The holiday season is coming into full swing. We have warmed up our “sweet teeth” with Halloween candy, we are warming up our taste buds for our Thanksgiving feast and we are preparing our tummies for all the treats we associate with the time between Thanksgiving and our New Year’s resolutions.
The weather is turning foul and our will power dissolves as the sun sets earlier and earlier. So what are we to do?
First, try to walk as much as possible. Whether it is across the office to deliver messages in person, outside with that sweet hound who so needs some exercise, or parking at the other end of the grocery store lot, remember that every step counts.
Second, bend and then bend again. Put that laundry basket on the ground and bend down to pick up each item that needs to go into the washer. Place your toiletries under the sink and bend down each time you need to use them.
Third, climb those stairs. Don’t park everything that needs to go up at the bottom of the stairs, make a commitment to multiple small trips as often as possible. Let’s tell ourselves that this is not as much an aerobic exercise as it is an effort to protect our backs from carrying loads that are often too heavy for us. Additionally, take lots of trips down with small loads to avoid falling from the weight we often assume we can handle.
Fourth, decide which treat we really want. Savor the delicacies of the season and focus on the company of friends and family. If we try to really treat ourselves in moderation we will be in much better shape at the start of the New Year.
This may not take off lots of pounds during these stressful days, but it may prevent even more pounds from coming on. Also, remember that any movement may justify the treat we so want and more movement may justify just a bit more. Exercise as much self-discipline as we can and treat each day as a new beginning. If we lost ground on a given day let’s not throw in the towel for the rest of the season. Similarly, if we did marvelously one day let’s not give up our gain by celebrating it away. Any minute that special treat is going to come along and we want to have space left in our “treat budget” to enjoy it.