Happy Thanksgiving! It really is a wonderful time of year. We get together with people we love, we get the day off of work, we eat food we enjoy and just hang out and BE. It’s fantastic!
It would be better if we could focus on all that fantastic-ness without thinking about how much we just ate and how much weight we are gaining throughout this time of year. But that doesn’t seem possible so we just sigh and become resigned to the excess weight gain. Because it always happens. Sigh.
You know what? It doesn’t have to be that way. This is supposed to be a time to enjoy your life and those you share it with, so why would you waste any extra time feeling guilty about food and weight?
You don’t have to. Here’s your chance to try something different.
In a previous post, I suggested PLANNING for this event, and for all of your holiday events. This is really your number 1 step to staying in control. Just plan what you will eat. For instance, you could say “I will only have 1 serving of each dish and if I want seconds I will wait 15 minutes. Then if I still want seconds I will allow for that” OR “I will allow for 1 slice of 1 kind of pie“. Or whatever works for you. The best way to make your plan is to go through your memory banks and remember what has thrown you off the most in the past. What makes you feel the most guilty? That’s the thing to ‘plan’ around.
I’m going to take it one step further today and suggest that you don’t go nuts with your planning. Make it a reasonable plan. We have a tendency to go whole hog with these kinds of things and create rules for ourselves around every single itty bitty thing. And we tell ourselves “I’m NOT going to eat the pie”, and “I’m NOT going to have seconds” and things generally like that.
The probably with those declarations, or rules, is that they are just that- RULES. And what do you do when you see ‘rules’? You immediately go on the defense. Your inner little girl comes out and throws a temper tantrum. You end up fighting with yourself and feeling like you never had a choice. The pie just ‘happened’ to you.
You are smarter than the pie!
So look again at my examples. I didn’t set rules. I set boundaries. I made a simple plan. I did NOT say “absolutely no pie!” I said to allow for 1 slice. If that doesn’t resonate, then try something else.
The point is to make your plan- whatever it is- and stick to it. Make it reasonable. When you stick to it, you will be empowered as you show yourself that you really CAN follow through! Small steps are what is necessary to keep your inner temper tantrums from throwing you off.
And one more thing- WRITE IT DOWN.
Whatever your plan is- write it down. Keep it in your purse or nightstand or on your phone. Send yourself a text message. Whatever you have to do so that you see this plan on Thanksgiving morning.
Look at this whole thing as a fun challenge. If you look at it as terrible horrible rules, you won’t be able to push through your resistance. But a CHALLENGE? Oh yeah, you can do this. You’ve got this!
Now you are free to enjoy time with your loved ones! Happy Thanksgiving!
All my Best,
Miranda
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