Happy Thanksmas! Get it? Thanksgiving and Christmas together? I feel like the two bleed into one another because some people put out Christmas decorations after July 4th and some people wait until the day after Thanksgiving. So, I made a word for this time of the year, Thanksmas!
It’s that time of year where it feels like everyone is RUNNING.
We’re running to the store to get the turkey, the ham, the stuffing, and the fixings for Thanksgiving.
We’re running to the mall to get all those Black Friday deals after we stuff our faces the day before.
We’re running putting up Christmas decorations and fixing the tree.
We’re running to wrap all the presents under the tree.
We’re running to do a lot of things, but why aren’t we running to create a healthier lifestyle for ourselves?
I’ll be the first to tell you, there are better and more difficult seasons when it comes to getting healthy and fit.
It’s true what they say, the holidays are a race, and the finish line is the new year. The finish line is a around 60 days away. Can you believe that?
If you want to have a true lifestyle CHANGE, you have to break free of the all-or-none mentality. This mindset is what keeps most people stuck.
I address this in over half my coaching calls with clients. I tell them we don’t do this in any other area of our life. We’re not all-or-none with our marriages, with our jobs, or with our kids. We do the best we can with what we have in those areas.
But, in health and fitness people find a way to be all-or-none. They think if they can’t work out every day and eat the cleanest foods they shouldn’t even try. It’s the number one habit we try to break our clients of.
The holidays are one of if not the hardest times of the year to get healthy and fit for most people. Your reward is waiting on the other side of being able to navigate a difficult season.
You have to be able to ride the waves of life – take advantage of the great opportunities (like the New Year!) and push through the tough times (like the holidays). When you take advantage of the good seasons you are able to really push the needle towards a better lifestyle.
Before we get to the new year, we have to work through that hard, holiday season. That’s what I am here for – to help you navigate the holidays.
If you are already making excuses like ‘the holidays will be super busy I’m not going to do anything’, you are not going to see any results.
Our beliefs affect our actions which affects our outcomes, so start believing you WILL meet your goals and become a better version of yourself!
This doesn’t mean lie to yourself. Don’t go ‘these next 60 days are the best time for me to get fit’. It means to be really honest with yourself. You should say ‘these next 60 days are going to be tough, but I am going to work to either make a little progress or maintain my results’.
Choosing to progress yourself November 1st – December 31st is going to set you up for a great new year to take advantage of.
Don’t let this blog hold you back either! If you can absolutely get after it in the gym, stay dialed in on your nutrition, and walk every day, DO IT! Don’t sell yourself short and just maintain when you could put all you have into progressing big time!
Make all the progress you can during this time if you are able!
The biggest thing that derails people during the holidays is……..food. They think well I want to eat big for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Do it! Eat big on Thanksgiving Day, the day after (them yummy leftovers), Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and maybe a few others. In total that’s like 5-10 days. That’s fine!
BUT, most people let that mentality convince them to let everything slide the whole 60 days instead. So, I want to encourage you to be more conscious of how much of it you intake and how often you do it.
You don’t have to snack and eat cookies every day. 5-10 days isn’t going to derail you but watch what you are eating on the other days – they are what determine your success.
If you want to eat cookies every day, that is totally up to you! I want you to know you are in CONTROL of your life. The decision is yours this holiday season. You are not a victim to your cravings.
Whatever you decide – eat Christmas cookies every day, only eat big on the holidays, or not eat big any time (only if your weird, but okay) – you just need to consciously watch what you do so you can stay in tune with that decision!
You can still make progress and not sacrifice stuffing your face with family this holiday season.
If you can’t make progress, aim to maintain by showing up to your workouts and walking every day. Don’t go overboard and stuff your face every day, but you can enjoy the cookies and all the things if this is your goal.
A lot of people gain weight over the holidays. If you can just maintain, that is still a win! People think of maintaining as still failing, but it’s not – it’s a huge success, especially if it is better than you have seen in your past!
Reframing changes everything when it comes to looking at results. Compare everything you have accomplished to past years, and I guarantee it is better than it was in the past!
If you are training on your days still, walking around getting that walking in Christmas shopping, and you are lax on your diet but not throwing it to the wind, you will be maintaining and in a good spot come the new year where you can tighten everything up and really get after it.
Those are the two options you have.
- Continuing to progress going into the new year, minus the holidays you consciously decided to go big on
- Focusing on maintaining or minimizing your regression
Either way, you are in control. You control your mind, your mouth, your hands – how many cookies they put in your mouth lol.
I want you to really think about this after you finish reading for a few minutes. Be intentional with your time. What is your game plan from now till the end of the year? Are you going to really go all out? Are you going to maintain? Are you going to go buck wild and minimize the regression?
Think about it, make a conscious decision, and reframe what you are doing in terms of ‘am I doing a good job or not?’.
The next 60 days do not have to be the biggest transformation you’ve ever seen in your body or lifestyle. Just do the best you can with what you have.
WIN over the next 60 days – whatever WIN means for you!
Then, we can all get dialed in come January 1, 2025.
The choice is yours. As long as you know what your goals are, you are set for the holidays. Make that conscious game plan for the next 60 days and let the race begin.
Push through and you will be able to start the next race of the new year stronger than you finished this one!
Need help? We want to help you with that game plan whatever it may be! At Steel, the choice is always yours, we are here to help you navigate what your fitness journey looks like.
Remember, the race is on, the choice is yours – do you push through, or do you fall back?
