Strategize For the Holidays
Rachel Cosgrove
The holidays are here and you may be running around getting everything ready and making sure everyone else is taken care of. Stop and take a deep breathe and make sure you are taking a few moments for yourself each day.
Last month at my book launch party we had a discussion on surviving the holidays and we approached it as a strategy session. Having strategies is key this time of year. The key take aways from this seminar-
1. Think ahead the next couple weeks through the holidays. What splurges should you absolutely plan on? We actually as a group pulled out a calendar and figured out that we had 43 days left(this was before Thanksgiving) to get through the holidays. At 5 meals a day, that is 215 meals which meant we had 21.5 meals over the next 7 weeks that we can splurge on and still see our body change. So over the holidays one of the strategies is instead of looking at a week at a time, look at the next couple weeks and think ahead. We went through the calendar and put an X on each meal we knew we needed to plan a splurge. We put two X's on Thanksgiving and an X the day before and an X the day after. Then we put 8 X's for either each night of Hannukah or to use over Christmas eve and Christmas day since for most people 5 X's on Christmas day is not unheard of and having 3 on Christmas Eve wouldn't be out of the question. We put an X on one day in December as a baking day and we put an X on every Saturday night in December. This still left us with about 3 X's to use how we choose and we decided to keep them in our back pocket for those unexpected occasions that pop up over the holidays.
Bottom Line- You can enjoy every food you love, every experience you want to have and everything about the holidays and not completely blow it. Planning ahead is the key and having a strategy. Pull out your journal or calendar and put your X's in place now and commit to sticking to splurging where there is an X and otherwise eating clean, foods that make you feel good 90% of the time.
For Example- We have 22 days left in December. If you eat 5 meals a day, 7 days a week(which you should be) then you have 110 meals, which means you have 11 meals to splurge. Make your plans now to splurge when you will enjoy it most and the rest of the time eat food that makes you feel fabulous- lean protein, fruits and veggies. Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy your splurges guilt free!
2. Most people go into black and white thinking, on or off, good or bad....or maybe this sounds familiar, "I may as well not even try and just start in January." DO NOT DO THIS! You will be sorry when you have an extra 5-10 pounds to drop in January. Instead plan ahead by using the above strategy and come out of the holidays feeling fabulous at your New Years Eve party! Remember you want to be the BITCH(Be Inspiring Totally Confident and Hot) this year at your New Year's Party, don't you? Be Inspiring Totally Confident and Hot!
3. Don't drop your workouts this time of year. The only reason you can have 21 splurges and still change your body is because you are consistent with your workouts and keeping your metabolism revving. Make a commitment to get to the gym at least twice a week and I would recommend getting it done early before anything else gets in the way.
Remember - It isn't what you eat between Christmas and New Years, it's what you eat between New Years and Christmas!
Have a Happy Holidays Everyone!
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