So there's this notion that we will inevitably gain weight over the holidays. And, on the surface, it makes perfect sense! There's lots of treats to be had, family celebrations, work parties, etc.
But, here's the thing, I've seen so many people who easily gain 10-15 pounds over this 5 week span. That means they are eating an EXTRA 35,000-52,500 calories, in addition to the regular daily calories they consume.
News Flash: You are NOT exposed to those many treats at a few Christmas parties spread out over a month!
Here's the real problem....we develop this "to heck with it" mentality. "It's the Holidays." "You only live once." "I'll start back on New Years."
The problem is that, when we start back on New Years, we're now 10-15 pounds heavier and, more importantly, that much more chemically out of balance than we were just a couple short months ago! Everything will feel harder! Not to mention that we will spend months trying to lose what we gained in weeks.
It doesn't have to be that way!
There is absolutely no excuse not to eat healthy during our regular, non-Christmas-party meals. There is barely ever a reason to skip workouts for an entire month. In fact, during what can be the most stressful time of the year....workouts could be more helpful than ever!
I haven't gained during the holidays in ten years now. I have even lost some years.
Why?
Because I finally ditched that "all or nothing" mentality in my early 30s. I even work out on Christmas morning! And here's the kicker...I have never attended a holiday function and not ate what I wanted! It IS possible to have the best of both worlds. When I know I'm attending a function with tasty food, I work out super hard that morning (to clear out my glycogen stores), I extend my fasting window (if you don't know about fasting yet, dig in and change your world) and I eat extra healthy and clean the days before and after my big holiday throw downs.
Now, if you're still a member of the "calories in vs. calories out" club, I encourage you to drop out of that club today! I promise you, 2000 calories of clean, healthy, detoxifying food has a waaaaay different effect on your body than 2000 calories of toxic, food-like products. And I'm not just talking about for your health, I'm talking about how your body decides to store or burn fat and where it does so (your belly loves to store that toxic fat on itself when you're eating icky foods).
So basically this all comes down to balance. If you're indulging, INDULGE!! Enjoy every morsel of tasty food and every sip of wine! But just remember that there's no such thing as a free lunch. You owe it to yourself and your body to clean things up the rest of the time and allow some healing, damage control to take place.
And, oh yeah, don't forget to get a good night's sleep!
Tammi
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