If you’re wondering why your health habits fall apart every December, it’s not because you’re lazy or undisciplined. It’s because this season piles more on your shoulders than any other time of year. The invisible load gets heavier. The expectations get louder. And suddenly the health habits you’ve worked so hard to build slip through your fingers.
This is Part 3 in a 4-part series for Sixty & Me about staying steady through the holidays. If you missed the previous installments, find them here:
Part 1: Holiday Food Everywhere?
Part 2: The Invisible Load You Don’t Even Notice Until It’s Too Late
Here’s the truth most women in midlife never hear: nothing is wrong with you. Holiday health habits don’t collapse because you don’t care. They collapse because you’re juggling a full life, and perfection is the first thing to crack.
And if you’ve been taught that your only options are do it all or do nothing, of course December feels impossible. But what if you didn’t need perfection? What if a half-assed version of your health habits was more than enough to keep you grounded, even when life is chaotic?
That’s what we’re going to explore here – how to stay consistent without being perfect, especially when midlife holiday stress is pulling you in every direction.
Why Women in Midlife Lose Momentum This Time of Year
If it feels like your healthy habits disappear the minute the holiday season begins, you’re not imagining it. Women in midlife carry an invisible load that doubles this time of year. You’re managing family dynamics. Coordinating travel. Remembering everyone’s preferences, allergies, gifts, and emotional triggers. You’re trying to keep the peace, keep the house moving, and keep yourself from collapsing at 3 p.m.
This isn’t about discipline. It’s about capacity. When you’re already stretched thin, even the simplest routines feel impossible. Add hormonal shifts, poor sleep, and stress, and your bandwidth shrinks fast. That’s when “all or nothing thinking” kicks in. If you can’t do the workout, prep the meal, or get the perfect bedtime, you convince yourself it’s not worth doing at all. And that’s when everything unravels.
If this sounds familiar, I go deeper into this in my Holiday Health Bare Minimums podcast episode here, where I break down why “holiday overwhelm” hits women in midlife so much harder.
You’re not failing. You’re overloaded. And that’s exactly why healthy habits for women 50+ need to look different in seasons like this – simpler, softer, and actually doable.
The Concept of Bare Minimums – And Why They Work
Most women think the only way to stay healthy during the holidays is to be “on it” all the time. Perfect meals. Perfect workouts. Perfect discipline. But that mindset is exactly what causes everything to fall apart. When life gets chaotic, perfection is the first thing that goes. What actually keeps you steady is something much smaller: your bare minimums.
Bare minimums are the simple healthy habits that act like anchors. They don’t move you forward dramatically, but they keep you from drifting so far off course that January feels like starting over from scratch. They are not rigid rules. They are not another diet. They are not shame-driven. They are supportive, realistic self-care in midlife n chosen by you, for you.
My own bare minimums are boring on purpose. I drink a glass of water before each cup of coffee or wine. I protect my bedtime no matter what. And I eat a predictable lunch every day, because decision fatigue is real. These habits are tiny, but they keep me grounded when everything else is loud and demanding.
This is the secret behind any sustainable holiday health plan: consistency beats intensity, especially in midlife. A small habit done daily will always stabilize you more than a perfect plan you abandon after three days.
If you want help choosing your own bare minimums, the Feel-Good Holiday Playbook walks you through this step-by-step so you can stay steady without overhauling your life.
How to Choose Your Own Bare Minimums
When you’re overwhelmed, the last thing you need is another complicated plan. Your bare minimums should feel so simple and so doable that even on your busiest, most chaotic day, you can still follow through. Here’s a quick way to choose them.
First, ask yourself: What helps my energy? What lowers my stress? What makes my day feel a little more predictable? Your bare minimums should support one or more of those things. And each habit should take less than five minutes. The goal isn’t to create a perfect “holiday health routine.” The goal is to build a tiny rhythm you can return to, no matter what’s happening around you.
Some examples that work well for women in midlife:
- A 10-minute walk when you feel your shoulders creeping up to your ears.
- Water between caffeine so you don’t crash at 2 p.m.
- One vegetable on your plate at dinner, even if the rest of the meal is messy.
- A clear bedtime boundary so you’re not scrolling at midnight.
- Three deep breaths before you walk into the house after a long day.
These habits seem small, but they create consistency with habits when everything else feels unpredictable. And here’s the real magic: they keep your momentum going – just at a lower intensity. You don’t come to a full stop. So, when January arrives, you’re not clawing your way out of a hole – you’re already in motion.
Why Bare Minimums Matter for January
Most women think January feels awful because of what they ate in December. But the real reason is much simpler: they came to a full stop. When every habit disappears for weeks at a time, getting started again feels impossible. Your body feels heavy. Your mood dips. Cravings spike. And your confidence takes a hit because you’re starting from zero.
Bare minimums prevent holiday burnout because they keep you moving, even at your lowest speed. A little momentum protects your energy, your sleep, and your stress levels. It also keeps your brain in the rhythm of taking care of yourself. These tiny habits become healthy habits that stick because they’re realistic, not rigid.
And lowering the bar isn’t giving up. It’s wisdom. It’s maturity. It’s understanding that your capacity changes during the holidays, and your habits should adjust with you.
Making This Season Feel Different
Imagine a holiday season where you aren’t running on fumes or scrambling to “fix” yourself in January. A season with fewer meltdowns, less guilt, and more moments where you actually feel present in your own life. That version of the holidays is possible – not by tightening up or trying harder, but by supporting yourself in small, steady ways that make everything feel lighter.
This isn’t about control. It’s about relief. It’s about holiday stress relief that comes from choosing what’s realistic, not punishing. And it’s about midlife women’s wellness that honors what you actually need right now – energy, rest, clarity, and room to breathe.
If you want more support with this idea, listen to the companion podcast episode about Holiday Bare Minimums here. I walk through these concepts with even more nuance so you can start applying them immediately.
And if you want someone to guide you through this step-by-step, the Feel-Good Holiday Playbook will help you design a plan that works in real life – not just on paper.
You don’t have to collapse into January. You can stay connected to yourself in small, powerful ways – and those tiny shifts can change everything about how this season feels.
Let’s Have a Conversation:
Which bare minimum habits would be just enough to get you through the Holidays so you won’t have to start from scratch re-building your healthy habits in the New Year?
