We are still a couple of months away from the holiday season but now is the best time to start planning in order to avoid the stress and time constraints that may undermine your year’s worth of hard work!
Begin by listing all your holiday stressers then come up with simple solutions for each. My rule of thumb is “keep it simple.”
- Holiday shopping: I no longer shop, I send checks. While many say this is impersonal I assure you no one has ever returned my gift and the bonus is that it saves me time, money and my sanity! If you must shop then try online shopping, or purchase your gifts and decorations before the holiday rush.
- Holiday Parties: Another stresser and healthy-lifestyle-sabotager are the endless social commitments. I limit how many parties I will attend during the season to one a week. If there are two that week and I am conflicted, I choose the one I was invited to first. I also strategize my eating. For cocktail parties I will eat a light dinner first so that I am not starving and then attend the party and graze on the healthier appetizers. If it is a dinner party, I will apply my usual weight management plan.
- Family gatherings: These can be the most challenging because we are already stressed out and now have to deal with our well-intentioned family members trying to force feed us. I have successfully dealt with this for several years now by taking on the sampling approach. I place a small serving of each item on my plate then eat, nibble or discard accordingly.
- Be unapologetic and firm about your time. By taking control of your schedule you will be able to eat properly, continue your exercise routine and avoid all the stress that comes with dealing with the madness the holidays are known for.
If you start planning now, you will have holiday-proofed the upcoming season and you just might enjoy a happy and healthy holiday season!
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