3 Holiday Weight Loss Excuses to Avoid

When the holiday season begins to roll around it gets much easier to lose sight of your goals and stop working towards your diet, but that’s a huge mistake! Generally from mid October to mid January “the holidays” are whopping 2-3 months and that’s a whole quarter of the year. If you’re working hard to lose weight the rest of the year it’s a huge waste to throw it all away for just a few months of snacks. So many people end up gaining weight during the holidays and then when January comes around they find themselves further behind than they were before. It doesn’t feel good to lose that progress and it’s not going to help you on your path to being healthier. I’m not saying you can’t let up, you should definitely enjoy the holidays and your favorite holiday treats, but don’t ruin all of your hard work by ignoring your weight loss goals through the holidays. Here are three of the most common holiday weight loss excuses to look for so you can watch to make sure you aren’t trying to use them.

1. “The holidays only come once a year. I might as well just enjoy myself.” I’ve already mentioned this. Yes, the holidays only come once a year but they do come every year. A better option would be, “Christmas only comes once a year.” Enjoy that Christmas feast. Eat your heart out. Don’t use the holidays as an excuse to binge for weeks (or months) on end. A holiday is a special occasion. THE holidays is a period of time.
2. “It’s too cold outside to exercise.” Trust me I’m right there with you. I hate the cold! So.. instead of my nice long walks around the Charles, I take all my workouts inside. Exercise is more important than ever during a time of year where you’re likely going to be overindulging more often. Try an indoor workout video, run up and down stairs, dance along to your favorite music. It doesn’t need to be structured, just get moving. Spend 30 minutes moving your body enough to get your heart pumping, that’s something you can do without even leaving the house. “It’s too cold” is just an excuse to get out of doing the healthy thing.
3. I can’t say no to the host/hostess/family member or they’ll be upset.” We all have those friends/relatives who are “food pushers” They ones who have their “signature” dish that you can’t not eat without hurting their feelings OR the ones who no matter how many times you say no think we’ll always keep presenting more and more food options. This can be tough. It’s not easy to turn someone down when they’re offering you kindness. Here’s the thing to remember though… Your obligation to yourself to stick to your goals and treat your body right is more important. Sure, some people might get a little upset when you turn away a second helping of their food or a certain dessert but they’ll get over it. Explain you’re watching your weight and you’ve already had your fill. If you’re really worried about making someone upset, ask for a smaller helping. For example if they’re offering pie simply say, “Hey, could you cut that in half’ I’m already pretty full.” Don’t throw away all of your hard work by falling victim to excuses. Your health and goals are important. You don’t want January to hit as you realize you’re further from your goal than you were at the start of October. It’s not a great feeling.