How Not To Get Off Track This Holiday Season

As I sit here digesting my turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, Apple, Pumpkin, Coconut Custard, and Pistachio Pudding Pie (yes I tried each one!), not to mention my AMAZING clean-but-not-so-clean Pumpkin Cream Cheese Whoopie Pies, I am reminded that the day after Thanksgiving starts the beginning of a new era. If you're a hardcore shopper, no doubt your thoughts immediately go to the Black Friday sales. If you're a "Before-Thanksgiving-Is-Way-Too-Early-For-Christmas-Lights" Bah-humbug-er, you assume I mean the start of what is considered fair game for all of the decorations, music, and general holiday madness to begin. But if you are a health nut, dieter, or just your average health-conscious individual, you KNOW what I'm talking about. So let's talk about it. It seems silly to treat it like the elephant in the room, don't you think?

This is the time of year that you will inevitably put on those extra holiday pounds, right? Maybe. Or maybe not. You cannot ignore the fact that along with this time of year comes an excess of not-so-healthy foods, what with all the chocolate, baked goods, eggnog, and not to mention, the holiday feast.

I am a huge advocate for making allowances for "unhealthy" foods on special occasions. Having lived with the crippling fear that one holiday meal or one slip-up will send my progress flying into reverse, I understand the impulse to want to bring your chicken, brown rice and veggies in Tupperware to Christmas dinner. Please DO NOT DO THIS - I'm begging you!  

But at the same time, don't just sit back and settle for what you think is the inevitable weight gain during this time of year. Yes, it's FINE to enjoy yourself and your time with loved ones around the holidays, but you don't want to be one of the ones who has to make the dreaded New Years' Resolution to lose all the weight you packed on during the holidays!

I have never been a fan of gearing my progress TOWARD a specific event or date. I find that I actually lose focus and momentum if I give myself a deadline. This is just my life. It's not a temporary fad diet, there's no finish line, and my goals are constantly changing. If you've ever heard the saying "It's a marathon, not a sprint" then you get where I'm going with this. I wouldn't say "I have to lose this amount of weight by such-and-such a date." I'll lose the weight doing it the healthy way, in whatever time frame my body needs to do it in. So it wouldn't make sense for me to schedule my setbacks around the calender, either. 

Yes, they ARE going to happen eventually - that is inevitable. No one's perfect. But you are setting yourself up for these setbacks when you go into something with the expectation that you will fail. Finding a healthy balance between enjoying your holidays and enjoying your progress is key.

So what's the secret to having a healthy, happy and WELL-BALANCED holiday season? The trick is to choose your battles wisely and to take a minute to sit back and create a plan for what you want to allow yourself during the holiday season. Here are a few things to consider:

1. Ask yourself  "What are the food traditions that are the most important to me during this time?" Is it the Italian 7 Fishes Christmas Eve dinner, the Potato Latkes at Grandma's house, the...FRUITCAKES...??? (Hey, I'm not judging - whatever floats your boat!) While there are going to be plenty of things that will be passed around in the next month that will look tempting and delicious, the important thing is to practice moderation. Instead of eating every temptation that comes your way in the spirit of holiday cheer, take the time to say "Is this important enough to me to put my progress on hold?" Some things are - don't get me wrong (my Potato Latkes are THAT good - just sayin'!). But not everything is. Some things JUST taste good and hold no sentimental or traditional value, and therefore...do you really need them? It's learning to identify the difference that will make or break your progress this season. 

2. Identify your challenges. For me, my weakness is all of the little treats that my clients bring me during the holidays - candies, cookies, and those cinnamon-sugar pecans my boss's stepmom makes and sends to the salon every year! While I am always thankful for the holiday wishes that come along with them, the treats themselves hold no sentimental value and don't involve any family traditions that I wouldn't want to go without, but I'm a sucker for them anyway. Admitting it is half the battle and raising your awareness of it will help you to reason your way out of mindlessly munching on them until the container is empty!

3. Eat the things you really want to during the holidays and GET OVER IT! Don't beat yourself up over minor setbacks. One cheat meal or even cheat day is not going to set back your progress irreversibly. Creating an unhealthy mindset riddled with guilt and shame, however, will. Allowing yourself to feel guilty only brings down your self-esteem, which will eventually lead to you giving up on your goals. REPEAT AFTER ME:  IT HAPPENED. NOTHING I CAN DO ABOUT IT. NOW MOVE ON.

The important thing to remember is to ENJOY this time with family and friends! Don't allow it to become your enemy by messing with your head or your progress! 

Wishing everyone a happy, healthy holiday season!  :)

~Sara 

Guest Blog Post: Life After Sickness

I am so proud to present to you my first guest blog post! After seeing all that the H.I.P.S. organization was doing for teenagers, I asked my cousin Rebecca to share her experience with living with an eating disorder and body image issues, how she coped, and how she came to appreciate her body and help others to do the same!

Life After Sickness

By Rebecca Kaiserman

The transition to high school was harder than expected. The academic, extracurricular and social pressures were more than I expected. However, living in today’s society, I was only taught how to increase life’s speed, rather than cope with its current stresses.

I began to engage in very unhealthy behaviors, including restriction of calories, purging of food and over exercising. I decided to finally acknowledge that my behaviors had gotten out of hand and was admitted to a relatively local treatment center during the summer between freshmen and sophomore year of high school. Continuing in private psychological and nutritional therapy, I founded the H.I.P.S. organization during my sophomore year of high school. I was fairly stable until the eating disorder voice resurfaced towards the end of my junior year. I began to abuse diet pills as well as retreat back to all the previously stated unhealthy tendencies. But hold on, this is where the story turns around.

The summer between my junior and senior year of high school, I was on the verge of being readmitted to a more intense level of treatment when I miraculously managed to convince my parents it would be a better idea to keep my plans to go on an abroad community service trip. I spent ten days in Costa Rica teaching English and becoming immersed in one of the most beautiful cultures in the world.

The culture in Costa Rica put my illness and my priorities into perspective. Their culture does not emphasize the size of one’s body, but rather the value of an education and hard work. I came back home with the greatest sense of appreciation for our world. I did not leave pitying the lack of fiscal resources that many believe plague foreign communities, but rather with the hopes of implementing their values into my daily life. 

I have been able to continue to appreciate the little things and focus on continuing to do what makes me happy. I have become very interested in spiritual practice and connecting my mind, soul and body. I truly believe if you use your mind to take care of your body and foster your soul, these three things will align to optimize your physical and mental health. I have come to appreciate my body as a vehicle that helps my soul convey the messages it contains and dreams I hope to accomplish. My body knows so much more than I think and communicates with me what it needs, as long as I remember to listen.

Absolutely there are days where the eating disorder voice reemerges, telling me my life would be easier without lunch and if I spent hours on the treadmill. But I know myself well enough to know I can over power this voice; I have enough faith in myself to look back on all through which I have persevered and am sure that if I want to continue to lead a physically and mentally healthy lifestyle, that is as possible as I wish it to be.

To see all of the amazing work Rebecca and the H.I.P.S. organization are doing visit their website.

Treat Your Body Like You Love It!

This was a post that I wrote for my cousin, Rebecca, who runs an organization called H.I.P.S. (Health Image Power Success) which helps to foster positive self-image among teenagers. I was so inspired by her work and all of the good that she has accomplished that I was so unbelievably honored to be asked  to write this piece about how fitness and healthy nutrition can enhance your life to create a healthy balance! Check out their website and Facebook for more great information and motivation! Enjoy!

Your body is an amazing thing. When you really stop and take a minute to appreciate what it is capable of, it's truly mind-boggling. The inner-workings of your body are made up of such an intricate collection of systems that even the greatest minds on the planet don't fully understand it. One thing they do understand, however, is that if you don't treat it right, there's a good chance it won't treat you right. In order to get the most of this beautiful work of art, there are certain things your body requires of you.

Proper nutrition allows your body, as well as your mind, to work to their fullest potential and give you the opportunity to enjoy everything that life has to offer. The key to making your body run more effectively is fueling it with adequate nutrients and hydration - without this, you can suffer from such symptoms as chronic fatigue, depression, decreased ability to concentrate and a multitude of physical ailments.

Fitness can also enhance your body and your life in ways you may never have even thought possible. When it comes to fitness, it's not about fitting the mold of someone else's idea of perfection. It's about pushing yourself beyond the limits you once thought were holding you back. It's about seeing what you are truly capable of, about breaking personal records, about creating a stronger version of yourself. When practiced in its purest form, the art of physical fitness will not only build a healthier body, but build character and a healthier spirit as well.

Creating a healthy, well-balanced lifestyle first starts with the right mindset - meaning you must want to include fitness and a healthy diet in your life for the right reasons. Instead of making these efforts day in and day out because of self-hate, do it out of self-love. Do it because you love everything about YOU and know how well you deserve to be treated - inside and out!

Girls, do you even lift?

Ok, so the logic behind why guys lift seems pretty obvious, right?  Lift heavy weights. Check.>>>Get big muscles. Check.>>>Make girls swoon. Check. (For the record, boys, I'm only kidding...I know that's not the only reason!)  ;) 

For generations upon generations, the stereotypes of what the perfect male and perfect female are supposed to look like have dictated what we think we should be doing to achieve these said perfect physiques. Guys go into the gym, pump some iron, down their mass gainers, and read Muscle and Fitness, all in hopes of getting, bigger, stronger and more ripped, while the ladies can usually be found on the cardio machines or in aerobics classes, trying to achieve that "perfect" Barbie waistline and shrink their butt and thighs.

Speaking as an experienced "cardio bunny", I have news for you, ladies: (while this may not apply to ANYTHING ELSE IN LIFE) when it comes to changing our physique, we have a lot to learn from the boys. The reality is that cardio will only get you so far, and yet soooo many women are reluctant to venture their way off of the elliptical and over to the weight room.

Oh, trust me, I get it. I'm not judging. I spent a year straight, killing myself doing cardio six days a week and wondering why I still didn't look like a fitness model! The truth is, you just don't know what you don't know. I was always taught that you do aerobics to get skinny and if you lift any weights at all, you do light weights and high reps, or else you'll get giant muscles like a man. I had no idea this is ABSOLUTELY NOT the case! And clearly I wasn't the only one who was misled, because look around most gyms and you'll find an overwhelming number of women doing hours of cardio and wielding around those adorable pink 5 lb. dumbbells.

Ladies, here is the truth about why you should consider jumping off the treadmill (well, make sure you turn it off first!) and picking up something with a little weight behind it!

1. No matter what anyone tells you, you WILL NOT get big and bulky like a man just because you are lifting weights. Men and women are built very differently, both in our musculoskeletal structure and hormonal balance. We are not physiologically designed to build or carry large amounts of muscle mass, nor do we produce enough testosterone on our own to do so. Simply put, women, naturally, do not have what it takes to bulk up the way men do. The one thing we do have in common, however, is that our muscles, just like men's muscles, require stimulation to grow. So ladies, don't be afraid to lift and lift heavy enough to challenge yourself and stimulate those muscles!!!   

2. Muscle burns more calories than fat. Even when you are just sitting around doing nothing, muscle requires more energy to sustain itself than bodyfat does, so the more muscle you have, the faster your body will burn calories. Need I say more?

3. Muscle takes up less room, is more shapely than fat, and...the best part? It doesn't jiggle. :) Translation? You actually look tighter and more sculpted than even the skinniest skinny-fat person!

4. Ok so this last one may not be a legitimate health or fitness-related reason to start pumping some iron, but it's still not a bad one: You feel pretty bad-ass going into a male dominated weight room and making all their jaws drop when you start lifting weights like a dude! I work out at a time of day when there are very few women in the gym, and the handful that are there are usually cardio bunnies. So I understand what it feels like to be intimidated, working out next to a bunch of jacked guys. But if you hold your head high and walk in there like you own the place, I promise you, they are more likely to be impressed than to judge you. Now I'm not saying that you NEED to impress anyone - you are doing this for yourself, after all; but my point here, is that, as women we are the underdogs. Nobody expects much from us when it comes to fitness. It's kind of nice to prove 'em all wrong, don't ya think? ;)

Don't get me wrong - if lifting weights isn't for you, it isn't for you! In my opinion, whatever type of physical fitness you are passionate about and will stick to is the best type for you - whether it's weight lifting, running, yoga, or a combination of all three! But when I look around my gym and overhear remarks like "I don't want to lift weights because I don't want to look like a guy!" it makes me cringe, because I know how misinformed this statement is! I HATE the idea of someone not reaching their goals because they didn't go about reaching them the right way due to misinformation and I think there is a TON of that going around when it comes to girls lifting weights! So, ladies, my advice is to be proactive in finding out what the optimal plan is for the results you want to achieve. If you're investing the time and effort in working out to change your body, you might as well make it worth your while, right???