Keeping It Together During the Holidays

Last day to get in on the $75.00 to Pampered Chef Giveaway!  Enter here.

We’ve done it a million times:

November hits and days get colder, shorter and more rushed. The workouts start getting lost in the shuffle along with the healthy snacks.   By December, you're eating dinner from a goodie plate your neighbor gave you and the weights are a distant memory.

Just in case you're on the fence, let's take a look at the case for letting it all go and blowing it or keeping it together over the holidays.

The case for letting it all go:

This was our butter at last year's Arizona Thanksgiving.
We were sweating through our shirts.

The Food
Oh man, where do I begin? The homemade rolls, stuffing, butter, bacon, and pie tables for starters.  Then, without coming up for air, we are faced with hand dipped chocolates, plates of green wreaths made from corn flakes and marshmallows, gingerbread houses, shortbread cookies, huge tins of carmel popcorn, and the greatest Christmas tree sugar cookies on the planet.

I have 56 hours of this view coming up.

The Stress
Stress is sky high during the next 7-8 weeks. Some of us have some serious traveling ahead. The gift list is longer than last year and of course money is tighter than last year. Deadlines at work are looming.  Then of course, the cherry on top is full of a few long lasting viruses and rolled in bacteria.  Lovely.

Time
There is simply too much to fit in such a short amount of time. The church parties, work parties, school parties, gifts for neighbors and friends, music programs to see, a matinee of the Nutcracker, a few sports tournaments for the teenager, caroling, shopping, and wrapping.  And whom has to get all this done?  Take one look in the mirror. You’re lookin’ at her, sister.

Whew! It sounds like we should all just pack up the the Asiscs and head to the nearest Dunkin' Donuts. I mean, let's be realistic, right?

Just hear me out...

My simple case for “keeping it together”:

We will be able to handle all of the above mentioned -- the food, the stress, the time constraints -- a million times better.

A daily dose of exercise will help us keep our heads above water and give us that boost of energy we desperately need for the  next few months.

Eating well will help cut down on cravings and help us make better food choices.

We sleep better because our body has worked hard.  Plus, the stomach isn’t doing back flips like it would if we would have eaten 6 of those cinnamon rolls like last year.

And for some weird reason I cannot explain, when I take the time to eat right and keep my workouts up -- I seem to have more time. It somehow manufactures time.  How does that happen?  Odd, I know. I tend to think I’m more productive and hit the ground running thanks to sticking with the healthy habits.

Remember:  

This is who we are and not just something we are doing.  

That equates to all 12 months out of the year.

My #1 argument for trying and “keeping it together” over the holidays:

If you can do this during the holidays, you can do this ANYTIME.

So, gals.  Let's buckle down and stick with the schedule.  It will pay off BIG TIME come January 1st, I promise :)

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