Why I’m Not Dreading the Holiday Weight-Gaining Seasons
Fall time is right around the corner! We are getting excited for the savory soup season, spooky parties, football Sundays and finishing the endless bag of halloween candy. It’s okay! I’ll bounce back and get into my workout routine next month!
Uh oh, we have two Friendsgiving parties to attend and a couple of family Thanksgivings to host…oops.
Well now it’s the Christmas holiday season and my diet will never get back on track! I might as well skip my fitness regimen all together, throw my diet out the window and wait until the New Year. THEN I will be motivated!
Sound familiar? This was the same vicious cycle for me every single year. I would restrict from eating anything “high in fat or high in carbs” and run for an hour on the treadmill to then blow it at a holiday party and eat everything in sight. And somehow, I believed that I would magically turn myself around and carry out a strict diet and workout schedule starting January 1st and never turn back! Even though the New Year can be extremely motivating, the ‘fresh start’ mentality usually doesn’t stick. In fact, 43% of all people expect to fail their New Year Resolutions before February, and almost one out of four quit within the first week of setting their New Year's resolution. Most people quit before the end of January, and only 9% see their resolutions through until succession. Whoof.
But what if I told you that you don’t have to be a ball of anxiety during this holiday season? What if I told you that you can enjoy all the food for the next 3 months?
Here is why I never dread the typical “weight-gain” season. It’s all about perspective and balance. Did you ever think about seeing food as fuel and an energy source for your body and not as the enemy??
Of course, keeping your healthy habits apart of your routine is crucial. Drink your water, get enough sleep, stick with higher protein choices and get your 10,000 steps in. These balanced habits are what maintain your functionality and keep you on track towards a goal. But balance also means enjoying life and food with family and friends...without the guilt. My best advice for this upcoming season is to not restrict at all. I’ll say it again….do not restrict! Because what always happens is you will feel the deprivation, develop intense cravings and binge. Cue the food guilt!
Instead, take advantage of how food fuels your body and gives you strength and energy to live! Take advantage of the calories and put them to good use! During this time, I highly recommend that you up your weight lifting game. Yes, weightlifting might not be your cup of tea, but it is honestly the best way to build muscle. And when we build muscle, our metabolism improves because muscle cells burn more calories, reason being is they require energy to contract and relax. This means that even when you're not moving, muscle cells are burning calories. And start slow! The whole meaning of a balanced life is to be able to create healthy habits that you enjoy and that keep you on track. Start with 1 to 2 sessions per week with light weights or resistance bands, get your feet wet and increase from there. At the end of the day, we are ALL going to have a little weight gain this upcoming holiday season, so how about we make it work in our favor?
