Christmas = Love

What did you think of when you read that title? I'm sure for many of you, it was warm fuzzy feelings, carols, family, children, presents, candy, eggnog, glass of wine, piece of nanaimo bar, feeling kinda funny, now I'm bloated, drifting off to sleep, waking with a slight hangover, haven't worked out for 5 days so what's another 5....ooops, sorry, there goes the Christmas = Love Mantra!

Well today Fitness Freaks is here to talk about a different type of Christmas = Love. Insert word "tough". That's right, Tough love. I'm sure that comes as no surprise to many of the Fitness Freaks Blog followers. After all, I've been told at least a hundred times "how can someone with such a sweet voice and bright smile be so tough!" :)

Here's the deal folks. Now is not the time for congratulating yourself on making it to December 15th "not too badly" in terms of the party circuit. You may have passed the piggies in the blanket once or twice already this month, but the real test begins now. The next 16 days are go time for Christmas Chameleons (otherwise known as your ever present shrunken fat cells ready and waiting to explode into happy jumping jacks at the first succulent bite of fudge).

Yes I've sent out helpful tips in past years on how to survive a holiday party (eat a healthy meal in advance, drink lots of water, stand far away from the food table, pick one thing in advance to indulge on, workout that day etc etc and so on.) But at the end of the day, the average Canadian will actually only gain just under 1 lb over the holidays. (Yanovski et al. 2000). Does that suprise you?

So why does everyone feel a little like the Red Suited Jolly Guy come New Year's Day? It's not necessarily about how much you eat, but what it is. Ask yourself how fabulous you feel after a day of hitting all your Canada Food Guide Servings (Psss. If you don't even know what your personal guidelines are, head to Canada food guide NOW!). Now replace that all with sugar and alcohol. Even for a few days or a couple of weeks. The lethargy is obvious. The Guilt is often crushing. And the effect on the psyche is ridiculous. Those little x-mas chameleons start messing with your head and before you know it, you have let your whole year slide out with a whimper instead of a bang. 21 hard fighting days to break a habit. just one day to make one if icing is involved.

So before you take your next "I'm worth it" bite of fudge. Try an "Dammit, I AM worth it" bite of something better for you. After all, isn't that really the question. Aren't you worth it? Aren't you worth the effort? Don't you deserve to feel fabulous on January 1st and like you didn't skip a beat when you return to Bootcamp or Yoga or Pilates or running on the 3rd, or 10th or 20th of Janaury? Does Christmas really = Love if you end up hating yourself and feeling like

you are back at square one fitness and energy wise on New Year's Day.

Dear readers, I challenge you. Put down the food and pick up your runners. Go for a walk and get a hot cup of tea. Better yet, go somewhere new and try snowshoeing, hiking or cross country skiing. Sure, go crazy on the 25th, and maybe the 26th. But let that, and your company x-mas party be IT! Make a stand against the epidemic!

No excuses. No Resolutions.

Only REVOLUTIONS.

PERMANENT CHANGES.

LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE.

And as far as some Christmas Love. Well, I think you're worth it. And I'm pretty sure you'd like to be the one jumping for joy while everyone else is puking from the effort next month.

Happy Holidays!

PS - stay tuned for my New Year's REVOLUTION blog!