12 Months of Fitness: Challenge #9 – Make a Holiday Plan

Are you ready for your next 12 Months of Fitness (#12MoF) challenge? Check out the introduction to 12 Months of Fitness here. My testers have been tackling this challenge since mid-August and are sharing how they are planning to tackle the holiday season celebrations.

Are you ready for your next 12 Months of Fitness (#12MoF) challenge? Check out the introduction to 12 Months of Fitness here.
My testers have been tackling this challenge since mid-August and are
sharing how they are planning to tackle the holiday season celebrations.

12 Months of Fitness: Challenge #9 – Make a Holiday Plan

For the next month, your
goal is to create a game plan for how to maintain your
good habits during the holiday season (Halloween through New Year’s). That’s it. Just see if you can figure out what you are going to do to try and not backslide during
this, the most difficult weight loss season!

Suggestions for accomplishing this are:

• Only buy the kind of
  candy you hate for trick-or-treaters. If you don’t like it, hopefully you won’t
  eat it.
• Decide to indulge in
  Thanksgiving dinner but not the leftovers. Give them all away to visitors or
  the needy. Dining at someone else’s place? Refuse to take any leftovers home or
  take only a tiny amount (say you don’t have the room in your fridge for more).
• Wear tighter pants.
  I do this because it makes me VERY aware of every bite I take!
• Instead of booze –
  drink water. If you need to, put it in a martini glass with an olive and
  pretend it’s a drink!
• Avoid signing up for
  a cookie swap. If you can’t get out of it, then offer to contribute but not
  receive.
• Leave the candy out
  of your stocking. If you fill stockings for others, instead of buying the big
  bags of candy opt instead for larger candy bars – they’ll love it and you won’t
  have leftovers to tempt you.
• Lots of parties to
  attend? On the day of, try to eat SUPER healthy (veggies or fruit only) those
  days so you feel less guilty if you OD on food at the party later.

And to help you stay motivated, here's how it's working out for our #12MoF testers (you can meet them over on our Facebook page!):

"As a plant-based eater, I rarely feel bad about
overindulging … unless I make an "exception" and eat something that
isn't vegan. Therefore, my plan is to make sure that through the holiday
celebrations, I make sure to always make and take some yummy vegan treats to
share, so that I can have something special to eat that will still be healthy
and make me feel good. I'll make sure I have the right ingredients and some
yummy recipes at the ready so I never have to take the easy route and just pick
up something unhealthy to take to a holiday party!" {Elizabeth}

"The
last lucky kid will get ALL the leftover candy once we decide it's time for
lights out on Halloween. Flavored
seltzer in a wine glass will be my best friend without making me feel left out
when others are drinking. I
will wait a good amount of time after each meal to let myself feel full instead
of cramming in seconds… and then regretting it later. I
will allow myself one small holiday treat to indulge in, not five." {Kaleena}

"Holiday eating is
related to portion control. I have a tendency to over eat during the holidays
so my plan was to watch my portions and what I was putting on my plate. I plan
to eat more of the veggies that are prepared more simply (salads or roasted
veggies) and stay away from food that is prepared with butter and other fats
(sweet potatoes with marshmallow)." {Ariella}

See? You CAN do it! Share your #12MoF struggles/triumphs with Tulle
Nation on Twitter, our Facebook page, or take photos on Instagram. Be sure to use the hastag #12MoF so we can all support you!