It’s that time of the year: Time to Get Rid of the Holiday Weight Gain

You work hard all year long. From early winter through fall, you’re sometime up before the sun, pulling on sneakers and layers for a morning run. At night, barbells call your name as everyone else from the office goes out for Happy Hour. You eat lean protein for every meal, get your vegetables in copious amounts, and never enter the center aisles at a grocery store. You are an example to your friends and family.

But then along comes December. No, scratch that. Along comes November. It’s Thanksgiving – Where to get the turkey? What sides? Who is bringing wine? How much? Starting that week, and ending on New Year’s Day, what do we eat and when are we eating it becomes a central point of our lives: the holiday weight gain!

And then, after work, comes the round of holiday parties. Yours, your spouses’, your in laws and your neighbors, both from the old neighborhood and the new. You want to be good but you want to be convivial too, so you have a drink and then two, and a plate of chicken wings and a plate of cookies too. It’s not a lot, but it’s a lot for Tuesday night.

You’re still running in the morning. You’re still pumping weights most nights. But you know there’s a price to pay this time of the year and it’s paid in pounds.

But you know what? That’s okay…

This is your life and your life is your work, your family, your friends, your health. But it’s also a life built for celebration and laughter and experiences and food! Know that this time of a year, you will eat things you normally wouldn’t, you’ll drink eggnog on a school night, you may miss a CrossFit class because of your uncle’s party. Don’t mentally beat yourself up about it.

I tell my clients: look at it this way. You will gain a few pounds. Except it.

January it’s here and we redouble our efforts!