Hello dear Shrinkers! How is everyone doing? It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time to hop on the scale and see what’s what. We are in Week 2 of our Get Your sELF Off the Shelf Holiday Wellness Challenge. December is flying by!
How are you handling all the stresses of the holiday season? Are you taking time to do something good and kind for yourself? Are you feeling in control? Or do you feel like the month is flying by and you just can’t catch it, as if you are on the merry go round and trying to reach for that brass ring in the middle, but things are speeding by a bit too fast?
It’s not too late to get a handle on December and a handle on a commitment to avoid a holiday weight gain! There is still time to get this mission accomplished!
Lissa’s post last week summed up all that we have going on here at the Hood to help you stay on track and help you get further down the road of success. Did you sign up for our daily motivational emails? And our private Facebook group? How are you doing on your O’Fitness Tree or 25-miles to Christmas Challenge? Those of you who joined our most recent DietBet, how is that going?
As for me, I started the month off strong with the DietBet and the O’Fitness Tree calendar and then my husband and I took a four-day trip to Chowdahland, also known as Cape Cod. I don’t think I ate a vegetable in those four days. Or a piece of fruit. I was glad that I did do a Leslie Sansone 3- mile YouTube video on my iPad on a rainy day, but there were also two days in a row of zero exercise. I’m ready to finish up December strong, in the same way I sprint at the end of every race I enter, although I know this is not a race and I won’t be at the finish line for a while. I am ready to sprint to the end of the month and give it my all.
Here’s what’s been helping me lately:
- Being overall “more gooder than badder.” I credit Scott Smith of motivationtomove.com for that phrase. Basically, it’s along the lines of thinking ‘if I have a social function to go to tonight, I will be sure to have a healthy breakfast and lunch and make zero trips to the vending machine.” I knew we were going to away for a few days and out of my normal routine, so I ramped up the exercise in the days prior and also laid off alcohol or any happy hour outings. Another example: At a restaurant, a nice cocktail is more of a treat for me than dessert. I never have both. It’s these kinds of “trade offs” that help keep the shock at bay when getting on the scale. I also have been resisting any baked goods bought into the office, knowing that I will be tempted by plenty of that kind of thing at a few holiday parties we are due to attend. I call it my “Party-Only Plan” – meaning, I will enjoy a bite of something at a party (whether it’s dessert or an appetizer) rather than just ‘grazing” in the break room at work.
- Scheduling my exercise. I belong to a community center that has a gym. I don’t use it much (the $10 a year fee was too good to pass up.) I LOVE taking group fitness classes and most of the ones at the community center are smack damn in the middle of the morning. They have very few classes at night. So, lately I’ve been in a groove of just doing exercises on DVDs or YouTube in what I call my “home gym” and what hubby calls the basement. But what’s new for me is setting a specific time for this to take place, 7 p.m. I come home from work and chill out a bit, then I tell myself “time to get ready for your class” and I change into my work out clothes and head to the gym/basement and get going at 7:00. Having a designated spot in the house and a designated time, makes it feel more “real” to me and it honestly has helped me to get it done. Without setting up my 7 p.m. “class” time, I would probably putz around the house taking care of odds and ends and blowing the exercise off. My ultimate goal is to have this same “class” mindset for mornings, to get the workout done before work, but for now I am happy I am sticking to it in the evenings at least. If you work out at home, give the “designated time and space/got to get to my class” idea a try.
What’s been helping you lately? Or what in particular are you struggling with? Let’s hear from you in the comments and remember. We’ve got this! Let’s show December who’s boss!
(Visited 5 times, 1 visits today)