Holiday Joy or OY?
Happy Holidays to All!
The season is here. We are excited, yet I’ll state it clearly, our excitement is often laced with a lot of anxiety. How many of us think about or dread the ‘Holiday 10’? OY!
Some of us brood about how we will get ourselves through the season. We have sudden urges to set lofty goals to keep ourselves from gaining extra weight. But why ruin the holiday spirit by setting a cap on the joy before the season really kicks in?
The Gift of Self Love
I’d love for you to consider this: Let’s give ourselves a gift. YES, really. The gift of being super mindful and loving to ourselves. This is not typical behavior for most of us, especially during this giving season. Our thoughts are oriented towards giving to everyone else, which is beautiful and truly a mindset of grace. However, that does not have to mean setting ourselves aside or getting run over.
What can you do to truly thrive rather than barely survive the crazies that we all experience during the holiday time while maintaining a reasonable body weight and image? How can we keep feeling good about ourselves while celebrating the season with friends, family and loved ones?
Before setting a goal, ask yourself if it is reasonable during this time of year to set a goal of weight loss? Or, are you just setting yourself up for failure?? If you miss the goal, how will your self-esteem be affected by not achieving your target?
Consider this instead: Take this as the time of the year that you keep in line with the giving season - you are going to ‘gift’ yourself. You are going to actually give yourself something you can truly, proudly accomplish by setting a goal that works well for you.
Adjust Your Expectations
How about feeling good about your body by maintaining your splendid physique as is, throughout the season, so you start out the New Year feeling fabulous and ready to take on the next greatest goal. Doesn’t this sound thoughtful and caring rather than starting the New Year from a place of deficit? You know what this looks like:
You set a lofty goal of fitting into a sleek dress or your stylin’ tux for a New Year’s party. Then, two days before the event, you try on your outfit only to discover it doesn’t fit well. Eek, you feel you’ve got to pour yourself into the outfit, worrying you won’t be able to sit or move, let alone breathe. So instead of enjoying the evening, you spend the whole New Year’s party hearing your inner voice remind you of your ‘failure’.
Or worse, it doesn’t fit at all, so you make an excuse and miss the opportunity to enjoy a celebratory evening with close friends/family.
Please don’t do this. Instead, resolve to feel good wearing what’s realistic without setting your sights on clothes that are unrealistic, the pants which may never fit or the dress which is too tight. Instead grant yourself permission to feel good in what you have in the closet which fits well NOW. You can always snazz it up with a few extra shiny doo-dahs, but in the meantime, you can breathe with joy knowing you don’t have to starve or create a cycle of punishment throughout the holidays.
This, however, is not the excuse you’ve been waiting for to over-indulge, rather it’s to give yourself the opportunity to savor the holidays, joyfully, from your heart.
How? Give yourself the good grace to enjoy a bit of a treat on occasion. When there is a specialty food or traditional dish you relish, have some. It needn’t be a huge serving to give you the sensation you desire. Remember, be sure to put your treat or your meal on a small plate, take time to smell and see the food. Be sure to chew, taste and savor – no punishment allowed, only joy.
Treat Yo-Self to Measured Indulgence
Do this in lieu of ‘saving up’ for a one-time, go all out, eat everything in sight night out. Your body will thank you and your mind will be calmer, knowing you are not being punished. You are being present and enjoying!
This holiday season, do give yourself the greatest gift of self-care. You deserve this.
MERRY HAPPY HEALTHY HOLIDAYS to all!