Thanksgiving is right around the corner; and while this holiday is an exciting and fun time to spend with friends and family it may also bring about some anxiety and overwhelm when it comes to your weight loss journey. Even though Thanksgiving comes with lots of food, leftovers, and sweets, this one particular holiday does not have to ruin your progress and throw you off track.
Think about where you are now. What story are you currently telling yourself? Are you telling yourself that when 2020 comes around it will be your year? Now ask yourself, have you told yourself this before? How many times?
Here are three ways you can approach the holidays so you are ready to continue to crush your goals this season!
Change Your Mindset
The holidays don’t have to be a time for you to forget about your journey, let go of all your progress and have to restart come January. In fact, by taking a different approach to the holidays and continuing with your healthy habits; the holidays can be a time for you to enjoy yourself while still maintaining or losing weight. One way to do this is to change your mindset about the holidays before even going into them. If you are focused only on the food when it comes to each holiday, try and change that focus to friends, family, laughter, and fun activities. Once you move the focus away from food and more toward other special aspects of the holidays, you won’t feel the need to be overwhelmed by the amount surrounding your holiday table. If you’re not sure what this looks like, spend some time writing down five things you get most excited about during this time of year!
Stick To The One Holiday
Although it may seem at times that the few holidays themselves are what is ruining your progress, it’s usually the time following the holidays that makes the biggest difference in your progress. Seventy-five percent of Americans gain an average of five to ten pounds throughout the holiday season. However, if you focus on just those few days and not the entire season, you can stick to your healthy habits and prevent overeating once the holidays have come and gone. By viewing the holidays as just one or two days where you’re able to enjoy yourself and the foods you love, you won’t feel as though they will interrupt the healthy habits and positive routines you’ve built for yourself.
Have a Leftovers Strategy
Perhaps in past years you have placed all of your leftovers in large containers in your fridge. While this is usually the common thing to do, there is a creative way to turn your leftovers into the following week’s meal prep. By portioning out your Thanksgiving leftovers into containers with certain amounts of proteins, carbohydrates, and vegetables; you may be less likely to overeat them. It is very common for your progress to be affected after the holidays more so than on the actual holidays themselves. Keeping this in mind, having a strategy for your leftovers will help you push through the post holiday weeks and set you up for a successful New Year.
Remember, the next time you are feeling overwhelmed by the upcoming holidays, spend some time focusing on these three strategies. By having the proper mindset going into the holidays, a focus on other things besides food and a plan for your leftovers you will be coming out of 2019 healthy, happy, and ready to take on 2020!