Ah, the holidays.
Many people would argue the last three months are the best time of the year. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year celebrations all bring feelings of togetherness, celebration, and warm fuzzies.
They also bring candy, pie, cookies, hot chocolate, casseroles, and always some sort of new pumpkin concoction with either caffeine or alcohol and loads of calories added in.
Don’t forget the addition of seeing family, spending money on gifts and travel, work parties, and in 2020, the unknown future of how the holidays will even work.
Ah, the holidays.
Pour in a dash of weight-loss plans and maybe we really should put all our efforts into building a time machine.
It’s important to prioritize our health at all times, but that may look different depending on the season we’re in. If someone told you to train for a marathon by running fifteen miles a day every day of the entire year, you would definitely have some reservations about that plan. It’s simply not sustainable, and you would probably end up hating running by the end of it. We know how important it is to take breaks to rest and recuperate too.
With weight loss, it’s a similar concept. There will be periods where you are working hard on your goals and actively losing weight. But it’s important to rest and recuperate as well, in order to give yourself a break and gear up for your next period of hard work.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you’re going to go into the holiday season with ZERO thoughts of moderation and self control.
But it does mean that it may be a good time to find some contentment in a season of maintenance. You may not be losing weight, but the goal is to stay as close to your current weight as possible.
This means that you continue your normal workout routine (this does not adding an extra five mile jog to “burn off” the pie you ate last night).
This means you continue adding fruit, vegetables, and lean protein to each meal.
This means you accept the fact that there will be more treats available, and you can allow yourself a serving of one or two of your favorite treats without guilt or punishment.
Yes, this probably means you will be eating more calories than usual, but that does not mean you will gain weight. During active weight loss, you're usually in a caloric deficit. Now you will be at a level where you are taking in the same number of calories as you are burning. A maintenance stage. It will give your mind and body a break to rest and recuperate, and when January comes along you will go back to your weight loss goals.
The best part is you won’t feel any guilt because you know you’re not failing. You’re planning to maintain your healthy habits and enjoy the holidays.
If you could use some assistance with what this looks like or you struggle to give up the need to constantly track every bite and over exercise to make up for splurging, reach out - I'd love to help. Trust me, there's a better way to live!
Happy Holidays! <3
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