by Marci Warhaft-Nadler
12 days of glee, 353 days of guilt?
‘Tis the season to engage in holiday cheer with family and friends, sing songs, play games and feast on whichever meals and treats are traditional in your family. It’s a time to be grateful for all the wonderful things and people who surround us.
There’s one problem – why does it feel like even before the tinsel has been removed from the tree or the wax has melted from the Menorah, we are bombarded with messages from TV talk shows and diet ad commercials telling us it’s time to repent for everything we’ve eaten or had to drink during the holidays?
After weeks of baking and sharing recipes, talk instantly turns to dieting and losing weight. It’s almost like giving a child the video game they asked Santa for, only to turn around and call them lazy for playing with it! It has gotten to the point where many people find it nearly impossible to eat something without an instant calorie count coming to mind.
Just the other day, I was at the gym doing a spin class and feeling pretty good about doing something good for myself, when the instructor ruined it for me by explaining that we would need to do seven spin classes in order to burn off ONE Christmas dinner! Really? Was that necessary? If she was trying to be motivating, she had failed miserably.
Here’s the good news: All that shame and guilt we feel post-holiday indulgence is unwarranted. The best way to return to our pre-holiday weight is NOT by dieting, but by returning to our regular, balanced meals and active lifestyles.
It’s estimated that nearly 50% of North Americans make losing weight their #1 New Year’s Resolution and it’s believed that close to 80% will fail. Any regular gym goers know to expect their gyms to get busier in January with an influx of new members and then quiet down by mid-February when these members give up.
Here are a few common mistakes we make during the holiday season:
1. Completely overindulging with plans to restrict later on: “I’m going to eat everything I can NOW, and start a STRICT diet January 1st!”
2. Setting unrealistic goals: “I will lose 50lbs by March, even if it kills me!”
3. Making exercise a punishment: “I’ve been BAD, so I will make myself go to the gym everyday, whether I like it or not.”
A better way to handle it:
1. Do not shock your body with a very restrictive diet.
Instead, return to a balanced diet with the focus being on healthy choices and portions. Believe it or not, your body knows where it wants to be and with proper food and activity, will get there easier than you’d expect.
2. Set realistic goals based on improvement.
Our aim should be to improve our fitness level which includes things like strength and flexibility. Speak to a trainer about what you can expect and appreciate the positive changes as they come.
3. Do not make exercise a punishment.
Being active is a good thing. Don’t think of it as something we do because we hate our bodies, but something we do because we love them and want them to be healthy.
Exercise doesn’t have to happen in a gym either, find something you enjoy doing and you’ll be successful at it.. Some people enjoy the atmosphere of group classes at fitness clubs, while others prefer to on a sports team or walking club. If you like what you’re doing, there’s a much better chance that you’ll stick with it.
Guilt and shame are never good motivators.
Enjoy the holidays… and every day that comes after it!
Marci Warhaft-Nadler is the mother of two very active tween boys and has spent the last few years bringing her Fit vs Fiction workshop to schools in an effort to change the way kids treat and feel about themselves.
