We are now full blown into the holiday season. OMG! I can’t count the number of Black Friday sales emails I’ve gotten!
And it’s interesting. Isn’t it? Because every year, I say, ‘Not me. Nope. I’m not going to overeat, or drink too much alcohol. I’ll get enough sleep, and keep to my workout schedule. I’m not going to succumb to the holiday season weight gain.’
And yet, every year, I find my kitchen teeming with holiday goodies (which is totally weird since I don’t really bake), rich winter foods, and wine. Lots of wine.
And when food is around and available to you, you eat it. It’s just a fact.
I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve heard from so many of you that, like me, you’ve had this same mindset in previous years too – the holidays aren’t going to get me. And yet they do.
So, it makes sense that as we’ve passed the first milestone of the holiday season – Thanksgiving – that we all might have a little bit of anxiety about what’s going to happen over the next few weeks. We all want to look and feel our best during the holidays – how much will the stress, irregular sleeping schedule, and eating a different diet impacts how we feel?
So, even if you don’t want to lose weight, what are the strategies that you can use to not GAIN weight during the holidays?
Set your Intention
What do you want your holiday to look like? Sure! We all want to be relaxed and carefree, but is that attitude compatible with wanting to maintain your weight, not going into debt, and wanting to celebrate with your close friends and family?
It might be. Only you know that.
But if you look to past years, chances are that this year will be similar unless you intentionally make changes – maybe be a little more diligent about going to bed on time, or destressing with a daily walk, or making sure that you get enough vegetables on a daily basis.
Whatever it is, think about how this year might be different.
Be Realistic
So, I don’t think it’s realistic to think that this time between Thanksgiving and New Years will be the same as Back to School through Halloween. Because they just aren’t. Things always crop up during the holidays – shopping, parties, the weather. So it’s best to expect the change in schedule – even if you don’t know what they are yet. Someone will send you home with cookies, invite you to a party (on a school night!), or just want to get together for drinks after work.
So, expect that things are going to creep into your schedule – and probably just as important, try not to stress about it.
Plan
First, the best thing to do is to have a plan for your week with a little wiggle room. And when I say plan, know that I’m not suggesting that you cook every meal that you’ll eat during the week. When I say plan – all I mean is that you’re going to have an idea of what you’re going to eat at each of your meal times.
That might mean that you cook dinner for yourself and family 2 times, and then you pick up something healthy one of the other nights, and then the 4th night, leave open to pull something out of the freezer.
But the other part to this strategy is, when things do creep into your schedule, what are you going to do about it? How will you adjust so that everything doesn’t spiral out of control: your eating, exercise, sleep and stress? How can you get back on track as early as possible, mitigating the damage that having an impromptu dinner can cause?
Accountability
Going along with setting your intention, is to let others in on the secret. Get some accountability.
I’ve just spent the last 11 days in Mexico. I have slept, and read, and eaten, and drank & It’s all been amazing – I’ve had waaaay more sugar and wine than what is normal for me. And although it’s really scary to admit this to you – because I feel like I need to show you that I’m the expert, and I have all of this handled, which some days I really don’t feel like I do – my diet has been off since September.
I need some accountability. Because no one plans to gain weight during the holiday season. We just don’t.
So, let’s help each other out.
I’ve created a FREE, women’s only, private, Facebook accountability group (none of your friends or relatives will see your posts, likes, or responses). This is the place where you’ll go to share your wins over a cookie with sprinkles, or get support if it wasn’t exactly a win. OR Maybe just blow off some steam about your MIL. 😉 (it happens to the best of us!)
I offer coaching to members of the group on a frequent basis. So, as we go through the season, if you need support, I’ll be here with you. And just by having you to support, that will help me. As I mentioned above, sometimes supporting others is the best way to stay accountable yourself.
Request to join HERE.