I've just entered my 13th December as a 'healthy-eater' and my 9th as a weight loss coach and probably the most common thing I used to tell myself as well as hearing from the people I've worked with over the years is that there's no way you can lose weight in December and what's the point of even trying?
This may be ringing a bell with you right now and what I'd like to say is that there's even less point in giving up for a month and that with a bit of pre-planning and thinking ahead, you'd be surprised at what you can achieve this month.
Before I do properly begin this blog entry, I do absolutely want to say that if you make the choice to just say ‘sod it’ and go all in for the whole of December, then that’s absolutely ok too and if you are happy to make that choice, then please do so without guilt or any of the negative voices in your head telling you otherwise. The key to this approach is that you are prepared to deal with the results whatever they may be and have a clear plan to get yourself organised and back on track on a set date after the festivities.
This approach, however, doesn’t work for me personally and in this blog post, I’ll share one of the ways I approach the month of December to ensure that I have a good balance of enjoying the festivities whilst keeping on track with my healthy eating lifestyle and implementing my ‘damage limitation’ strategy.
The reason I know the ‘sod it’ approach doesn’t work for me is that I’ve been there, got the T-Shirt and had to deal with the after effects which almost derailed my weight loss journey and I almost gave up completely so I chose at that time to find ways to enjoy December and the festive season but with an element of balance (there’s most likely another blog post needed to explain this more!)
Planning, Planning and More Planning!
I’m a huge advocate of planning in all aspects of life – one of my favourite quotes is:
'' A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish'' - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
and I apply this to all elements of my life – from my food to my exercise to my business (even the worse task of all, cleaning!) and with a bit of planning, you can soon see that you don’t need to write off the whole of December ‘just because it’s Christmas’.
This is a really simple tool to use but it soon helps you put things in perspective as to just what your December looks like and how much you are actually in control of.
How I use the December planner
I fill in any Christmas plans I have in the relevant box and highlight any events where I’ll be enjoying some of the festive foods or drinks – for me, this will be things like Christmas lunches with friends and colleagues, a trip to the Christmas markets, a special night out as well as Christmas Day itself. When I’ve entered all the Christmas events I have planned, I can easily see that the majority of the month is still completely under my control and then it’s my choice as to what other of the Christmas food stuffs I want to enjoy – for me, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a mince pie – however, I know that I can’t eat one every day throughout December so I’ll add in a mince pie day to look forward to as well as a cheese board as I do love one of those as well.
I won’t deny myself the things I really want but by putting a bit of thought into planning them, I can look forward to enjoying them without guilt and also without gaining a stone in a matter of weeks.
Download a free December planner with more festive tips included
If you’d like a copy of my planner along with some festive tips, just click here to get your own copy
I love helping people discover the best ways to work on their mindsets and habits to help them reach their weight loss goals and if you would like to find out more about my 1-2-1 coaching programme or how I can help you, please do get in touch.
Email me or phone/message: 07834 442607
Join my free Facebook support group for weekly live sessions, more tips and strategies and motivation, I’ll be sharing lots of tips during December on coping with Christmas and the festive season https://www.facebook.com/groups/theweightlossgroup
I’d love to hear any thoughts or comments on this post and if there’s anything that really works for you to help keep you on track or how to keep the motivation going strong!