Holiday Weight Loss Survival

The reality of the arrival of the holidays hit me as I was invited to my first Holiday Party this first week of November. Later that day, the invitations and save the dates came rolling in. While this may sound exciting because parties are fun, for myself and many of you, this means navigating obligatory cocktails, chocolate, cookies, dinners that don't fit in my nutrition plan, and mom's pumpkin pie.

Then there's the major time constrictions due to shopping, gift giving, being the hostess with the mostess, and maintaining the rest of life as it is.

My first response was to begin formulating a plan in my head of the strategies I will have to employ to maintain my fitness goals for this year. Being a fitness professional, I immediately think weight loss strategies and I would like to share mine with you.

See this year is special. I have an actual, solid, goal. It's not weight loss specifically. Weight loss will be the byproduct. It's performance. So every action I take and the quality of my food will effect my achievement of this goal.

So here's my goal, one true pull up. I have not been able to do a pull up in my adult years so that's what I'm going for. Without going off on too much of a tangent, a pull up is one of the best core exercises around. Only second to the push up. But there is more to my story and this goal than meets the eye. Which is why my upcoming holiday survival tips are much different than the ones you'll find online.

My Holiday Weight Loss Survival Strategy number one is: Keep Your Eye On The Prize

To the bystander, having a goal to do a pull up may sound impotent. A pull up by itself is an impotent goal. I mean, will I be less of a person if I don't do a pull up? Will I be judged or ridiculed if I don't? No. But digging deeper will give this pull up so much meaning that the pain I will feel by not doing it will leave me feeling defeated and maybe even depressed.

How will this help you survive your holiday party? We'll dig deeper. My goal to do a pull up is important to me because I turned 40 years old this year. 40 years old is a milestone in our culture. It means I'm middle-aged and over the hill. I say old person things like "Remember when we had to get up to change the channel" and "I used to own that 45″ or "going to McDonald's was a treat for us!" Not cool.

For me, doing a pull up proves that I still have it. It means I am still strong and significant. It means I am stronger than the 20 year old something's that can't do a pull up. Why is this important to me? I want to be so strong that I can pick up and summit Mt. Kilimanjaro for my 70th birthday. I want to set a great example for my son as someone who enjoys life and be known as the crazy aunt who sets the woman's bench press record at age 85. I want to do a pull up because it will make me feel significant, admired, and loved.

Will this keep me from over indulging at each of my parties? You bet. When I'm asked if I want a third glass of wine when my limit for the party is just two, I will visualize Mt. Kilimanjaro, smile, and say, "I'm doing great, none for me right now."

Now it's your turn. Set a goal for yourself for this holiday season. You may want to lose 10 lbs before January 1st, or exercise 3 times a week without fail, maybe you want to stick to one dessert for each party. Whatever your goal, I encourage you to dig deeper and find the juicy, most potent reason behind achieving this goal. Maybe you'll feel the way I do and allow reasons and feelings such as significance, admiration, and love hold more importance than over indulging.

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