Tis the Season
Dot2Dots
Posts: 137 Member
November is almost over and December is right around the corner – this means quality time with friends and loved ones, cold nights wrapped up on the couch watching classic movies, awesome work and holiday parties, and an extra ten pounds of unwanted weight as a result of:
~ minimal exercise – it’s too cold!
~ maximum consumption of unhealthy delicious food and alcoholic beverages – why not!
~ hibernation due to the colder weather and shorter days – I can start January 1st!
Well, I say NOT THIS YEAR !
Building new healthy habits is hard enough when the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful. During this time of year however, you have to factor in crappy weather, shorter days, and a busy holiday schedule. It’s very easy to get sidetracked and overwhelmed, saying things like:
“Meh, I’ll wait til January 1st.” or “Why bother starting now? Thanksgiving is next week!” or “Who cares! It’s a party!”
These types of thoughts are bad news. They allow you to rationalize bad behavior, “you know, because of the holidays.” Soon the problem with making bad decisions gets compounded, you get down on yourself, freak out about all of the weight you’ve gained, yell at yourself for being lazy, and then eat comfort food to make yourself temporarily feel better about the situation.
So, here are some surefire ways to make sure you don’t suck at life during the next few weeks:
1. Half workout is a million times better than no workout - No more of this “meh, I only have 30 minutes, why bother?” Do you realize what you can accomplish in 30 minutes.
2. EVERY MEAL COUNTS! Just because you ate a crappy breakfast this morning does NOT mean the day is ruined. Just because you’re going to eat birthday cake this afternoon does NOT mean you get to say scres it and eat whatever the rest of the day. As soon as you eat ONE bad meal, the next meal becomes the most important meal of the week. One bad meal does not make you gain weight. It’s when that one bad meal is followed up by a week of bad meals that things get ugly realllly quickly. Eat a bad meal and move on !
3. Have a support team to keep you accountable - If you happen to be the only person in your family interested in being healthy, or the only one at a party that’s taking your own wellbeing into consideration, this is going to be a tough few weeks. So don’t do it alone! Have somebody that you can text or call each day and check in daily with your MFP pals.
4. Learn to love the 80/20 rule. If you are going to attend your office and family parties and plan on eating and drinking whatever the hell you want, that means you need to be incredibly diligent in your normal days. No more, “okay just one” which leads to four or five. Instead, aim for great week days – eat great breakfasts before work, bring your lunch in, and cook a great dinner. Then, on weekends or holiday parties, eat what’s available.
5. Eliminate the term “cheat day” or “cheat meal” from your vocabulary. ”Cheat” implies that you’re doing something wrong or immoral and should thus feel ashamed afterward, which I don’t think is true.
GETTING THROUGH A HOLIDAY PARTY
~ Bring something healthy – If you know you’re headed to a party with a bunch of unhealthy foods, BRING something healthy. And healthy doesn’t = sucky.
~ Be okay with being the “weird healthy” one. It’s okay to say no to cake, you know. Nobody is force-choking you to eat it . Use
the age old “sorry, I’m allergic” if you don’t want to hurt somebody’s feeling, or “I just ate, I’ll have some later!” If you’re trying to be strict with your decision making, you can be crafty in how you avoid eating really unhealthy foods.
~ Choose your alcoholic beverages carefully - It can be the difference between a handful of calories and a few hundred calories, which adds up significantly when multiplied by half a dozen cocktails (or a dozen? eep.) throughout the evening. Alternate a glass of water and a drink. Sure, the drinking is unhealthy, but more often than not it’s the 1,000+ calories you eat while drunk that lead to the weight gain.
~ Be awesome the next day - don’t let one night ruin the next few weeks. After all, eating at the party was all part of the plan, right? Check in with your MFP friends. Eat great. Be awesome !
~ minimal exercise – it’s too cold!
~ maximum consumption of unhealthy delicious food and alcoholic beverages – why not!
~ hibernation due to the colder weather and shorter days – I can start January 1st!
Well, I say NOT THIS YEAR !
Building new healthy habits is hard enough when the sun is shining and the weather is beautiful. During this time of year however, you have to factor in crappy weather, shorter days, and a busy holiday schedule. It’s very easy to get sidetracked and overwhelmed, saying things like:
“Meh, I’ll wait til January 1st.” or “Why bother starting now? Thanksgiving is next week!” or “Who cares! It’s a party!”
These types of thoughts are bad news. They allow you to rationalize bad behavior, “you know, because of the holidays.” Soon the problem with making bad decisions gets compounded, you get down on yourself, freak out about all of the weight you’ve gained, yell at yourself for being lazy, and then eat comfort food to make yourself temporarily feel better about the situation.
So, here are some surefire ways to make sure you don’t suck at life during the next few weeks:
1. Half workout is a million times better than no workout - No more of this “meh, I only have 30 minutes, why bother?” Do you realize what you can accomplish in 30 minutes.
2. EVERY MEAL COUNTS! Just because you ate a crappy breakfast this morning does NOT mean the day is ruined. Just because you’re going to eat birthday cake this afternoon does NOT mean you get to say scres it and eat whatever the rest of the day. As soon as you eat ONE bad meal, the next meal becomes the most important meal of the week. One bad meal does not make you gain weight. It’s when that one bad meal is followed up by a week of bad meals that things get ugly realllly quickly. Eat a bad meal and move on !
3. Have a support team to keep you accountable - If you happen to be the only person in your family interested in being healthy, or the only one at a party that’s taking your own wellbeing into consideration, this is going to be a tough few weeks. So don’t do it alone! Have somebody that you can text or call each day and check in daily with your MFP pals.
4. Learn to love the 80/20 rule. If you are going to attend your office and family parties and plan on eating and drinking whatever the hell you want, that means you need to be incredibly diligent in your normal days. No more, “okay just one” which leads to four or five. Instead, aim for great week days – eat great breakfasts before work, bring your lunch in, and cook a great dinner. Then, on weekends or holiday parties, eat what’s available.
5. Eliminate the term “cheat day” or “cheat meal” from your vocabulary. ”Cheat” implies that you’re doing something wrong or immoral and should thus feel ashamed afterward, which I don’t think is true.
GETTING THROUGH A HOLIDAY PARTY
~ Bring something healthy – If you know you’re headed to a party with a bunch of unhealthy foods, BRING something healthy. And healthy doesn’t = sucky.
~ Be okay with being the “weird healthy” one. It’s okay to say no to cake, you know. Nobody is force-choking you to eat it . Use
the age old “sorry, I’m allergic” if you don’t want to hurt somebody’s feeling, or “I just ate, I’ll have some later!” If you’re trying to be strict with your decision making, you can be crafty in how you avoid eating really unhealthy foods.
~ Choose your alcoholic beverages carefully - It can be the difference between a handful of calories and a few hundred calories, which adds up significantly when multiplied by half a dozen cocktails (or a dozen? eep.) throughout the evening. Alternate a glass of water and a drink. Sure, the drinking is unhealthy, but more often than not it’s the 1,000+ calories you eat while drunk that lead to the weight gain.
~ Be awesome the next day - don’t let one night ruin the next few weeks. After all, eating at the party was all part of the plan, right? Check in with your MFP friends. Eat great. Be awesome !
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Replies
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Such great reminders! I am already thinking about my holiday in California for 10 days. I know I will get some exercise in every day. But, how much, I am not sure.0
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Love this! Esspecially the dropping cheat day from your vocabulary, I hate that - moderation is really the key!0
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Thanks, Dot - you always post such great advise and information! All good common sense items, but that we always tend to conveniently forget!
I do want to add one item about the reference to a "cheat day". I agree that the name gives it a negative nod - although for some folks, their physchie finds that a valuable term to help them mentally deal with, and hold on, to their new eating habits. The nutrionist we saw here locally calls for 1 "cheat day" a week - but only as long as you've adhered to your healthy eating plan the other 6 days. His rule of thumb for a cheat day (which I like to call an open, or free day) - eat what you want, anything you want. But maybe eat (or drink) half of want you truly want of that item. That way you don't go overboard, but you get to enjoy those items that you may feel are off-limits during your other on-track days. This process also throws your system off a bit by elevating your calorie count, which can help to keep your metabolism from getting stuck in a rut.
I like a "free" day every now and then, or to use as a planning tool. For me mentally, it lets me know that I can enjoy that special event, or just a comfort food day, without feeling guilty - but also keeping it in it's place, so that it doesn't become a way for me to do it every day!0
