"The holidays make us fat" and other BS

The holidays are a perfect time to focus on fitness.

Really.

The whole over-eating, not exercising thing this time of year is a little bogus. In fact, I'm pretty sure the health club industry pumps the media full of stories about how easy it is to get fat between Halloween and New Year's so their clubs will be bursting with clients January 1.

Okay, not really, but come on!

TV, radio, magazines and social media are flooded this time of year with in-your-face articles and products designed to help keep you from putting on pounds, avoid the flu, reduce holiday stress, maintain your sanity while shopping, keep the peace with family, and deal with a all whole host of other terrifying things we are told to expect this time of year. Read or watch enough and you'll probably think you are doomed to gain weight, get sick, and be so stressed out it will take a miracle to eek even a minimal amount of enjoyment from the season let alone come through flying high with great health and happiness.

Why should that be? Maybe it's just like those other bits of negative self-talk, like "I can't control my eating after 9PM" and "Exercise is so hard" or "I wish I looked better in my jeans".  Okay, that
last one is totally valid.

Let's think about some of the things we usually do to stay healthy:

• Exercise
• Eat well
• Stay hydrated
• Wash our hands
• Get good sleep 
• Spend time with people we like

Pop culture tells us that the holidays are a stressful time filled with overeating, over drinking, long 'to-do' lists and crammed calendars. A terrible time to try and get or stay well.  It's true, we add things to our calendar during the holidays, but our schedules are full year long. We have stress in our lives daily and somehow we find time to do the things we commit to do for our health.

There is NO reason for that to change during this time of year. Maybe we don't prioritize a full hour of sweatiness our normal 4 times a week. And I know more than a few of us will choose to stay up late and enjoy family and friends over our full 8 hours of shut-eye. Does that mean we have to ditch the whole list?

Absolutely not.

Let's ditch that negative message "the holidays are a terrible time to stay fit" instead and try this list:

• Exercise, even 2 minutes of blood pumping squeezed in on the stairs at the mall.
• Eat even better that usual. Including a few holiday treats. The ones you really love. And don't apologize to anyone for saying 'no thank-you' to the ones your co-workers pile onto the break-room table because they needed them out of their houses. And pile the rest of your plate high with naked veggies and lean proteins (I promise you can find them if you look hard enough) at the holiday party
• Drink water. That one is pretty easy.
• Wash your hands. Hey look, another easy one!
• Sleep when you can. Even if it means those Facebook statuses go un-'liked'.
• Make and keep dates with people that make you feel good about yourself. Spending time with friends and family members that support your healthy choices and are living the kind of fitness life you aspire to will help you remember that fitness can be on everyone's holiday list.

We can do this! Keep making good choices and giving your beautiful body what it needs and we'll finish off this year feeling great.

Wishing you wellness this holiday season and always!