...now all I have to do is get Jim to download them into the PC and they're done!
I just read something really great that I wanted to share with y'all. One of the regulars on L&S, Jeremy, has a free newsletter that I just subscribed to, since I find his posts so informative. He wrote a really great article in it about motivation during the holidays. Here it is:
Quote:
==MOTIVATION==
--"The Holiday Seasons" by Jeremy Likness, CFT
The time for candy, cake, and big feasts is drawing near. This month, many
families in the United States will celebrate Halloween by wandering through
their neighborhoods and stocking up on candy. Thanksgiving is famous for its
large feasts, and Christmas means cookies and eggnog. So it's time to hang
fitness in the closet, until we can pull back off the rack with a New Year's
Resolution, right? Wrong!
Last year, to prove a point, I dropped from 10% body fat to 7% body fat during
the holidays. I did this is demonstrate not only the fact that you do NOT have
to gain weight during the holidays, but that you can lose fat AND enjoy your
holiday treats.
I helped my son eat his Halloween candy. I had an enormous Thanksgiving Day
feast. I even ate the chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter blossoms, and fudge
cookies that my mother brought from Florida, while washing them down with
eggnog.
My mentor, David Greenwalt of "The Power Store" writes in his book, "The Leanness Lifestyle" that many people suffer from the
either/or syndrome. He couldn't be more correct. "Either I eat EVERYTHING
throughout the holidays, OR I suffer and don't eat at all." What about some
gray area in between?
The trick is to balance your holiday eating engagements with proper nutrition
and activity. No one feels like going on a nice, long jog after a Thanksgiving
"feast", but what about the morning after? And what about those left-overs -
there is nothing wrong with turkey breast! Cookies? Eat 'em that day, then save
them for your next "splurge meal", throw 'em out, or, better yet, give them away
to someone else who doesn't care!
Halloween candy was easy - I saved it for my "splurge meal" - the one of two to
three meals I allow myself each week to eat anything that I want to. Thanksgiving
also fell under that category. What I paid close attention to, however, was
making sure to balance the hefty feasts with leaner, lighter meals. The day
AFTER Thanksgiving, I might have had a turkey breast sandwich, then several
meals with chicken, tuna, or other lean proteins, and a piece of fruit with
some nice, leafy green vegetables. By eating "light" the day after, and "heavy"
the day before, I allowed my AVERAGE calories to remain "sane".
I took the same approach with Christmas. Cookies and eggnog were typically
timed to coincide with heavy resistance training workouts - sometimes they
served as a "post-workout shake". Again, if I found myself getting carried away,
I would have another "light" day to balance things out, and maybe even go on
an extra-long walk or run.
My final word for the holidays is this: you don't HAVE to eat EVERYTHING! Who
made the rule that you have to leave these "feasts" feeling STUFFED? I certainly
don't, and I'm happy for that. Sure, sample everything, but be reasonable. Since
there are typically a million dishes on the table, a few spoonfuls of each
should suffice. Enjoy a little bit of everything - show everyone around you that
you can enjoy your holidays and stay fit at the same time - but also prove to
them that you DON'T need that second or third plate! Why not enjoy the first
plate, then push it aside and rest comfortably until the pumpkin pie and coffee
comes around?
Enjoy the holidays, but don't let them get the best of you!
I think this applies not only to those of us on BFL, but to anyone who is struggling with their weight. We all know that the holidays are the BIG time to pack on the bodyfat. Just the combination of cold weather (bring out those heavy sweaters!) and all the cookies, cakes, etc. can really do a number on me. Who doesn't feel totally miserable come January with all that extra lard on their butt, thighs, and tummy?
For me, THIS holiday is going to be different. I'm not going to stuff myself until I get sick, then shovel in some more. I am going to stay COMMITTED to making myself a better person both inside AND out. Anybody care to join me?
It was so difficult to live with.
