As November comes to an end we find ourselves staring down the barrel of a month of jollity, mulled wine, mince pies, chocolate money, the work Christmas do (although perhaps not the morning after). With so much frivolity between now and the New Year it can seem like a terrible time to start actioning your health and fitness goals. Or perhaps it hasn’t even crossed your mind, because the Christmas adverts started back at the end of September (!!) this year, and have slowly and unknowingly been brainwashing us to believe that we need to start getting excited about the holiday period and all the rich offerings that come with it.
From the POV of a Fitness and Nutrition Coach, it’s fairly standard to see a drop in uptake of new clients around this time of year and therefore I get my head down planning for the January rush. Until now I’ve just accepted that this is just the natural order of things. That December is quiet and January goes bananas, BUT, what if it wasn’t?
What if the holiday season was not some multi-zillion pound marketing campaign, what if we didn’t associate December with staying indoors, being cozy and eating our body weight in festive treats? What if we manage to see through the glittery baubles and realise that between 1st December and 1st January there are 31 days, and just like every other day of the year… your body and your health and your fitness MATTERS.
Okay, I know that sounds boring, you are considering stopping reading here because well I sound like a MASSIVE fun sponge, but hold on a moment, don’t go just yet…
I LOVE the holiday season, I love all the delicious food, the socialising, the cheesy rom com movies, decorating the house, belting out Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas at any given moment. In fact my husband thinks I love Christmas more than anyone he has ever met! So why would I even so much think to suggest that December could be a ‘normal’ month?
Well, my theory is this: We can enjoy all of the above BUT remove this mental barrier or association some of us seem to have that we can’t ALSO invest in our fitness and wellness during the holidays. It takes the same amount of time and effort starting in December, as it does if you start in January. Come January you will still have days where the kids are home from school and you'll have to find inventive ways to fit your workouts in. You will still have days you don’t feel like it but forced yourself to do it anyway and be glad as hell you did. Getting fit and healthy is ALWAYS going to take time and require effort, waiting for January 1st won't make a difference to that and additionally, your body deserves to be nourished with delicious healthy food every single day of the year - including the days of December.
So consider this, don't let your health and fitness goals become derailed just because 'holidays are coming' and Santa Claus is driving the Coca-Cola truck.