Our first Thanksgiving holiday in Burbank was lovely–full of friends, calls from family, and an amazing couple of dinners. Christmas is approaching faster than I am ready for and the first of the year is around the corner. 60 days ago, I made a pledge that I was going to use all the days until New Years to better myself physically- a reverse New Year’s Resolution, if you will. For someone trying to eat better and work on breaking old habits, Thanksgiving is traditionally a hurdle. This year was refreshingly different for me. Like Coralie, I am doing the holidays on my own terms this year. And you know what? Its working out pretty great so far… empowering even. I totally enjoyed all the awesome holiday foods… but I also went on some great runs. I had a piece of pumpkin pie for breakfast Sunday morning… but I also have been doing awesome protein shakes for lunch for the past week. I had not been on the scale in weeks and hopped on this morning and this may be the first Thanksgiving holiday in which I lost weight. So, that’s pretty cool. And it feels good. I didn’t feel deprived… I got to taste everything… but I also put in the work to balance out that honkin’ piece of apple pie with fresh, whipped cream I had. Cause there is no way that I’m going to turn down delicious, homemade casseroles…
But, now that Thanksgiving is over, here’s the rub… there are only 29 more days left on the 88 Day Challenge! The holidays always fly by so this may not seem like any time at all… but don’t underestimate the power of 30 days. Like 88 days, 30 days is a quick interval… but it is also long enough to really make a difference! There are a little bit more than four weeks left until 2014. Even if you haven’t been playing along the entire 88 days… why not start now? Why not get a jump on plans you are putting off until the new year? December is a month full of distractors (holiday parties, shopping/wrapping, baking, and general merry-making) and it would be easy and understandable for those pressures alone to be daunting and enough to make you want to throw in the towel. But, I am challenging myself and wanted to challenge you- why not put “taking care of YOU” on your to-do list? Why not take care of yourself in spite of all the distractions… not failing to do so because of them? Make your betterment a priority this holiday season- in whatever shape that takes. Take time to breathe deep. Have a coffee. Meditate. Center yo’self. Take a walk… do these things for you… but also do them for those around you. It is more difficult to take care of others if you haven’t taken care of yourself first. The holidays are always overwhelming at some point. Being kind and forgiving to yourself and others is key. Everyone is running their own versions of the Holiday 500… so be nice to everyone in the race!
My personal goal this month is to keep up my workout schedule and keep up the cutting down/out of extra non-essential junk. I’m looking to navigate the holiday treats with moderation and selection and to be nicer to myself when I don’t.
What are you going to do with YOUR 29 days?
