Holidays are On the Way

photo by master phillip

If you enjoy The Fit Club, click these links to receive regular updates via RSS or via email.

All of the articles that I've been reading on the Internet for the past few weeks have been discussing ways to handle the Thanksgiving holiday, carefully examining which foods are best to eat and which foods are forbidden. Here are some of the well-meaning suggestions that I've read...if you're into this sort of thing:

• Eat only the breast meat with no skin.
• Have a slice of that pumpkin pie, but only eat the filling. Leave the crust.
• Make those mashed potatoes with skim milk and no butter.
• Skip the pecan pie, it's got 500 calories per slice.
• Skip the cranberry sauce, it's just sugar.

Wow. Some holiday, huh. If you've read any of my posts in the past, you know that I'm definitely a proponent of eating healthy. But I'm also of the opinion that holidays and special occasions should be just that...special. If you want spend the holiday counting calories, knock yourself out. I won't fight you for that extra helping of steamed veggies, if you let me have your piece of the pumpkin pie.

Priorities

It doesn't matter what you do for 10 days out of the year, i.e. holidays, birthdays, anniversaries. What really matters is the other 50 weeks of the year. I think it's a case of mistaken priorities to freak out over the holidays, but ignore the remainder of the year. Most people mistakenly believe that they gain 10 pounds over the holiday season. The reality is that those who do gain weight, gain closer to 1.5 pounds over the end of the year holiday season. Not great, but not 10 pounds, either. When you step on the scale on January 1st and find yourself 10 pounds heavier than last year, most of that came from the first 10 months of the year, not the last two.

Pick 4 days during the months of November, December, and January (i.e. Thanksgiving, Christmas party, Christmas, New Years, etc.) and eat whatever you would like. Just don't use the holiday season as an excuse to lose control for 3 months and eat like crazy all day, every day.

Whatever you decide, remember to enjoy the holidays.

Related Posts:

• Make yourself a slave to good habits!
• Strength Training: What you need to know
• Five not-so-painless changes