The Conundrum

December rolls around and the opportunities to imbibe, eat, entertain and celebrate are prevalent everywhere. We guiltily move through the month justifying cookies, drinks and extravagant meals. A few years ago I felt horrible after the holidays. I ate too much, exercised too little and basically self-sabotaged my feeling of wellness in my body. Last year I vowed to not let it happen again. Instead of marking New Years as the beginning point of wellness I bumped it up one month to December.

A Strategy

So last year I thought “Why even get to that point?” I decided to make some conscious, healthy decisions to combat the holiday season of overindulgence. For me, it involved getting on board with a better diet and joining my wife in changed eating habits. It allowed both of us to say no to certain foods that didn’t serve us well. Having a partner in crime toward the strategy helped to decline food choices that did not benefit me.

For me personally, heavy carbohydrates don’t serve me well anymore. With a change in metabolism that comes with age I feel bloated, heavy, lethargic, you get the picture. For me, it was important to look to fruits and vegetables as ways of snacking and incorporating them into my main meals.

On an exercise front, I always do better when I have an event months out that motivates me to exercise. For 2018 it was to finish the ColoradoTrail. That motivated me to get into backpacking shape and also to continue my 3x weekly routine of yoga. Next spring, I have a friend that asked me to assist him in attempting R2R2R at the Grand Canyon. That will be a huge motivator in order to be ready by spring.

Everybody is Different

Each person is different in what motivates them and what challenges them. My suggestion is to take charge now to have a more enjoyable holiday season. Put some of your desires and goals in writing so that you can refer back to them. Keep them reasonable and finite, maybe just one or two goals for this holiday season. For example, you might make a goal of walking every day in December, regardless of weather. You take it a day at a time, pay attention to the weather forecast and dress appropriately. A food goal might be simply getting five servings of fruits and vegetables every day through the holidays. You can also set some longer range goals like I did if that helps you as well.

It’s all about Self-Care

This all falls under the category of self-care. Self-care is nothing more than being pro-active in taking care of yourself. It is an offensive strategy so that when we are presented with life’s challenges we can cope without feeling completely overwhelmed. I invite you to try it out this holiday season in so that the season allows for more reflection, fulfillment and time spent partaking of meaningful events and time spent with loved ones.

Need some motivation?

I’d like to give you a little motivation regarding your own self-care. Massage! To help folks begin the year off right using massage for self-care I’m running a promotion through the end of this year. I’m offering a 60 minute massage for $69. You may purchase up to three. What better way to begin the new year than beginning with massage?

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season!