It's the Friday before Christmas and I just sat and read through my clients face book posts. I've been inspired to write this morning because of them. I love face book for that reason. It gives me a peek into their lives this Christmas. I read about their struggles and their desire to stay the course. Let's face it, the holiday season isn't an easy time for people who have decided to lose weight and eat healthy.
I guess I want to give a new perspective on eating healthy through the holidays this morning. I could make a list of the top 10 ways to "stay on your diet," I could give a list of "diet recipes" to take to your holiday parties or I could give one of my motivational talks about what it looks like to "make a decision!" Instead I'm going to give you a new way to look at this wonderful time of year!
Have you ever noticed that thin, healthy people go through the holidays and come out on the other side thin and healthy? It's not because they are staying away from EVERYTHING that's not on their program, it's because they are making healthy choices for the most part and then enjoying a few bites of "sometimes foods." Those are the foods that we don't have every day...or even every week. They are the foods that we should have "sometimes" in our diets. Those sometimes foods show up more often during the holidays!
What would happen if you (who are on a weight loss diet) made sure that you were exercising, drinking water, getting in your important food groups, had a bite or two of those "sometimes foods?" I'll tell you...you'd probably STILL lose weight over the holiday!
But here's what happens! Instead of eating your basic, nutritional foods, you start saying yes to the sometimes foods and no to your healthy foods. You don't have a bite of something yummy, you finish it off! Guilt sets in because you were "off program" and to make matters worse, you feel physically sick as well! That sets in motion more of the same and you throw in the towel! You gain weight over the holidays and have to climb out of that hole after New Years and "start over."
What if you gave yourself permission to take a bite of Aunt Judy's fudge? What if you gave yourself permission to eat the prettiest sugar cookie on the plate? What if you gave yourself permission to eat like a thin, healthy person on Christmas Eve? I'll tell you. You'd feel great, you'd be really proud of your choices and you'd probably lose weight over the holidays!
If I had a list of things to do to stay healthy over the holidays it'd look like this:
Make sure you are eating ALL your program food! Don't miss a meal.
Put cranberries or frozen strawberries with lime in your water and drink a ton of it!
Before you start your holiday cooking/baking, eat a meal!
Don't run out of healthy/program food!
Get outside and MOVE!
When you choose to have a bite of a "sometimes food"...pick the best! Don't waste a calorie on something that isn't GREAT!
GET RID OF LEFTOVERS! Don't let the celebration continue for days!
I know for some of you this perspective will be a relief, for others it will feel stressful! Living in extremes is a similar characteristic of over weight people; it's all or nothing. What if you gave yourself permission to live life in the balance this Christmas?
I'm making sugar cookies today. The sparkly snowflakes are my favorite! I'll be having one with my Christmas Eve dinner.
To you and yours I say Merry Christmas my friends. Have a healthy, balanced, guilt free Christmas!
Always encouraging you,
Letha
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