Motivation
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The holidays to-do lists are in full swing. How are you doing managing it all? Are you finding time for your fitness? Are you keeping your health a priority?
It's not easy to do. We all have such busy, hectic lives that it's a challenge to fit in time to exercise, cook, check calorie contents, and all the other things associated with living an active, healthy life. Add Christmas on top of that and it can feel like too much.
There are a couple truths I hang onto during the holidays. The first is if I keep exercising, everything is going to be OK. Exercise seems to be a stabilizing factor for me when it comes to stress and eating. I tend to have much more control over my food choices if I get in a good workout that day. Maybe it is because I feel the effects of that hard work and don't want to wipe it out by overeating party food.
The second is exercise makes me feel less stressed. It may feel like there just isn't 30 minutes in your day for a workout, but I find it is worth getting up earlier or saying no to something else to get that time to myself. It's only two weeks, not forever. Set the alarm clock a little earlier. Get up and get it over with. Trust me, you will be amazed at how much more you get done if you start your day like that.
Third and most important, I remember how I feel about myself when I eat badly over the holidays. I have done it enough times for the memory to be very clear. I refuse to ever go through another first week of January feeling like I need to go on a diet, start drinking shakes, taking pills, counting points, get liposuction or any other temptation to feel better. I know how to feel better. I just have to do it.
In a few short weeks, the holidays will be over and we will be hit with an onslaught of diet marketing that will be hard to resist. 30 pounds in 30 days! The new invention that burns fat without any work at all! Eat chocolate, lose weight! If we let ourselves go with a free pass to eat anything and skip workouts, we're going to end up in a vulnerable place emotionally where these lies sound so good.
What I want for us is to stay strong and focused through the rest of the year. Remember the truth. Health and fitness requires hard work, perseverance, patience, and commitment. There is no quick fix. Diets don't work or we'd all be thin by now! (How many diets have you gone on in your lifetime?) It is important to come out of the holiday season physically and mentally strong so we don't give in to lies. Haven't we all done enough of that? I know I have. I believe we can all break the destructive cycle and do thing differently this year.
Remember the truth. Expose the lies. Now get moving.
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