Holiday Set Backs

Holidays are not easy. Well I made it through Thanksgiving with out gaining a single pound ….. Almost! I know you’re thinking what does that mean. Well I made it through Thanksgiving dinner but after Thanksgiving the leftovers got me. So I ended up gaining 2 pounds. That’s not so bad, after all I could still be pigging out and on my way to looking like Jabba the Hut. For most of us, set backs are a part of dieting. Set backs are not a big deal. What is important is that you don’t allow your set backs to keep you from getting right back on your diet. You also need to understand what caused it so you can try to avoid them in the future. Holidays centered on eating are going to be a problem. Don’t make yourself miserable. If necessary enjoy your holiday and be prepared to deal with the consequences afterwards. In other words get back on your diet!

Will power is not always enough. For me it is a combination of a moment of weakness with easily accessible food. No matter how strong your will is, one day it is going to fade and all that easy to get, delicious, fattening food will be right there for you. I try to be prepared for those weak moments in advance. I am careful about keeping junk food at home and having too much idle time. This way I limit the damage done when my will power fails.

Routine is your friend and idle time is you enemy. What does that mean? I found that when I had nothing to do, eating became my partner. This is not a problem Monday through Friday because my job helped to fill my time and establish a schedule. The weekends are another matter. I work at establishing a regular agenda but I have difficulty filling my day on weekends so they are still a problem for me. Whenever I am doing nothing I can hear the food calling me to the kitchen (How it got my name I don’t know). So I have accepted that establishing regular activities for my weekends that fill my idle time and keep me out of the kitchen and away from food will be a constant struggle. I plan each weekend knowing this. Bottom line, I have to try to stay busy.

What causes your set backs. How do you deal with them? Maybe you can help someone else.