Hey everyone!  Happy Monday!  Hope you had a great weekend.  I’m guessing many of you are busy like us with holiday parties, entertaining and family gatherings….with plenty more to come!  Now I’m not sure how today’s blog is going to go over, but I just want to be honest. 

Call me blunt, but sometimes I don’t like to sugar coat things.  Reality checks are needed for all of us sometimes, including myself.  Typically, how I like to operate, is to get straight to the point.  But I do realize that not everyone feels the same, and for some, its easier to be guided versus told. 

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When I was thinking about what to write about over the holidays, I was thinking about how many health & fitness resources out there gives tips on how to not gain weight over the holidays.  When I looked at most of the material out there, I realized it was all common sense, and I’m sure you all agree. I’m sure you’ve all seen something on “avoiding the holiday pounds” and tips such as “stick to the veggie tray at holiday parties–duh!!”  But today, I’m talking more about the ‘thought process’ around the holidays when it comes to food.

The holidays can be a time of major food enjoyment and dare I say, gluttony.  Christmas reminds us of our childhoods, and don’t we all have fond memories of xmas goodies traditions passed down from generation to generation.  In society, we’re giving a green light to eat whatever we want over the holidays and then start “the diet” in the new year. 

While this is ok for some, for others the cycle just continues into the new year.  What I don’t get is when people eat crap the whole holiday season (or the whole year), then come up with some weak new years “weight loss” resolution every single January.  But the worst of it is, this new committment lasts only a couple months (if that).  You see it at the gym every January.  Its super busy until Feb-March, then the momentum is lost.

If you’ve talked to anyone that’s been successful at becoming fit, it was never a crummy new years resolution that was the starting point. It was a major life event, hitting rock bottom or finally having an “AH HA” moment.  They’ve reached a point where they’ve finally had enough and they’re ready to make a change.  Its never that they’ve decided they should have a new years resolution because its what everyone else is doing.  It is on their own terms.

I’m not going to suggest you eat plain chicken and broccoli on xmas, because by ALL MEANS I believe in balance, but it just bothers me when people trying to lose weight are constantly putting themselves in situations where it would be almost impossible to resist temptation.

For example: There are two types of bakers out there.  One can whip up an array of goodies and never eat what they make.  They cook for enjoyment and just enjoy the process of making it.  The second type of baker, bakes because they want to eat what they make.  Unfortunately, I’m the second type, so I seriously have to limit the amount of baking I do. I know that I have an issue of overeating when I bake, so I make small batches and don’t keep it around after entertaining, or send it home with people.  Once its out of the house and gone, I’m ok, but if its there, I know its there and I think about it constantly!  Call it a mind game, call it whatever you want, but for me its a recipe for a disaster. 

For people that complain that its always around at the office, or other places where they are going, if you KNOW (from in the past) that you can’t stop at just a few treats, then why start eating them to begin with?  Don’t feel pressured to eat all that stuff if you don’t want to.  You have a right to make your own choices. 

People will ask me how I was able to restrict my diet to do fitness competitions and they aren’t sure if they could do it because they have bad willpower. In my opinion, its not about willpower at all, its about decisions and actions.  I was not going to have cookies and treats sitting around when I was trying to reach a goal.  I don’t understand why anyone would, it just puts you in a position to fail.  This goes for people just trying to lose a few pounds too, not necessarily entering a fitness competition.

So when you’re eating over the holidays, ask yourself this: You know what’s healthy and you know what isn’t.  Tame the beast and and don’t give yourself a free ticket to gorge.  Start practicing good habits, make small changes.  Bake less, make healthier options, give leftover food to the needy.  If shortbread is your nemisis, have a few cookies, then move on and don’t have it around.  I know I don’t like my enemies staring me in the face everyday!!

If you are planning on making some new years resolutions, I am all for it….so long as you have a detailed goal and are willing to take the steps to reach it.  I recently took a workshop on goal setting and I’ll be having some follow up sessions on how to actually set realistic goals and how to record them.  Its also known as making S-M-A-R-T goals.

Doing this, statiscally speaking, you are 70% more likely to reaching your goals.

The number 1 reason why people don’t set goals is because they don’t want to fail.  But, if you set up your goals properly, you have a much better chance at being successful.  I will gladly share more information I learn in the coming weeks.  For now, I’ll leave you with this quote:

“Success seems to be connected with action.  Successful people keep moving.  They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.” – Conrad Hilton

Thoughts?  Leave them in the comments below.

xo Kristine