Maintain….. Don’t Gain…..
is a marking ploy that has been blasted everywhere this holiday season. The amount of adds I have seen stating something like, “Take this holiday challenge! Maintain! Don’t Gain! Using XYZ products to help you manage your weight this holiday season!” is overwhelming. If it is not a company trying to sell you products, it is the gym trying to get you to join to “work off” those extra calories eaten this season. The “challenges” sound great, but do they work?
I am hear to share with you a hard truth……… Only a few people will be successful and it has nothing really to do with the challenge or holiday season… Harsh right? There’s a little more to it,than challenges and success rates.
Maintaining and not gaining doesn’t really have anything to do with adding new supplements to your daily routine or joining a new gym. Those two things won’t magically solve your problems. There is only one way to solve your problem….. and it is answered by what you are doing or plan to do to take care of yourself. This is called this self care.
Self care is defined as many things, but I have combined a two separate definitions that I feel truly describe self care. Here it is: Self Care is the practice of taking action to preserve or improve one’s own health by taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness, particularly during periods of stress.
The holiday season can be an extremely stressful. With all the added stress, we push all of own self care strategies out the window, leaving room for our well being to suffer. This causes huge gaps in peoples’ well being/happiness. We then look for ways to fill those gaps making it easy to pack on the pounds. Hello five pieces of pie that used to be an hour of studio time. I am guilty as charged! Big families = a sh** ton a of extra stress!
Maintaining/Creating Self Care
After the “Maintain, Don’t Gain” challenges are over then comes the “New Year a New You!” We will yet again be bombarded with “sales” or “deals” on supplements and gym memberships. Those sales are great, but again will it work? Will you continue on your health journey after the newness wears off?
For some, yes, it will work. Others not so much… Every person starts their journey to health with the best of intentions, but they often fail. Why, you may ask? They fail, because they do not find the correct support system to keep them going when things get hard. That’s what many challenges, gym, or supplement companies forget to mention.
If you intend to embark on a new health journey this holiday season, think about what you will need to keep going when the going gets tough. Will you need a community to stay committed? Just a friend or family member to check in with? Whatever you need to be successful….. FIND IT! Above all else this holiday season remember your mental and emotional health come before some stupid number on a scale.
Until Next Time,
Janelle
