruit has a little bit of sugar in it.

So you'll get like kind of a, a boost.

It'll help to clear off
some of the ishness.

Um, you could also do oatmeal because
oatmeal is a whole grain, so there's

really good B vitamins in that as well.

Also, coupled with magnesium, which
could help calm down if you're feeling

stressed or anxious because you have
an early meeting and you're feeling

a little bit hungover and like.

So the magnesium in whole, in, in the
oatmeal will be really beneficial as well.

Also, water, water, water,
water, water, water, water.

I can't say it enough.

And for it does not matter if
you like sparkling, if you prefer

flat, if you like tap, if you
like bottled, it doesn't matter.

It's all if you like it cold, if you
like it hot, if you like it, room temp.

It does not matter.

The more water you drink,
the better you will feel.

And that's true for the night before,
which is why we always wanna do

a one-to-one ratio, like I talked
about, but also have a full glass

of water before you go to bed.

That will really, that
will really help as well.

Um, something you could also do in
the mornings, depending on your degree

of hungover pair, pairing it with
one of these foods that I suggested.

One of these breakfasts is,
um, you could do one of the

hydration packets in your water.

So.

The I am, this is a supplement, right?

I am hypercritical
about supplement brands.

The, the brands that I like most when
it comes to the hydration packets.

So the most popular ones
are like Liquid IV L Tea.

Those aren't my favorite.

I don't love the type
of salt that they use.

They use table salt, which is
stripped of a lot of its minerals.

We wanna use a brand that has
like, um, like a, a quality salt.

So Himalayan sea salt, pink, Himalayan
sea salt, black Himalayan sea salt.

So the brands that I like the
most are cure, CURE, or superior.

So get one of those, li one of those
packets, dump it in your water, mix it up.

It'll give you a nice little
boost also to cure that love.

Alicia Nagel: Love it, love it, love it.

So preemptively.

Hopefully your plan prevents you
from slightly over drinking or

accidentally over drinking or who knows,
maybe intentionally over drinking.

But if you match your cocktail cap with
a, a glass of water each and then wake up

and either have maybe like a whole wheat
avocado toast or like a banana on, on

oatmeal and maybe some hydration packet
infused water with cure or superior.

Um, I think those are fantastic advice
and tips to help someone seize the day

if they are needing to maintain the
momentum that's so required this time of

year.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Absolutely, and I think
frequently too, people think, I think it

comes from our college days, no matter
how far away from them we get, we can't

shake the fact that when we're hungover
we're like, mm, bacon, egg, and cheese.

Bacon, egg and cheese,
bacon, egg, and cheese.

Right.

I need grease.

I like the truth is you don't apparently.

Yeah.

It's interesting.

The truth, the the truth is it will
actually cause more inflammation and make

you more lethargic throughout the day.

What you do need in those moments,
like I said, are the B vitamins

are the hydration, and I am not
anti your bacon, egg, and cheese.

It's just not going to give you what
you're looking for in that moment.

Have a bacon, egg, and cheese on an
like, not to cure your hangover just

because you love it and you wanna have
it for Sunday brunch with your friends.

Great, fine.

Right, but when we're
your spicy margarita?

Oh right.

Perfect.

But if you, if when we're hungover,
we, we are not looking for grease.

We're looking, we're looking
for B vitamins and hydration.

Alicia Nagel: Love that.

And speaking of deliciously rich food, um,
do you have any suggestions or ideas on

how people can still enjoy the semblance
of eating the delicious rich foods of

the, of the year without overindulging?

Do you, do you usually advise people
to just dial back the, the quantity or

the frequency, or do you have like some
substitutions that are approximations of

popular holiday foods that might scratch
the itch without overloading your system?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yeah, great question.

So like I said, all foods fit
from the kale to the cookies.

So this time of year, they're
the pumpkin cookies, right?

Um, or the pecan pie.

So first and foremost, what I will
say is that similar to going on a

trip to, let's say Italy, right?

You're going this time of year,
you're going to eat differently.

You have more events.

You have more dinners there.

There is a different cadence from like
November, like through December, right?

There's just a different from
Thanksgiving through New Year's.

Those six weeks, it's a different
social cadence than your norm.

Understand that, give yourself the grace.

You will probably, if you're
eating out and about more than

usual, you're going to gain weight,
and that's not necessarily fat.

It could be bloat because
you're eating more.

You're eating more restaurant meals.

You're eating more salt food.

Exactly.

You're eating foods that
other people are preparing, so

they're cooking with more salt.

They're cooking with different oils.

Your body's gonna retain water.

You're going to feel a
little bit more bloated.

It will show up on the scale.

It might show up in your jeans.

It's not true weight.

It will come off.

Don't get discouraged.

Understand You're gonna have, there's
gonna be a little bit more bloat.

It's gonna come off though, so give
yourself the grace of knowing this is

not my uj and as soon as I get back
to my uj, this is gonna melt off me.

Alicia Nagel: Right.

You heard it here.

Yes.

The professional has spoken.

It's just fluff people.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Exactly.

It's temporary.

A little winter coat.

Exactly.

It's just a little, it's just
a little extra layer that it's

gonna, it's gonna come off.

So what I will, and, and what I will say,
what will really help here too, is when

you plan out your week and you notice how
many nights you're eating out, and that

could be restaurant meals or you know,
potlucks, parties, wherever you're going,

any meal that you're not cooking, really
go hard on the meals that you are cooking

so that you can control the amount of
salt you can, like dep puff on the, on the

nights that you are, that you are doing,
you right, that you have all the control.

Um, when it comes to

the treats, the indulgences and the treats
can be in, they could be sweet or savory.

I, I happen to be a sweet girl, so
for me it's pumpkin pie, but it may

be for you at that Thanksgiving table.

It's the stuffing, right?

Like it could, the indulgence
can be sweet or savory.

What matters wholeheartedly
is your portion size.

I, we, we as human beings feel far more
satiated from a smaller amount of the

real thing than more of the fake thing.

We

will feel that is worth repeating.

Yes, we feel we as humans feel far
more satiated with a little bit of

a real thing than a normal quantity,
quote unquote, of the fake thing.

And I will say also a normal quantity.

What is a normal quantity?

Ae, you know what I mean?

Because, because if you think, if
you think that the restaurant's

plate that they give you is a normal
quantity, that's not a normal quantity.

They're huge.

A lot of times they're huge.

So, so understanding, so having, um,
having more than you would, right?

If, if you think, oh, I'm making a
skinny pumpkin pie, so I could actually

have more of it than I would normally.

Right.

Um, that is not going to be nearly
as satiating as having an appropriate

portion size of the real thing.

Alicia Nagel: Plus, plus if
it's a skinny one you just said,

so you can "have more of it".

Brigitte Zeitlin: Exactly.

So if you eat more, then
it's the same as if you just

had the real thing.

Yes.

You're, you're trying, you're thinking
you're tricking yourself, but, but you

are also not really hitting the crave.

Like you're not really satisfying your
craving for the actual pumpkin pie.

So you'll be able to keep your
portion size in control better

when you're having the real thing,
because it will be more satiating.

You won't need as much of it because it
will, it will feel more decadent again.

It could be, this could be sweet or
savory, but it will feel more decadent.

It, you will, to your point
earlier, you'll look forward to it.

You'll savor it.

It will feel more exciting.

It will feel indulgent.

Indulgent and enjoy and satisfying.

Yeah.

And enjoyable.

I think also something that happens too
is we get, so, we get so caught up in the

food this time of year, which I get it.

I, I became a dietician because I
love food, not because I hate it.

And I, and I work with
clients who love food.

Um, the food is really the backdrop.

The main star, the main star
of this season are the people.

So if you have family members that you
enjoy being around, then spending time

with them and connecting with them.

If you do like the Friendsgiving thing
and you're spending more time with your

friends, um, you're traveling to see them,
they're traveling to see you're getting

together, focusing on those, uh, focusing
on your friends and that conversation.

If you have a lot of, um, industry
events focusing on making connections

and talking to these people, let the food
part of it be the supporting actor and

the connections and the conversations
and the memories you're making.

Um, let that be the, the main role.

Let that be the leading role
for all of these events.

And the, and then you don't have
to be so hyper-focused on the food

and, and it's easier to manage your
portion sizes when you're, when it's

not the sole focus of your energy.

Alicia Nagel: I love that.

I mean, at the end of the day, we should
be eating to fuel and nourish our bodies

not to be a slave of our taste buds.

Right?

In theory,

Brigitte Zeitlin: for sure.

For sure.

And I, and, and also, food tastes
good again, we love food and, and

food can be connection, it could
be memory, it can be tradition,

which comes up this time of year.

So while, yes, so in terms of like a
few food-based tips, I want you to have

a, a smaller amount of the real thing
than too much of the faux version.

Um, I also want you to focus on
the connections that you're making,

the conversations you're having.

And I want you to overall look through
like factor in the whole week and

think how many nights do I have, um,
potential indulgent meal like meals.

Yes.

What's happening throughout
this entire week?

And so, and then, and therefore,
can I make next week a little

bit more home homebody based?

Right.

Look at like the whole picture
because no one meal is going

to make or break your health.

No one meal is going to make
or break your weight goals.

No, no one meal.

No one salad is gonna drop 10 pounds.

I promise you.

No one no cancel each out in your stomach.

No one, like, no one pumpkin
pie is gonna add 10 pounds on.

So no one, anything is going
to make or break things.

What's happening
consistently over time again.

80%. 80%, exactly.

Alicia Nagel: I love that.

And if you apply that to like, I
don't know, a work week and there's

five days, that would be like one
day where you're like potentially not

eating to empower yourself, it's not
gonna derail the rest of the week.

Brigitte Zeitlin: A hundred percent.

A hundred percent.

And so, so knowing that, giving
yourself the grace, and I think too,

sometimes when we give ourselves.

The quote unquote
permission to enjoy a meal.

We usually end up eating less of
it because it's not feeling like,

Ooh, I'm doing something bad.

I'm cheating on myself.

And like, this is my only time.

Right.

Because after I have this, I'm
gonna be super strict and I'm

gonna like eliminate everything.

Alicia Nagel: Experiencing guilt
while you're trying to enjoy

it and like trying to Exactly.

Like cancel that out.

Or even beforehand, like you order
something and you feel guilty

before it even gets to your table.

Exactly.

Speaking of, you mentioned something I
really love about reminding yourself,

like what the joys are of the season.

I pulled another statistic that I found
really alarming, but also encouraging

that, um, "71% of survey respondents
said that their biggest regret after the

holidays, 71%. Is that they didn't take
the time to relax and enjoy the season."

And if you have those opportunities to
meet up with friends and reconnect with

family members, like instead of going
to lunch or going out to dinner, you

could, I don't know, maybe get coffee
and go for a walk or do something that

where the main focus isn't eating.

I love that suggestion of yours.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Absolutely.

No, I love, that's so powerful.

And I think, again, like we know for
the most part, depending on how old

you are, we know the people in our
life that fill our cup and we know the

people in our life that drain our cup.

This time of year, we're
gonna see all of 'em.

So we are right.

So it's so true.

So true.

So if, so, if, if focusing on,
if focusing on having, being more

present, enjoying the moment more,
add in, look for ways to connect

with the people that fill your cup.

So, like you said, taking a walk,
maybe that means, maybe that means.

Again, your routines could
be a little bit different.

So instead of you going to the gym
solo Saturday morning, maybe you

meet up with your best friend and you
get coffee and go for a long walk.

Right?

Depending on where you are in the
world, you might have to bundle

up more than other places, right?

I'm in New York City, you're in Florida.

I, so, right.

But, but that will fill your
cup and nourish you in a way

that will feel more restorative
heading into your, your work week.

Um, and look for that.

And then also when you know you're
going to be around people that might

trigger you or stress you out, no
matter where they're coming from,

family, coworkers, I, colleagues I
should say, um, or a friend, quote

unquote friend "frenemy" type people.

Give your, like, give yourself a
little pep talk going into that.

Going into that encounter.

Give yourself a little pep talk.

Remind yourself that this is
a them issue, not a you issue.

Do some box breathing, like give yourself
a little grace that will actually allow

you to enjoy the overall encounter and the
other people that are going to be there

and not focus so much on the person that
that drains your cup or, or triggers you.

Or like this time of year, there are
so many what I call food pushers.

No.

Have another piece of pie.

No, no.

Have more stuffing.

Oh, you're not taking second,
because they wanna feed you.

It makes them feel good.

Right, right, right.

So, and you're like, no, no, I'm doing me.

I have the exact amount of
pumpkin pie I wanna have, I

have the exact amount of stuff.

You could always take a piece to
go and then chuck it in the You

could, you could, you could do that.

Or you can use like, or
save it for tomorrow.

Like radical honesty,
like, this is delicious.

I'm all f I'm good, I'm full.

But thank you so much for making this.

Right.

Like I love that radical honesty.

Yeah.

The little compliment sandwich.

Like, like have, have a few of those
type of lines in your back pocket when

you know you're going to be meeting up
with somebody who either is a food pusher

or they're just like a life pusher.

They just like, you know, they,
they trigger you in some other way.

Alicia Nagel: Right.

You know, it's interesting how, um.

Many years ago, I was vegan for 10 years.

And it's amazing how like your own
food choices can be threatening to

other people, even if you clearly
don't care what they're eating.

Absolutely.

But just by stating your approach,
they feel the need to defend theirs.

So I like your idea of like having
something to say ahead of time because

if you go to a party or something and
then you're like, oh, I only want a

little bit of pie because I'm trying
to like watch what I eat, then everyone

else who has a second piece of pie
suddenly feels like they're being

gluttonous and indulgent, you know?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yes,

yes.

Totally.

And I think I talk about this in, in
socially fit, um, around the, when I talk

about the holidays and stuff, why people
are food pushers because we know, we, when

we think, if we think about it, right.

Oh, I, I talk about her
a lot in socially fit.

My aunt, my mom's younger sister,
she's a huge push food pusher.

I, I wholeheartedly know she's
doing it 'cause she loves.

I wholeheartedly know that one
of her love languages is here.

Eat this.

Right?

That's a o that's ao.

Okay.

Aw.

Um, but I, because I know this,
I go into anytime I'm going to

see her with like, what I call
like a get outta jail free card.

These, like a couple of sayings, like I
know I'm gonna say and, and it helps me,

it helps me not get like, triggered in the
moment or her feel weird in the moment.

Um, people are.

They're anyti.

Anytime they're saying,
oh, no, have enough.

They're this.

They're like, wait, do
you wanna share the fries?

You're not gonna have the fries.

Why aren't you having the fries?

You look fine.

Your weight is fine.

Why don't you want this?

Right?

It's all because it's
triggering their own insecurity.

That's what I was thinking.

Yeah.

It's all triggering their own insecurity,
and so whether they vocalize it and

they're self-aware enough or they don't
vocalize it, we as, as the person who

is trying to create healthy eating
habits and trying to hold true to

our healthy eating habits, we have to
understand that this is not about me.

This is about them.

This is their insecurity.

Me not having the fries, me not
having a second piece is about

them second guessing their own
choices, and maybe they vocalize it.

Maybe they internalize it,
whatever they're doing.

And as a them thing, we just have to,
when we, when we say, no, I'm good.

I'm not gonna have a second slice
if they keep asking and eventually

we give in and take a second
slice, even if it's to go home.

What we're teaching them is if you ask
me more often, if the more you ask me,

the more likely I am to give in to you.

You're so true.

So true.

You're so, if we can, you're so spot on.

Yeah.

So if we have a get outta jail free
card, we just throw it down on the table.

We say our aligned, because
you can communicate anything

as long as it's with kindness.

Right?

It's 'cause it's always the delivery.

It's not the words.

So.

Kindly calmly be like,
no, this was delicious.

I'm so full.

Thank you for having me.

Or whatever the version is that you want.

And know that like they're pushing
it because one, they're insecure,

two because they care for you.

And sometimes it's both.

Sometimes it's one or the other,
but like it's a them thing.

You hold true to you, you will feel and
then, and then that builds yourself.

Trust in the fact that you
don't give into food pushers.

You don't get triggered by other
people's food insecurities.

And then you can rock on.

Alicia Nagel: I love that.

And I think you're, this like circles
back to your advice, to like set an

intention for yourself in advance.

And if you know that you're gonna
be in these scenarios and you have

those things to say ahead of time
and you have a conversation with

yourself about, you know, healthy
boundaries with people and reminding

yourself that it's not necessarily
you that's under scrutiny exactly.

There because you don't agree with their
suggestion, it forces them to reevaluate.

Their viewpoint and that, you know,
people don't like that, especially if

they're not realizing it's happening.

So I think it's good to remind ourselves
that this is our own food journey, our own

commitment, our own way of doing things.

And just be like polite, but firm.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Exactly.

A hundred percent.

It's most of the time, again, we can go
back to this like 80 20 rule, 80% of the

time they're thinking about themselves.

80% of the time they're like,
it's, it's something about them.

And 20% of the time, if
that, most likely 10.

It's actually a you related thing.

The majority of the, I think, yeah.

Sorry, I No, go for it.

Your suggestion, your reminder that
like if you give in once in a while,

really what they're learning is that.

Because the outcome, the obvious
outcome is that you're going

to eat more or whatever it is.

Right, right, right.

And they're just like, oh,
this is the kind of person that

I just have to keep pushing.

And so that's the solution not
to like, not, yes, exactly.

And they might not, and this is
not to say that they're doing it

maliciously or, or intentionally,

they don't even know.

Alicia Nagel: Sometimes it's
social or like cultural, you

know, where people are like,

percent,

please do this.

You have to like try three
times before they say yes.

And that's like the way it
works in some people's circles.

And

Brigitte Zeitlin: so, and it's
not, and it's coming from, it's

all coming from a good place.

They're trying to of course, offer
you things from a good place.

Alicia Nagel: They wanna take care of you.

Yeah.

Feed you like the most
basic, loving, nurturing.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Exactly.

They wanna make sure you're
having fun and then, right.

Like you're gonna come
back next year, so, right.

So they are, they're not doing
it from a place of mal-intent.

No.

Yeah.

They're not doing it because
they're, they're aware of

their insecurities that like.

Like they don't, the majority
of people don't know that I want

you to share the fries with me
because then it makes me feel more

comfortable about me eating the fries.

Totally.

That's not happening in their head.

That's not happening at all.

But that's what's actually playing out.

But they don't know that, so
you have to, that's speaking.

You have to know that.

Yes, and and we teach people.

We teach in every scenario, whether
it's with our clients, whether it's

with our romantic partners, our
friends, our parents, every scenario,

we teach people how to treat us.

Yes.

And so when you say wholeheartedly
believe that, so when you say

on the third ask, yes, you know
what, fine, pour me another drink.

We've just taught that person.

You ask me three times, you
get the response you want.

You're a three time person.

Exactly, exactly.

Exactly.

Alicia Nagel: Speaking of fries,
do you have any menu hacks?

Like sometimes I find myself out to
that Italian dinner that you alluded to

earlier where I'm like, okay, I've been
eating salad and protein all day because

I know that I'm gonna have some pasta.

And pasta doesn't mean one
serving, which is like a cup.

Let's be real, pasta is gonna
be probably three cups, right?

Or something like that.

And I'm scanning the menu and I want
something that's like, what are the

things on the menu that are like some
of the worst that we don't realize?

Or what are, what are some like
hidden gems that are actually

kind of healthy, but you wouldn't
think they would be on the menu.

Do you have any tips on that?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yeah, so I, I think
anything on the menu can be made healthy.

Like I, 'cause again, I don't believe
that foods are healthy or unhealthy, but.

There are some ways, there are some like
marketing things that happen on the menu

that we don't like traps that we could
fall into that we wanna be, and when

I call them traps, because if you're
choosing the french fries, I want it

because I want it to be because you want
french fries, not because you thought

you were getting something else, right?

And this is what showed up.

Or because you think you're making,
um, a more nutrient dense option.

And this showed up.

I want, I want, that's
what I'm talking about.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I want you to be, I want you
to be wholeheartedly in like,

yeah, I'm having a hamburger.

Obviously I'm gonna get the fries, right?

Like, I, I, right.

Or, or, um, I'm, I'm getting the salad
with the grilled chicken and my friend

and I are gonna share the fries, right?

Like, I want it to be an empowered
food choice, not a default food choice.

So things to look for on the menu.

Anytime you see something that
says coated, um, crispy, crunchy.

Um, battered.

These things mean fried when
it says so anything that says

coated, it's, it's fried.

Keep, keep that in mind.

And it, so if you're going to choose it,
the, um, the coated whatever, salmon,

no, that's going to be fried salmon.

Right?

The outside, it's going to be Right.

It's usually like the
pistachio crusted, dah, dah.

They've, they've fried the
pistachio crust onto this item.

Yes.

How else would it be there?

Alicia Nagel: Right.

That's a really good point.

Brigitte Zeitlin: So, right.

So, and, and so it's not about whether
you choose it or not choose it.

You decide, just be aware.

It's about you knowing, you
making a conscious choice of like

what this item actually means.

So coated, crispy, um, battered.

Obviously if it says fried, it's fried.

Those are the things.

Those are some of those things.

The other thing is, um, I
want you to choose like.

Look for.

So something I encourage my clients
to, to have continuously is protein

and a produce, I think, right?

So whether, so if this is not, if
you're not gonna get the pasta you're

not at, at the Italian restaurant,
you're not gonna get the pasta.

You're looking just like,
where do I start on this menu?

What am I looking for?

Always look for your protein source first.

So are you doing the fish?

Are you doing the steak?

Are you doing the chicken?

What right?

Are you, are you, do they have a
fabulous bomb like lentil dish because

you're vegan, you wanna do the lentils?

Where is your protein coming from?

And then assess where you can,
um, in some, some vegetables.

So if you're getting the salmon,
does that come with anything?

Does it come with a, um,
cauliflower or broccoli?

Does it come solely on its own and
you have to, where is it coming?

Like, where are the
vegetables coming from?

Then, and then look to make your
appetizer, the veg, or to add a side dish.

Vegetables, love to hide out in
the side dish section of the menu.

I agree.

That's where they love to hide out.

And when you're adding in the veg, I
would love for your veg to not, to not

be fried, not be battered, crunchy,

crispy, or crusted.

Yeah, exactly.

So not do the fried Brussels sprouts,
do the straight up green beans.

Right.

Or if they have, if they have sauteed
Brussels sprouts or fried Brussels

sprouts, do the sauteed so that you get
more nut nutrition bang for your buck.

Right.

If you're going, if you want
something fried, do the french fries.

Like get, get the nutrition
from the Brussels sprouts.

So look for the side dishes.

That's where most of the veggies hang out.

What I could also tell you is
that for the most part, if.

Again, I live in, I live in New York
City, so this is very, very common.

But I'm going to go out on a limb
and say that with your community,

this is also going to be very common.

Ask for moderate, like
modifications to any dish.

I promise you, I promise you that if
you do it, like, if you use your pleases

and your thank yous, you will not be the
most annoying person in the restaurant.

I, I guarantee it.

I gu I've learned

Alicia Nagel: after being
vegan for 10 years, I learned

how to be very kind about it.

Yeah.

I'm no longer vegan, but if you ask
nicely, people really don't mind.

Yeah.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yeah.

And I guarantee you are not
the most annoying person.

You are not the one making the
most annoying modification.

I, I guarantee it.

On any given night, as long as
you're using your pleases and

your thank yous, you are not the
most annoying person in that room.

A hundred percent.

That's funny.

Alicia Nagel: What are your
favorite modifications?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Oh, so
I love me some fish tacos.

Yes.

So, but I, I want my
fish grilled not fried.

So I always ask, so when they
say crispy fish tacos, that means

fried as we just learned, right?

Battered mahi mahi, that means fried.

So I, whenever I see fish tacos on a
menu, I say, um, can I have them grilled?

Always.

I always do that.

I also, um, in, in general, I, when I'm
going to have my, like, I love pasta.

I love having, again, I call it starch.

Most people call it carbs.

Um, well, when I, I love my carbs.

I want my carbs to come
from my pasta or my pizza.

I don't want my carbs to come from
the croutons in my Caesar salad.

I think it's a waste.

That's a really good thing that
people forget all the time.

Yeah.

I think it's a waste.

So I'll take 'em out.

Right.

I'll ask for them not to.

Not to happen on the plate.

I also, same thing goes
for like the bread basket.

I wanna have the pasta, right?

Like the pasta will always
be, or the cocktails.

Yeah.

The pasta will something worthwhile.

Yeah.

The pasta or the pizza will always get
me going more than the breadbasket.

So Yeah, but, but there are
people who are the reverse.

And that's okay.

You do you.

But so if you're someone who's
like, mm, this place makes, makes

their own fresh bread every day.

I love their bread basket.

Fabulous.

Go there.

Enjoy the bread basket.

But then maybe you're gonna do the
salmon and the broccoli for dinner.

Right?

But be conscious of it.

Plan ahead.

Be conscious of it.

And I say, and I don't hate carbs.

I love carbs.

The thing with carbs is that they take
up a lot of space in your stomach,

which means they make less room for
the protein and, and the produce.

So, which is a, okay, we just,
we just want information.

The more information you have, the more
empowered food choices you can make.

So, so the carbs will take up more space.

Yeah.

So if you're going to have, um, so if
you're going to have the bread basket,

it's gonna take up a lot of space.

Be conscious if, like, then if you're
making up, if you're making up the rest

of that room with like, if your main
course is gonna be the pasta, we have

very little space to fit in any protein.

Any fiber or produce, um, would
I, so, so act accordingly.

Pick one place where you're
gonna, where you're gonna enjoy

your carb, whether it's the bread
basket or the main course, right?

Pick one place, or, or if it's
your appetizer, whatever, pick one

place and then fill in the gaps.

Fill in the other parts of that
meal with a protein or a produce.

Smart.

Once again, planning.

I love it.

I am a planner myself.

So everything, everything
comes down to planning.

And I will say, I will
say give you freedom.

Yeah.

Reduce a hundred percent
and reduce is your stress.

Yeah.

And, and I will also say that
depending on where one is with

like their weight loss goals.

So if you, if you're just trying to
maintain, you're really happy and you're

trying to maintain, if you're actively
trying to lose weight, um, if weight

loss isn't your, your goal, but like
you have other health goals wherever

you are with your goal at the beginning.

Of it planning is going to
feel like a heavier lift.

It's not going right, like
it's, it is going, you're going

to have to think through your
food choices a little bit more.

That doesn't mean being restrictive.

It means thinking through them, planning
them ahead a, a day ahead, the morning of.

Right.

The more, the more the plan, the
more planning you do the, like more

default mode it becomes, you will not
always be such a hyper planner when

it comes to your, your eating habits.

It just, you will be in the beginning
because you're trying to create and

establish healthier eating habits
again to meet whatever your goal is.

But then, but then it becomes just like
your default mode and it doesn't Totally.

And like it gets sense.

Easier and easier.

Makes sense.

So even though I'm talking a lot, so
if you're not a planner, like the two

of us are, but if you're not already
a planner, understand that you're

just, you're going to be a, you're
going to be an intentional planner.

For, and it's going to take
up more bandwidth than usual.

And then, and then it's going to not feel
like it's taking up so much bandwidth.

It's just going to happen more
default, more naturally along

the way, the more you practice.

Alicia Nagel: And I think the hacks that
we're sharing are helpful with that.

'cause if we think about the busy
entrepreneur, the busy, busy small

business owner that's like going into
the holiday season and they're like,

oh my God, these girls, they want
me to like have a plan and stuff.

Do you have any Yeah,
like go-to, I don't know.

I, I, I am really into think bars
and, um, built bars when I am

like, absolute, I have no time.

It prevents me from eating crackers
or like something that is not as

valuable in they're high protein.

Um, do you have any brands or meal prep
or things that people could keep like in

their desk or their purse or something
like that, that, that you find is a, a

good emergency thing so that you're eating
every four hours and not crashing or.

Reaching for the convenient
thing, which might not be the

most helpful for your food goals.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yeah, absolutely.

So ideally, um, this, like, if
you're eating every three to four

hours, what that would look like
is you're having breakfast, you're

having lunch, you're having an
afternoon snack, you're having dinner.

That's like gen, the general
cadence, um, versus breakfast,

snack, lunch, snack, dinner, snack.

Right?

Planning out, you're trying to structure
the majority of your days, again, 80% of

the time, breakfast, lunch, snack, dinner.

So, um, two things.

The first is that if you are working
from home and that, and like you ha

or you are set up in an office where
there's like a fridge situation, hu

the human body feels more satisfied
and satiated when we eat whole foods.

So the apple with the nut butter, right?

The apple with the cheese stick.

Um, I'm using apples because they're
in season now, but like the apple with

the handful of almonds or cashews or
pistachios, whatever, whole food options.

If you prefer the, you can
insert, swap out my apple for

whatever fruit you prefer.

Like half a cup of
grapes, a banana, berries.

What hap So whole food items as
like your snack will always satiate

you more when we are on the go.

The, there is nothing
better than the bar, right?

It stays, it doesn't
have to be refrigerated.

It could stay.

If you don't have it today, it could
stay in your bag for tomorrow, right?

It can live in your office desk.

My favorite bars are, and when I say
favorite bars, what I look for, there

are three things I look for in a bar.

The first thing is are the ingredients.

The first three
ingredients, are they foods?

So an almond, a cashew?

Are they a nut, an oat?

Um, even if it's chocolate, right?

Like is it a food on its own
versus a chemical or, um, a

blend of some of some type.

So one is the first three
ingredients are they foods.

The second thing I look for, um, is how
much protein and fiber is in this item

to, to fill you up, to be satiating.

I'm looking for at least three grams of
protein and at least three grams of fiber.

The other thing I'm looking for
is how much total grams of sugar

are happening in this item.

To give you a reference point, Snickers
bar, obviously candy, we know it, it's

not pretending to be anything else.

A snicker bar.

The original, the OG Snickers
bar has 18 grams of sugar.

Fine, great.

It's candy.

It's supposed to.

A lot of these healthy bars.

We'll have the same amount of sugar,
meaning they are candy dressed

up in a fancy costume, right?

We're coming off Halloween,
so they're dressed up in a

fancy, fancy Halloween costume.

So look for what I want is your total
grams of sugar to be in the single digits.

That's what we're looking for there.

And then overall for bars, I don't
count calories, but I, I do think

they could be a good like reference
point when it comes to judging.

What would be a, a meal replacement?

A snack, uh, a, a meal
versus like a snack.

So in general, a snack.

So any like bar or total, um, food,
like if you're pairing together

whole fresh foods, the snack should
be between 200 and 250 calories.

Some of these bars are actually meal
replacements, and so they'll have 350

or 400 calories and you're having the
entire bar thinking it's a snack, when

really you've now just had four meals.

Right.

You had breakfast, lunch, it's a lot.

Your snack, which should be smaller,
is actually a full meal now.

So, so just for like
a, a general guideline.

Your, your meals can be more, your
meals could be 400, 500, 600 calories.

Again, I'm not counting them, I'm not
encouraging, but it's a meal, not a bar.

Right.

I'm not encouraging you to count
them, but I do want you to understand

that a bar, if it, if it, if
you're using it as lunch Yeah.

Then you're gonna want a more caloric
bar if you're using it as a snack, which

is how I think bars should be used.

Again, I, because always, I'm
always promoting full, fresh foods.

Don't, not knowing enough to be a meal.

Let's be real.

Then we're looking for like, no
more than two 50 calories per bar.

Okay.

So that's what we wanna
look at a little bit.

It's a little nutrition label, um, 1 0
1, but that's what we wanna look for.

Alicia Nagel: Love it.

It, it's really important for
people and we can For sure.

All this information is
available to us on Amazon.

You can even ask Chacha, BT you
can put these requirements in and

say, suggest something for me.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yeah.

I can tell you right now,
um, three bars that I love.

Are the, the mezcal bar.

They have so many different flavors.

I'm partial to the almond butter
and the, and the hot chocolate one.

And the hot chocolate.

It's just, it's spicy.

It's a little spicy.

I love it.

Mela bars, I also really
love midday squares.

These are, these are sweeter bars.

They're, they'll both have chocolate in
them if you are more of a savory, girly,

88 acres makes really good savory ones.

Um, oh, also, I'll throw, I'll
throw in a bonus for Aloha.

Ah, Aloha bars are really, really good.

I with those.

Yeah.

And they also have a ton of different
flavors, so you can pick your poison.

Love that.

Alicia Nagel: Okay.

So.

To recap, Bridget Zeitlin best snacks
on the go, ideally is like a real piece

of produce and some sort of protein.

Nuts lend themselves really well to
that because they're portable and

they don't get squashed and stuff
like that, or need to be refrigerated.

However, if you're like truly on the go
and you have to resort for a bar, look

for the first three ingredients to be
real foods, protein and fiber content.

At least three grams each.

Total sugar single digits.

And then let's be, I'm just
gonna say, let's be real.

A bar really shouldn't be a meal, but
you know, if it is, it is, but it should

be probably like 250 calories or less.

And I'll share links to your,
your top four favorites.

Awesome.

I think people are really
gonna appreciate that.

I know.

I do.

Yeah.

Yeah, yeah.

Great.

Awesome.

And I noticed on your LinkedIn
profile, I just have to ask you

about this, you made some statement
that you are helping high achieving

women lose weight without dieting.

I love that it acknowledges that the diet
word is like something that nobody really

wants to hear when it comes to eating.

And, um, am I picking up on
something intentional here?

'cause you've mentioned a few times
the psychological aspects of eating.

What would you call it
if it's not dieting?

What's your favorite term
for intentional eating?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Absolutely.

So, I, I like to say I don't
teach people how to diet.

I teach people how to live
because my goal, you don't need

me necessarily to lose weight.

You could lose weight.

The thing is, is that whatever you
do to lose the weight, you have to

stay doing, to keep the weight off.

So if you're losing weight by
restricting your carbs, then you

have to keep your carbs out of
your life to keep the weight off.

If you lose weight eating the carbs,
then you get to continue to eat

the carbs and keep the weight off.

Right?

So, so a lifestyle means you reach your
goal now and you keep it long term.

A diet is inherently temporary.

You are on a diet.

You are off a diet.

That's interesting.

Yeah, it is.

And, and I will say that for people
who are chronic dieters, they're

chronic dieters for a reason.

They're constantly dieting.

They're always dieting.

There's always a diet like they,
they're either on it or they're off

of it, but they're going back on it.

They're, they're, they're switching diets.

They're doing a different diet.

Um, it will never, if, if we're,
and diets come with food rules,

they don't teach you eating habits.

Right.

Alicia Nagel: So Right.

And they're not final, like, it's not
like you owned an item, like you owned

a basket of fat and then you got rid
of it and you're like, oh, it's gone.

It's more like a garden where you like
weed it and that's just gonna come

back if you let it, let it go again.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Right.

It's like a, so that's, that's
the, that's exactly, that's what

I'm talking about with like,
whatever you do to lose the weight.

So if you're dieting to lose the
weight, whatever you're doing to like

cut those weeds down, you have to
keep doing, to keep those weeds gone.

Right?

So, so if you can lose weight eating
the foods you love, understanding

how, how to include pasta into your
day, how to have it for your dinner,

how to ha like how to eat pancakes
for breakfast and still lose weight.

How to have an enjoyable holiday
season and keep the weight off, right.

Putting on your holiday
dress, feeling really great,

looking in that mirror, right?

Zipping up your, your pants
being like, I look awesome.

I can't wait to go to
this holiday party that.

That is like, that's the vibe
I want you to have forever.

So I love that when we, when we
think about forever, it's the

exact opposite of a diet because
a diet is inherently temporary.

We're on it, we're off it, we're on it,
we're off it, we're on it, we're off it.

A lifestyle moves with you.

It's flexible, it's, uh,
relatable to your, your routine,

and it moves with you in life.

So that's why dieting is restrictive.

I also, and like, I just don't, weight
loss does not have to be restrictive.

It has to be intentional.

You have to plan, right?

Planning is intentional.

Right?

The planning

again, yeah, the planning, right.

It has to be, it has to be thoughtful.

Nothing happens.

Nothing happens without thought
or intentionality or planning.

Right?

And again, like your community
knows this better than anybody.

Nothing.

Nothing gets you over the finish line.

Nothing moves the needle in your
business without you intentionally

trying to move that needle.

Um, but.

But what I, what I find is that my
clients that come to me who have been

chronic dieters, what, at the end of
our time together, what they always

say to me is, this was so easy, di like
losing weight has never felt this easy.

And that's because
there is no restriction.

Right.

It because I'm teaching you eating
habits that then become your new

lifestyle so that the diet, the
losing the weight is easy and the

keeping it off is even easier.

Yes.

So often people,

Alicia Nagel: yes, Bridget, preach.

Brigitte Zeitlin: when you diet, you lose
the weight, but you rarely keep it off.

Right.

Right.

So then you have to, and it also

feels like punitive.

Yeah.

Alicia Nagel: Like you're
kind of punishing yourself.

Like this is like bootcamp that
you're putting yourself through

and there's gonna be an end to it.

It needs to be sustainable.

Brigitte Zeitlin: A hundred percent.

Alicia Nagel: It's so funny, we're
talking about, you know, making

it easy and sustainable and like.

I mean, it's a full circle,
beautiful moment because that's

why I started hustle with Aloha.

You know, once entrepreneurs get over
the insane push of like all the energy

that's needed to like get their business
up and running, the idea is not to

like maintain that psychotic pace.

The idea is to like learn hacks, learn
systems, get organized, plan ahead so

that you can have that sustained, um,
like running of your business and living

to, to live, not just living to work.

Yes.

Um, and you know, we talked a little
bit about self-love and self-care,

and this is the time of year where
we're like gifting and people are

stressing out, like trying to make a
special moment for other people, right?

Mm-hmm.

How to, what's the perfect gift?

So maybe they're overspending,
um, and they're all trying to

like create these moments and
worrying about it, but I think.

The radical honesty that you talked
about with yourself could be maybe giving

yourself the gift of like self care.

This holiday season is one
that will give to you and like

everyone around you, you know?

Yeah.

I love that.

That's so beautiful.

And you know it's hard to deal all
by ourselves, which is why you exist.

And if somebody wanted to like work
with you for the holidays or even

maybe after listening to this podcast
and going through the holidays

with a little bit of your advice,
they're like, man, that shoe was one

smart high fiber, low sugar cookie.

I would like to, I would
like to work with her.

What does that look like?

How can people work with you?

Brigitte Zeitlin: Absolutely.

So there are a few ways
we can work together.

Like I said, I have a self-paced,
um, program, socially fit.

We'll walk you through the
entire like social season.

I also talk about traveling and,
and all the, all the things that

come with socializing, happy hours,
dinners out your girls' nights,

your date nights, all the things.

So that's available on my website
and you can download that and

have access to that for life.

There are the other two ways you can
work with me if you want some one-on-one

time is my group program Radical Reset.

We kick off in January, so just in
time for your New Year's resolutions

to help you establish really,
really nourishing eating habits

that will help you lose the weight.

Think of stress out about food a lot less,
and feel so much better in your body.

So, radical Reset, we kick off in January.

You can email me or you can click the
link in my website and, and sign up.

It's such a fun program.

It's eight weeks long.

Um, I'm finishing up our, I run it
three times a year and we're finishing

up the post summer reset now.

Um, the women in it, we're on week seven.

They've lost 10 pounds, 12
pounds, 15 pounds, 20 pounds.

So, and, and they're gonna keep
it up 'cause they have habits now.

So that's fabulous and amazing.

If you are someone who's like,
I don't do groups, I want

you, Bridget, all to myself.

I want all the personalized tips
and tricks and nutrition tools

that are gonna work with me.

Then I have my VIP one-on-one program,
and you can click the link on my

website where it says VIP one-on-one.

And what happens there is you and I set
up, you answer a couple of questions,

a little questionnaire, you, and we,
we hop on a complimentary zoom call

to talk through your health goals
so I can understand a little bit of

what you're looking for, where you're
starting, where you wanna end up.

And I can assess if I would be
the best, perfect fit for you.

And if I am, we'll rock and roll.

And if I'm not I'll, I'll refer
you in another direction and

help you get on your way there.

Alicia Nagel: That's amazing.

You really have like, put together
a smorgasbord, no pun intended,

of like options for people.

I don't want those with me in the bad

pun.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Yeah.

I want, you know, I want, I want
women, so I, I should also say

I work exclusively with women.

Um, my pro, my, my group program
is all women Radical Reset.

If, if you have some fabulous gentleman
in this community that wanna work with

me one-on-one, we would hop on that,
that complimentary zoom call and, and

suss out if it's, if it's a good fit.

But, um, I really want you to
be able to like, take care of

yourself and have the nutrition.

There's so much.

Nutrition Bs out there
like so, so, so much.

Um, like there's a lot of, I'll I say
this frequently in this networking group

that you, where you and I met, like
there's a lot of nutrition knowledge, but

there's not a lot of nutrition wisdom.

Yes.

And there's a really big difference
between being wise about what's

going to work for you and how to
implement that into your day to day.

And just like googling information,
having the knowledge and, and having

the, the ability to integrate it into
your life are not the same thing.

Alicia Nagel: Right, right.

Like, I mean, this is why when some,
when you have a health problem, you

can Google it and freak yourself out
with WebMD, but you should probably

go see a doctor 'cause Right.

This is what they do.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Exactly.

Right.

Like there's a big difference
between quote, when it comes

to weight and, and health.

There's a big difference between
quote, "doing all the right things"

and doing all the right things for you.

You are your own special
snowflake, my friend.

Right?

So we want, we wanna, we wanna
maximize that, we wanna optimize that.

We wanna lean into that, right?

Like your nutrition needs
to be the right fit for you.

So, so I have a couple of different
places for people just to like, plug

in and, and get the right information.

Understand what it means to be, to know
their body, know their nutrition, know

what their body needs, and, and to feel
great once they make those changes.

Alicia Nagel: I love that.

And if people just wanna invite you
into their day-to-day lives, I know that

you're really active on Instagram and
LinkedIn too, so they can follow you.

Love that on Instagram and get your
little insights here and there.

A hundred percent.

I also, sorry.

Brigitte Zeitlin: No, I was
gonna say I, Instagram is my jam.

I love it.

Um, I'd love to hear from you on it.

Like if you, if you start following
me, send me a message, I'd love to

say hi and, and connect more with,
with this amazing community here.

Um, I also, in terms of like,
I know I mentioned a couple

of bars that I really like.

I have an entire like wellness shop
on Amazon, which I'll send you that

link because I've curated, I've
cur, I've done all the like legwork

for the snacks behind the scenes.

So you can just click this link and
know that all the, all the bars,

all the snacks that are, that I've
listed there, they're all be approved.

They're all going to have the right amount
of fiber, the right amount of protein,

the right amount of sugar, and you can
just like have fun shopping that aisle.

I love that.

Alicia Nagel: That is so valuable.

Especially I'm an Amazon girl.

It's easy.

You can look at the reviews,
you get all the data there.

You're not like at the store beholden to
like the eight options that they have.

So I will definitely be checking that out.

I'll make sure that your website,
your socials and that and

everything are in the show notes.

And is there anything that we
didn't talk about today that you

were kind of hoping that we would
touch on before we wrap things up?

Um,

Brigitte Zeitlin: oh, I would say
one thing, no, I think we touched

on everything, but one little tip I
could give you too is that for your,

for you and for the community, and
like, what I tell my clients is that

when things are feeling stressful or
overwhelming or like your, your usual

routine is like falling to the wayside.

Think of three non-negotiables.

If you can anchor into three wellness
non-negotiables a day from your, from your

wider basic routine, if you can anchor
into just three of them, committing to

three of them, it will help you feel
more connected and more tethered to,

to your self-care routine, to how you
like to show up for yourself on a daily

basis, even when life gets stressful.

So a few wellness non-negotiables you can
pick from, these are off the top of my

head, but there are many based on what
your current wellness routine looks like.

But making sure you get fresh
air for 20 minutes a day.

Right.

Or committing to your movement routine.

So whether that's in the gym
or taking a walk, whatever.

Um, if you take supplements,
making sure you take your

supplements every day, right?

Making sure you have breakfast every
day, making sure that you don't skip

out on your afternoon snack because
of meetings or work deadlines, right?

So these are various wellness
non-negotiables that if you can anchor

into, it doesn't feel like you have
just totally derailed from your overall

routine during a more stressful time.

Alicia Nagel: I love that
because it's so easy to like.

Planners to like in the moment,
be ambitious about this is

all the things I'm gonna do.

And then like of the 80 things,
it's so easy to skip them and then

you beat yourself up about it.

Yes.

And then it could, you're
like, what a, why bother?

You know?

What are your, if you don't
mind me asking, what are your

three daily non-negotiables?

Brigitte Zeitlin: My three.

So when I am, my three non-negotiables
come into play for me when I'm traveling

and I'm not in my routine or when I am
going through like a super stressful time.

So those, and they're not
always the same, but my go-to

ones that typically that like.

Or more that happen?

I would say 80% of the time.

What I pick is I always
take my supplements.

I always move my body, so sometimes
it's not depending on where I

am and how stressful I am or the
type of vacation I might be on.

You know, sometimes I'm able
to take a three mile walk.

Sometimes I'm able to
take a five mile walk.

Sometimes I'm only able to
be outside for 15 minutes.

So the timing will, might
look different depending.

Um, but I'm always walking outside
my movement, outside my supplements.

And then I always have a
protein packed breakfast.

Those are my usual go-tos.

Again, if I'm traveling different places,
it the, they might look a little bit

different, but those are my general ones.

Alicia Nagel: That's awesome.

And I think that is a wonderful way for
us to end this, to encourage people.

To pick three.

I know I will be.

Yeah.

Um, well, Bridget, thank you
so much and you, and I hope you

have a wonderful holiday season.

Oh my gosh.

Brigitte Zeitlin: Thank you so much and I
hope you have a wonderful holiday season.

I'm excited to, I'm excited to
connect with your community and to

hear all their fabulous wins from,
from integrating some of these tips.

I love it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Alicia Nagel: See you later.

Bye.

Bye.