The year is winding down, it's cold and you have a lot to do. Between working, Christmas shopping, holiday events at your children's schools, planning for visitors or planning for your own holiday trip, a lot of things can get put on the back burner or plum forgotten all together. Moving through the much busier holiday traffic alone is enough to frustrate you and make you want to banish yourself to your home until it all blows over. But this is the time to dig even deeper! Yes, even deeper! It is the most important time to be consistent in your health routines, that includes your diet (lifestyle, not a fad) and your workouts. Not only do you need to be consistent but even stepping it up a notch definitely will go along way!
Why You NEED to be consistent
You need to be consistent because this isn't your first rodeo; none of what is about to happen in the next month to come is going to be a shock or a surprise to you. If you need a reminder, here it goes: pot luck work-Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving at parents then at a friend's, eggnog, Christmas candy bowls, pot-luck work- Christmas, chocolates and candy canes, eggnog, Christmas dinner, receive chocolates as a gift, Christmas cookies, Christmas cookies, pie, New Year's Party appetizers, mixed drink, mixed drink, champagne! Even the MOST disciplined person can go off track. So knowing ALL of this is coming, your best defense is too at LEAST be consistent with maintaining your regular diet beforehand and workout routines as much as possible. Notice, I said at least. One 8oz glass of eggnog is about 344 calories. Add in one slice of sweet potato pie, at 330 calories, you've already added an additional 674 calories to your day. When I walk 3 miles (at about 15 minute miles), I burn close to 500 calories. Basically if I did my 3 miles and had my eggnog and pie, I would come CLOSE to breaking even. Be consistent and it will go along way in keeping some of those extra calories at bay. (You need to step up your exercise during this time, if your plan is to lose weight during the holidays. Consider two a days (working out twice a day) on the days you will indulge.)
You CAN Still Enjoy the Holidays!
A lot of temptation is coming your way, BUT the good news is it is only going to be a few days out of a time span of about a month and a half. That puts you still in alignment to have the majority of your days til the end of the year to be consistent, healthy, goal focused days. If you keep the holidays contained to a maximum of 6 days (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's- each being celebrated twice, maybe once at work and once with family or once with family and once with friends, etc.) you will still be within the 80/20 rule some people following a healthy lifestyle try to follow. If you are not familiar with it, it basically means 80% of the time you are following your plan of eating right, working out, working on your goals, etc. and the other 20% of the time you allow yourself to be more relaxed. That means out of 30 days, 24 of the days you are on point, leaving 6 days that are more relaxed. Use your 6 celebration days as those days, no leftovers, no carry overs, let the celebrating end when it is should. If you stay consistent all the other days (80% of the time) the holidays will not make a big dent in your plan. You will not gain the average 5-10lbs during the holidays. And if you stay consistent AND step it up a notch, it is possible and you can lose weight during the holidays!
Thanks for reading! Please leave me a comment! And please check back in for more holiday advice and tips! Coming soon, recipe substitutions!