Holiday Eating Breakthrough:
1 Holiday Season ~ 3 Stages of Support
THE POWER OF US
7-dAY, Reboot & ReSet Program
November 7 - 13, Dec 18-22 & Dec 26-30
A 7-Day Live Online Program to Help You Handle Cravings, Emotional Eating and Thanksgiving with Greater Confidence (plus a guided journaling experience you asked for!)
November 7 - 13, 2026
Two daily live sessions: 7:00 a.m. Pacific • 8:00 a.m. Mountain • 9:00 a.m. Central • 10:00 a.m. Eastern; and 3:00 p.m. Pacific • 4:00 p.m. Mountain • 5:00 p.m. Central • 6:00 p.m. Eastern
You may already know what healthy eating looks like. The harder part is following through when you are tired, stressed, celebrating, traveling, eating in a restaurant or surrounded by people who do not share your goals.
This seven-day experience is designed to help you understand the patterns that pull you off track—and create a practical, personal plan for the holiday situations that challenge you most.
You do not need another season of guilt, perfectionism and promising to start again in January. You need preparation, satisfying food, useful strategies and the support of people who understand.
Attend live or watch the replays. Recipes, guided journal, practical handouts and supportive community included.
Because this is a live program with interactive sessions, space is limited to keep the group experience supportive and personal.
If you feel this reset is for you, we encourage you to reserve your spot soon.
You Know What to Eat...So, Why Is It Still Difficult?
Perhaps you do beautifully for several days—and then the weekend arrives.
Perhaps stress, exhaustion or a difficult emotion sends you searching for food even when you are not physically hungry.
Perhaps one taste becomes an entire evening, and one imperfect choice becomes, “I’ll start again tomorrow.”
Perhaps restaurants, family gatherings and holiday traditions leave you feeling that you must choose between your health and being part of the celebration.
If any of this sounds familiar, you are not lacking intelligence or information. You may simply need a better plan for the moments when knowledge alone is not enough.
The Holiday Eating Breakthrough will help you move from:
- Reacting automatically to recognizing your personal triggers
- Depending on willpower to preparing for predictable situations
- Arriving tired and extremely hungry to having satisfying food available
- Feeling controlled by cravings to knowing how to pause and respond
- Turning one choice into several lost days to recovering with the next bite
- Facing the holidays alone to feeling supported by a caring community
What Will Change During These Seven Days?
By the end of the program, you will understand the patterns that most often cause you to go off track and leave with a personalized plan for cravings, emotional eating, social situations, food preparation and recovery.
This is not a promise of a perfect Thanksgiving. It is something more useful: a plan you can actually follow when real life happens.
You will learn how to:
- Distinguish physical hunger from emotional and situational cues
- Identify what happens before the eating begins
- Recognize the thought patterns behind “I’ll just have a little”
- Prepare simple emergency meals for tired and busy days
- Navigate restaurants, celebrations and food pressure with less anxiety
- Use guided journaling to notice patterns without judging yourself
- Prevent an imperfect choice from becoming an entire day or week
- Create your own before, during and after plan for Thanksgiving
This is Not Another Lecture About Willpower
You will not be asked to spend seven days trying to be “good.”
Together, we will examine the real situations that make consistency difficult and turn that understanding into practical action. Each day combines education, reflection, simple food strategies, group support and one manageable step to practice.
The goal is not to make food the center of every waking moment. The goal is to create enough preparation and clarity that food occupies less mental space—not more.
“I was 141 lbs. when I started the weight loss program and I am now 137. Not only that but my blood pressure was 95/55 at the dentist’s office yesterday. I am only 6lbs away from normal weight for my height. Thanks so much for putting me on the right path!” - Lucille
Your Seven-Day Journey
Day 1 — Why do I keep starting over?
Identify the recurring cycle without blame. We will examine the difference between knowing what to do and being prepared to do it under stress.
Day 2 — Hunger, satisfaction and the vulnerable moment
Learn why inadequate meals, insufficient starch, fatigue and long gaps without food can make cravings and impulsive decisions much more difficult to manage.
Day 3 — Your personal trigger map
Recognize the people, places, emotions, foods and thoughts that tend to activate automatic eating. You will begin using your guided Holiday Trigger Map.
Day 4 — Cravings and the “just a little” conversation
Learn how cravings develop, what strengthens them and what you can do in the moment without panic, shame or an exhausting internal battle.
Day 5 — Restaurants, family and social pressure
Prepare for celebrations, eating away from home and people who may question or challenge your choices. Develop language that is gracious, brief and confident.
Day 6 — When the plan does not go perfectly
Replace all-or-nothing thinking with a practical recovery process. Learn how to pause, understand what happened and continue with the next bite.
Day 7 — Your personal holiday plan
Bring everything together into a realistic plan for Thanksgiving and the weeks ahead: satisfying meals, emergency food, social strategies, emotional support and recovery.
Who Is This Program For?
This experience may be especially helpful if:
- You understand whole-food, plant-based eating but struggle with consistency
- You do well during structured weeks but relax your intentions on weekends or holidays
- You eat differently when you are tired, stressed, lonely, bored or overwhelmed
- You worry that Thanksgiving will begin several weeks of “starting over tomorrow”
- You want practical food ideas without spending your entire life cooking
- You need accountability and encouragement from people who understand
- You are ready to create a plan—not chase perfection
You do not have to be perfect, and you do not have to have completed one of our previous programs. You only need a willingness to participate, reflect and practice.
What Is Included?
- Seven days of focused guidance and support
- Two live online sessions each day: 7:00 a.m. Pacific • 8:00 a.m. Mountain • 9:00 a.m. Central • 10:00 a.m. Eastern; and 3:00 p.m. Pacific • 4:00 p.m. Mountain • 5:00 p.m. Central • 6:00 p.m. Eastern
- Time for questions and practical coaching
- Replays for those who cannot attend live
- The What Are You Really Hungry For? guided holiday journal
- The My Holiday Trigger Map workbook
- Simple whole-food, plant-based recipes
- Emergency-meal ideas for busy or emotionally difficult days
- A personal Thanksgiving plan
- The encouragement and accountability of a supportive group
You may attend every gathering live, combine live attendance with replays or complete the program entirely through the recordings. You do not have to live in a particular time zone to participate.
“Following your recommendations, I may not have eaten exactly what you recommended for every meal, but only eating ingredients that were in your menu, I would like to report that my weight went down 10.6 pounds over the past 8-days. I weighted myself before bed the day before day one and just weighed myself this morning. I was hoping for 3 or 4 pounds over this period and am shocked that it is just over 10-pounds. The support of the group is amazing.” -Gary
Choose Your Level of Holiday Support
NOVEMBER ONLY
$187
The Holiday Eating Breakthrough
7 days • November 7-13
Understand your triggers, create your personal plan and practice recovering without guilt or delay. Simple and festive meals to help you enjoy Thanksgiving without being deprived will be shared and they will make the holidays so much easier and less stressful! November sessions meet at 7:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Pacific.
DECEMBER ONLY
$127
The Complete December Holiday Survival Series
10 days • Dec 18-22, & 26-30
Prepare for food abundance, family dynamics, travel, disrupted routines, social pressure and the emotions that often intensify as Christmas approaches. We can make a little more elaborate meals that will allow us to stay on track. Includes both December phases, one live session daily at 8:00 am Pacific, all replays and between-phase support.
BEST VALUE - COMPLETE HOLIDAY SEASON PASS
$267
Nov + both Dec phases
Nov 7-13 • Dec 18-22, & 26-30
17 days of guidance, practice, accountability and community
Reflect on what happened without punishment, restore simple routines and enter the new year with useful information, renewed direction and a realistic personal plan. The two December phases form one complete ten-day experience. Participants who choose the Holiday Season Pass receive November and the complete December series at the best overall value.
Why Begin Before Thanksgiving?
Most people wait until the difficult moment arrives and then hope that motivation will save them.
Preparation works differently.
When you decide in advance what you will eat, what you will bring, what you will say, how you will respond to a craving and what you will do after an imperfect choice, the holiday stops being one enormous test of willpower.
You cannot control every menu, emotion or comment from another person. You can build a plan for how you want to respond.
"I did weigh myself this a.m. and have lost 5 lbs. Amazing for me! I have been plant based for the past 3 years and after some weight loss did not lose any additional pounds. Thanks to your program, all the material you shared and simple cooking ideas I will continue to eat this way until I am at my goal. Thanks again.” -Marcia
Meet Your Guides
Gustavo Tolosa, DMA
Gustavo is a whole-food, plant-based coach, cook and educator who has followed a starch-based, whole-food, plant-based lifestyle for more than a decade. After losing more than 70 pounds and working closely with Dr. John McDougall’s educational community, he has helped participants translate sound nutrition principles into practical everyday meals and habits.
His approach combines clear education, simple food, honest self-reflection, warmth, music, humor and the power of community. He understands that most people do not need more judgment. They need practical tools, meaningful support and a way to continue after life does not go perfectly.
Katherine Lawrence, BCAS
Katherine Lawrence is the founder and president of the Food Saved Me Institute, a Certified Nutrition Coach and a Board Certified Autism Specialist. She has more than 17 years of experience teaching plant-based nutrition and disease prevention and has helped bring practical nutrition education to tens of thousands of students.
Her professional education includes Plant-Based Nutrition through Cornell University, Nutrition Science through Stanford Medicine and training in designing sustainable nutrition plans through Harvard Medical School. Katherine brings engaging instruction, real-life experience and an emphasis on turning nutrition knowledge into sustainable everyday action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to attend live?
No. In November, two live sessions are offered each day: 7:00 a.m. Pacific, 8:00 a.m. Mountain, 9:00 a.m. Central and 10:00 a.m. Eastern; and 3:00 p.m. Pacific, 4:00 p.m. Mountain, 5:00 p.m. Central and 6:00 p.m. Eastern. In December, there is one live session each day at 8:00 a.m. Pacific, 9:00 a.m. Mountain, 10:00 a.m. Central and 11:00 a.m. Eastern. Attend live whenever you can and use the replays whenever you cannot. All registered participants will have access to the recordings according to the access period stated at registration.
Is this only a weight-loss program?
No. Weight may be one of your goals, but the central focus is understanding the patterns that interfere with consistency and developing practical strategies for emotional eating, cravings, preparation, social situations and recovery.
Must I already follow a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle?
No previous program is required. The meals and food guidance will be whole-food, plant-based, starch-centered and oil-free. Participants should be willing to work within that framework during the experience.
Will I have to share personal information with the group?
No. You decide what you wish to share. The journal and Trigger Map are tools for your own reflection. You may participate in discussions without disclosing anything that feels too personal.
What if I do not enjoy journaling?
The guided prompts are brief and practical. This is not a writing course, and you will not be required to produce long journal entries. The purpose is to help you notice patterns and make decisions.
What if I go off track during the program or during the holidays?
Then you will have an opportunity to practice one of the most important skills in the program: recovering without shame, punishment or delay. This is not a perfection challenge.
Can I purchase only one December phase?
The December program is designed as a complete two-phase experience. If space permits, registration for individual phases may be offered later. The complete December Series and Holiday Season Pass provide the strongest continuity and best value.
Is this medical treatment?
No. This is an educational and supportive lifestyle program and is not a substitute for individualized medical care. Please consult your qualified healthcare professional regarding medical conditions, medications or significant dietary changes.
What is the cancellation or refund policy?
Refunds are available until 24 hours before each program begins.
What You'll Rediscover
SIMPLICITY
• Simple breakfasts, lunches, and dinners you can prepare again and again
• How to spend less time in the kitchen
• How to simplify shopping and meal planning
• How preparation makes healthy choices easier
CONFIDENCE
Instead of wondering what to eat every day, you'll develop confidence in a way of eating that is practical, enjoyable, and sustainable.
COMMUNITY
One of the most powerful parts of this program is discovering that you don't have to do this alone.
For seven days you'll become part of a supportive community where questions are encouraged, struggles are understood, and victories—big and small—are celebrated together. And then there is a way to be part of a group that stays together 365 days of the year.
Why The Power Of Us Is Different
This isn't a prerecorded course you watch by yourself. It's a live experience. For seven days we meet together twice each day to learn, cook, ask questions, solve problems, encourage one another, and celebrate progress.
You'll Receive:
• Fourteen live interactive sessions
• Cooking demonstrations
• Beautiful downloadable handouts
• Daily meal plans
• Live Q&A
• Personalized email support directly from Gustavo and Katherine
Whether you attend live or watch the replay, you'll never feel like you're doing this alone.
Program Structure
7 Days • 14 Live Sessions
One Simple Goal:
Rediscover The Power of Simplicity.
Live Morning Session
10:00 AM Eastern
9:00 AM Central
8:00 AM Mountain
7:00 AM Pacific
Live Evening Session
6:00 PM Eastern
5:00 PM Central
4:00 PM Mountain
3:00 PM Pacific
Each session lasts approximately 45–60 minutes.
Can't attend live?
No problem. Every session is recorded and uploaded to the program portal shortly after it ends, so you can watch whenever your schedule allows.
Many participants enjoy attending one session live each day and watching the other as a replay.
You can attend one session live and watch the other as a replay if your schedule requires flexibility.
A Legacy That Changed My Life
Many years ago, Dr. John McDougall's teachings transformed my own health and changed the course of my life.
Over the years, I had the extraordinary privilege of becoming a Certified Starch Solution Coach through Dr. McDougall's Health & Medical Center, serving as his webinar host and producer for hundreds of educational webinars, and being featured as one of his Star McDougallers.
"The greatest certification I ever received wasn't a piece of paper—it was the privilege of learning directly from a man whose work changed my life."
Meet the Creator of "The Power of Us"
Gustavo Tolosa, DMA
Certified Starch Solution Coach • Whole-Food, Plant-Based Educator • Concert Pianist
After transforming his own health and losing more than 70 pounds through the principles taught by Dr. John McDougall, Gustavo dedicated his life to helping others discover that healthy eating can be simple, satisfying, and sustainable.
A Certified Starch Solution Coach through Dr. McDougall's Health & Medical Center, Gustavo later had the privilege of serving for several years as Dr. McDougall's webinar host and producer, presenting hundreds of educational webinars and interviewing many of the world's leading experts in lifestyle medicine. He was also honored to be featured as one of Dr. McDougall's Star McDougallers, sharing his own health transformation with the worldwide McDougall community.
Today, Gustavo combines those timeless principles with his own practical teaching style, helping people simplify meal preparation, overcome emotional eating, build consistency, and regain confidence in a whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. His programs are known for their warmth, live interaction, beautiful downloadable handouts, practical strategies, delicious recipes, and a supportive community where every question is welcome.
As an international concert pianist and educator, Gustavo also believes that healing is about more than food. Throughout the week, he often incorporates brief moments of music, reflection, and encouragement to remind participants that lasting health is built not only one meal at a time, but one day at a time.
"My goal isn't simply to help you eat differently. My goal is to help you build a way of living that brings confidence, joy, and lasting health."
Gustavo Tolosa, DMA • Program Guide & Concert Pianist
Gustavo Tolosa, DMA • Dr. John McDougall
You do not need to wait until January
Imagine arriving at Thanksgiving already knowing:
- Which situations are most likely to challenge you
- What satisfying food you will eat and bring
- How you will answer social pressure
- What you will do when a craving appears
- How you will respond if the day is not perfect
- The goal is not fear of food. The goal is freedom from the cycle of losing control, feeling guilty and repeatedly starting over.
Prefer to check out on mobile? Scroll to the enrollment section below.
7-Day Reboot Sign Up Form
Sponsorship
Scholarship
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It’s part of the heart and spirit of The Power of Us to make this experience accessible to everyone. Each time the program is offered, we provide five partial scholarships for those who truly need financial support.
We offer:
· 50% scholarships
· 75% scholarships
Once we receive your request, our team will review your application and contact you personally.
Because at The Power of Us, we believe that everyone deserves a chance to heal, learn, and thrive — regardless of financial situation.
If you’d like to apply, please complete the Scholarship Application Form.
Donate
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Give the delicious gift of nutrition and music. Many people want to take this program and are financially limited. You may choose to fully or partially sponsor an individual or donate to the general scholarship fund.
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