“The Holidays” are a myth

Why are people so amazed when I tell them I’m working to lose weight during “the holidays”? Between the end of October and the middle of January, in America, there are two to four actual holidays, depending on your traditions. For some reason, people have come to believe that this is a ten week period of spending too much, being lazy, and eating terribly.

“I can’t do that because it’s the holidays!”

“Dieting during the holidays is so hard!”

Lies and excuses.

It starts before Halloween; we all know what Halloween means. Huge amounts of candy and, if you’re in your 20s (generally), you’re going to go drink as much booze as you can hold. Four weeks later, give or take, there’s Thanksgiving where you have to remember to wear pants with an elastic waistband. Finally, a few weeks after that, is whatever winter holiday you celebrate. Of course, you’ve got New Year’s Eve which is for getting trashed and acting like a fool while wearing silly hats.

That’s it, really. Sure, you may have multiple celebrations to go to over a weekend but, really, you’re still probably only looking at a maximum of five days. Out of TEN WEEKS. Let that roll around for a minute.

What do people do between those days? What do YOU do between those days? Take a critical look at what you’re doing and see if it’s helping you get what you want. “The holidays” get blamed for all kinds of things.

• Eating and drinking too much? The holidays.
• Can’t go somewhere you want to go? Spent all your money on other things because it’s the holidays.
• Credit card balances going the wrong direction? Spent all your money and then some because it’s the holidays.
• Don’t have time for your hobbies? Everything’s so busy during the holidays.

There are still the same number of hours in a week and the same number of weeks in a year. You’re probably broke because you didn’t plan ahead. You’re probably out of time because you’re choosing to do other things instead.

If you look critically and find you’re completely satisfied with what you’re doing, you are ahead of damn near everyone around you. If you’re not, think about what you can do to change course and start moving toward what you want. If it isn’t helping you, don’t do it. I’m not saying it’ll be easy. You’ll probably hate it, at least at first. It gets easier over time and the long term gain is worth the short term sacrifices.

The great thing about all of this is that you get to make the decisions. It’s your choice which means it’s within your control. The realization that you have control over most (if not all) of your own life is the best gift you’ll ever give yourself.