Charity Stewart is posting Mondays in December on fitness. But know that is about so much more than fitness. Caring for our physical health is just the beginning. If you missed the other parts of the series, read them first: Part One and Part Two
FESTIVITIES!
For far too many of us, the Holidays paralyze us.
Rather than be thankful for the opportunity to gather and count blessings, we instead count calories, balance macronutrients… spend precious time worrying whether we’re being too restrictive or not restrictive enough – – – and we lose the holiday.
So I encourage you – Don’t be paralyzed. Don’t restrict so much that you feel left out. Don’t punish your past decision making by not participating in tomorrow. But don’t over-indulge to the point of hating yourself for it either.
First, go into tomorrow with LOVE. For yourself. Don’t go in beating yourself up for poor choices in the past. Don’t go in beating yourself up for what you’re afraid will be the outcome of your choices then. Go into these holidays thankful for whatever progress you have made. Thankful for the goals you’ve set and the permission to partake in them as part of a balanced approach to your overall health.
You can either dread every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Birthday and New Year for the rest of your life. Or you can accept that they’re going to come and that you are going to enjoy them with gratitude and not fear. Stop letting the fear of food and failure rule your life. It’s not even about the FOOD!
So make a plan. Decide that you’re not going to analyze each bit but that you’re not going to eat the whole pie either. Go into the day knowing you’re going to eat the food. You’re going to have a piece of dessert or maybe try a bite of each one. Know that yes, you’re going to eat more that day than most other days! But also know that these holidays are ONE day a year. You’re not going to undo anything by eating a bit more than usual ONE day. It’s the regular days in between that add up.
Share your leftovers, freeze in Tupperware to make easy TV dinners, freeze leftover dessert into individual slices so they’re ready for future days to be enjoyed and not every day for a week after the holiday. But allow yourself the celebration.
Charity Stewart is a married mom of 2 boys and uses her own weight loss journey to motivate others to health. After shedding 85 pounds and gaining a whole lot of confidence, she went back to school and became a certified personal trainer and group instructor. She uses a “whole you” approach to set, reach and maintain lifelong goals. For more information about goal setting, check out her upcoming classes https://www.signmeup.com/site/online-event-registration/97028,
or contact her by e-mail or on Facebook:
www.facebook.com/definingfitnesswithcc