Tuesday’s Chill Pill: Ditch Perfection to Keep Holiday Pounds Off

Have you ever tried to diet over the holidays? It’s pretty miserable.

I tried it one year, and it made me an absolute grinch. Before heading out to a party I’d try to anticipate what yummy hors d’oeuvres, and more importantly to me, what delicious desserts, would be served so that I could look up their likely calorie load and calculate how many I could have (usually only one…and nothing but water to drink). Of course, once I got within a stone’s throw of those yummies I couldn’t eat, I’d end up (to borrow a few words from Dr. Seuss) with crummies in my tummy. I made it through the holiday gauntlet without gaining a pound, but I swore I would never do that to myself again.

On the other hand, if you throw caution entirely to the wind, you could end up on January 2nd with more than just a few extra pounds to lose. Since I’m trying to work off my pregnancy pounds, I certainly don’t want to add to my weight loss challenge next year. So what’s a girl to do? How about put a few of the little Buttoned Up principles to work (you can too!).

1. Ditch Perfection!

There is simply no such thing as a perfect calorie counting plan going into the holidays. I know there are going to be things I don’t want to pass up. So I won’t. I’m giving myself a 3 pound flex. If I hit the three pound threshold, I have to reign it in and eat salads for a day or two and work out extra hard. It’s so much easier to deal with a 3 pound gain than a 10-15 pound one.

2. Focus!

I have to remember that I don’t have to do everything to keep myself in check, just the one or two things that really work. For me, that means: drinking a glass of water before meals or parties to make myself feel fuller, and exercising at least four days a week, no excuses. As long as I do those things, I know I’ll be roughly on track. If I can do more – fabulous, but not necessary.

3. Ask for Help

There’s nothing quite like committing to another person to keep you on track. Find a buddy, post something on your Facebook page asking others to help you stay on track, or try something like Stikk.com. The latter is a website that gets you to publicly make a commitment to do something, like my goal to exercise four times a week during the next four weeks. Then it enables you to put your money where your mouth is. For example, if I fail to exercise at least four days a week (my husband is my referee – the person who guarantees that I have done what I said I have), then my credit card is debited $100 – all of which goes to the NRA, an organization I cannot stand. There’s nothing like the fear of giving to the NRA to get my tush out the door for a run!