Some people are having a tough time when it comes to fitness and nutrition this time of year.
They know they’ve been indulging in some additional treats and sweets. For others, they may have neglected their fitness routine a bit.
Maybe that’s you and that’s OK. It’s a little bit of me too. I may have continued to workout, but I know I’ve had some additional goodies too ; )
Following are some words of encouragement I offer for those folks and that I apply to myself too.
My one client, while he acknowledges he’s not quite back to his routine where he was, did state, “getting better every day.” I encouraged him with, “we can’t change what happened, but we can focus forward and focus on being even that 1% better everyday.
This same gentleman also mentioned that he’s traveling and will need some body weight workouts and also emphasized that he “hopes to do a lot of hiking.” He tends to drift towards some “all-or-nothing” thinking and when he can’t get in a full workout at the gym much like he’d prefer, he often just doesn’t go. That’s not unique to him and happens with a lot of people. If they can’t do it 100% with how they believe it should be done, then they just don’t do anything.
I encouraged him with, “instead of focusing on ‘lots’ of hiking, focus on at least ‘some.'” I went on to say, “if you get out for a 15-minute walk where you just deep breathe and take in surroundings, be happy! Don’t focus on ‘if I can’t get in 45-minutes, it’s not worth it.'” There’s a good chance he’ll head out to do 15 minutes, and end up going longer. Or, he can be happy with setting a goal of just 15-minutes and accomplishing that.
Lastly, I also added for him some verbiage I saw from an insightful Instagram post, and I’ve sent this to a few people that I know can be hard on themselves when they feel they have fallen off track. The post read, “It’s December 26th. For some, today’s a great day to return to a calorie deficit and your usual routines. For others, it’s about continuing to enjoy the holidays with intention, balance, and zero guilt. Both can be the right choice.”
Our focus should not be 100% on weight loss at all times. It is absolutely fine to focus on maintaining for periods of time as well.
We can use these next few days to dial back in our habits. Perhaps one day, you focus on getting your hydration back in line. The next day, maybe you focus on having solid breakfasts again.
Ultimately, find your way back to your why and why you exercise. For this gentleman, I reminded him of his why: “focusing on health and vitality to ensure you are around for many Christmases to come” and being strong for his hobbies.
Life is meant to be lived and enjoying meals and special times with family is important.
I strive to view various circumstances as learning opportunities and this is just another opportunity to learn how to make your way back to healthier eating. Whether it be this time, or Memorial Day weekend and hitting up some cookouts, we’ll always have periods where perhaps we do indulge beyond our typical eating patterns and we need to know how to get back to those better eating habits.