Staying on target thru the holidays...

[tygab]

We're now in the downward slide thru the holidays - for those in North America, tomorrow many of us will have coworkers or will ourselves be bringing in left over Halloween candy (not sure how it's observed in other countries, if at all) to put at the desk, or in a kitchen or common area. Just as you're getting over the temptation (and availability) of candy, comes Thanksgiving. If yours is anything like my family, the food will go on for days - with that many people around there's almost always food out and someone to sit down and snack with. Of course, Thanksgiving itself will create many leftovers, and items like breads, cookies and so on will once again arrive at the office.

And then come the cookies and candy canes and Channukah gelt and winter holiday parties and more big family gathering meals...

In the meanwhile, it gets colder, and darker, and we may find it hard to find time or motivation to stick with our programs. We fly/drive to other cities to visit relatives, stay in other homes, or maybe have guests at our own. Maybe there's no one to exercise with, no gym to go to, and most likely, not enough time!

Along comes January 2 and we wonder where it all went, and realize we have been derailed from our best intentions!

So, before we're in the thick of things, do any of you have strategies to share? I know as someone who was not exercising regularly before this year, I would look at this time of year as hunkering down for winter with the mindset that I could go out in the spring and regain whatever I was losing by not being outdoors. And I was the typical weekend warrior in summer months - happy to go hiking, kayaking, camping, but no regular exercise. In part, going out in the spring to 'get fit' would become a seemingly insurmountable challenge because I'd done nothing all winter, and it was a vicious cycle.

More often than not, I'd start an exercise plan and abandon it after a few weeks, due to the challenge, or a cold, or a business trip. Opting for weekend warriordom instead (and not too aerobically taxing at that) was ok, and with my young(er) age the risks of injury seemed low.

Last year was possibly the least active winter I've had followed with finally the time, space, and need to get fit but that's a topic for a different day...

This year, I need to break the habit and not fall back into the abyss. I have made too many gains to slide into prior years' patterns. I do think I have the motivation that I lacked before, with my setting goals & choosing events for 2007 imminent. But still, there's a part of me that worries... here we go again...

[Veronica]

At parties and big dinners I'm very picky and try to eat only the things that are holiday specific. I don't really need a dinner roll... I can have that any old time. But stuffing! That's a once year thing for us. Who needs a cookie when there's pumpkin pie?!

Exercise wise - I have a monthly mileage goal that forces me to get out on the bike. I've been a little lazy the last few days because I've exceeded October's goal by a bunch.

But starting tomorrow... I need to get my butt on the bike since my goal is to ride 406 miles in November. And they have to be outside miles.

Our families are all on the East Coast so that makes it a little easier.

V.

[CyclChyk]

Some of the girls I work with know I am on a health kick to drop weight, lower my BP and my cholesterol, and look out for my best interest. They do this by promptly removing any candy/treats I may be given (for themselves of course), sassing me if I even entertain the idea of eating a Krispy Kreme donut (boston cremes are my favorite and we have insurance agents who bring us 2 dozen donuts every tuesday. I am reduced to sniffing the box ). This solves my problem of holiday junk.

My family here is small and disfunctional so we never have big special dinners. Plus my cooking is horrible. Great with wings; that's about it. So we just have the normal everyday stuff. No need to worry there. (My DH's family in Maine goes all out..... sigh.....)

As far as parties go, I am going to make absolutely certain that I eat PRIOR to going. This way if I eat anything while I am there it will be select nibbles as my appetite will be sated from my earlier meal.

I'll let you know in January how well it works out for me.

[mimitabby]

At thanksgiving, since I detest the feeling of being stuffed, and I want to try EVERYTHING, i take little tiny tiny tiny servings of everything. I watch others pile stuff up on their plates. If i am still hungry (probably not, i've been eating olives and crackers all afternoon) i have some more of just the one or two things that I thought were my favorites.

[Offthegrid]

I get weak at the knees for anything pumpkin. That said, I may limit myself to three slices this Thanksgiving.

In all seriousness, I'll probably try to fill half my plate with salad and veggies, have a reasonably sized piece of turkey and a dinner roll (my aunt makes them so yummy!).

Followed by, of course, the three slices of pumpkin pie of different varieties.

Fortunately, being single and not doing any cooking, I won't have leftovers to contend with.

[light_sabe_r]

Halloween's never been big here... You get the occassional trick or treater (and When I say that I mean every 2-3 years we got one... We were never prepared anyway) We don't have thanksgiving here either...

It's CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR'S and Australia dy that you have to worry about down here. And if you're in year 12, SCHOOLIES happens before that...

So yeah. SCHOOLIES WEEK, Then a whole heap of Christmas Parties leading up until Christmas and Boxing day, then New Years Eve, New year's Day and then three weeks later, Australia Day. So effectivly 2 months of drinking, bbq, stuffing yourself silly, Beaches, Sunshine and did I mention drinking???