'Tis The Season

I know I’m not alone with the sentiment that the holidays are notorious for delicious (and overwhelmingly unhealthy) food habits—some stuffing here, a few gingerbread cookies there—and before I know it, not only have I totally derailed the healthy food and exercise habits I’ve built up, but I also guilt myself into defaulting to my go-to New Year’s Resolution of doing something healthier.

I decided to avoid that route by laying out a few guiding principles for myself this holiday season:

• Make the time to work out, even if it means a shorter routine than usual (along the lines of one of my older posts, “Better Than Nothing”)


• At meals, eat the nutritious food first so I’m more likely to fill up on that (I borrowed this one from Oprah). And don’t go to parties hungry.


• And lastly, The March Rule: Ask myself, “would I eat like this in March?” (For example, “Would I eat 2 slices of pecan pie followed by some chocolate chip cookies for dessert in March?”). If the answer would be “no” in March, chances are it should be “no” now, too. In other words, try to eat the way I usually do.

I can’t say these have been totally fool proof, but they have gotten me through the past few weeks of holiday party treats and other temptations without compromising any of the fun. And I’m happy to say that I can focus this year’s New Year’s Resolution on something else altogether…such as maintaining a more active blog, perhaps? ;-)

Happy Holidays, All!