My Holiday Fitness Challenge to You
by Tom Venuto,
NSCA-CPT, CSCS
www.BurnTheFat.com
Media reports say that most people gain between
5 and 10 pounds of body fat in the six weeks
between Thanksgiving and Christmas. According
to research from the New England Journal of
Medicine, the average amount is much more modest
- just over a pound. However, even modest holiday
weight gain may be cause for concern: A study
by the National Institutes of Health found that
this seasonal weight gain - even just a pound
- is usually not lost after the holidays; it
simply adds to the “weight creep”
that sneaks up on us as we get older.
Whether the weight gain is a pound or ten pounds,
did you ever ask yourself why does holiday weight
gain happen at all?
Here are some common answers I’ve heard:
“I’m too busy over the holidays
to work out as often as usual.”
“I’m more stressed over the holidays,
and the food is there, so I eat more.”
“I have at least three parties to attend
and then there’s Christmas and New Year’s,
so it’s impossible to stay on a diet.”
“No one can tell me not to enjoy myself
over the holidays, so I’m just going to
eat whatever I want.”
These answers all have a few things in common.
First, they assume that it’s an either/or
proposition: You can either get in better shape
or enjoy yourself, but not both. Stated in reverse:
You can either deprive yourself of holiday enjoyments
or gain weight, but it has to be one or the
other. The truth is, “either/or thinking”
is a very limiting form of thought.
Second, these are all excuses or rationalizations.
“I’m too busy” for example,
is always an excuse, because I have never known
someone who was too busy to make time for his
or her highest life priorities. The problem
then, is not lack of time, but that most people
do not make exercise or eating healthy a priority.
We all have the same amount of time - 24 hours
a day - but the way people prioritize the use
of time is the difference between success and
mediocrity. And remember, words mean little.
Actions reveal a person’s true priorities.
Third, none of these are the real reasons most
people gain weight over the holidays to begin
with. The real reason is because an intention
was never set for the opposite: To get in BETTER
shape over the holidays.
Most people set a “goal” to get
in worse shape over the holidays!
It’s not consciously set, of course,
as few people would intentionally set out to
gain fat. They simply do it by default. In their
minds, they accept that it must be just about
impossible to stay in shape with everything
going on over the holiday season, so why bother?
Once the decision has been made, then the rationalizing
(“rationing lies”) continues:
“Why should I deprive myself?”
“Family is more important”
“Worrying about diet and exercise during
the holidays is neurotic”
“I don’t care if I gain a few pounds,
I’m going to enjoy myself anyway”
“It’s only these two or three weeks
that I let myself go wild”
“I’ll start the first week in January
and lose the weight then.”
As a result of this “negative goal-setting,”
they expect to work out less, eat more and gain
a few pounds, and they don’t seem to even
consider alternatives.
But what would happen if you set an intention
and a goal to get in better shape between now
and New Years’s Day?
What would happen if you decided that it was
not an all or nothing proposition and that you
could enjoy the holidays and all it has to offer
and get in better shape at the same time?
And what if you decided that your health and
your body were the highest priorities in your
life, because you realized that can’t
enjoy anything else in life, including family
or holidays, if you don’t have your health?
Here’s what would happen: You would get
in better shape!
I’m not all that different from you just
because I’m a bodybuilder and a fitness
professional. I have many of the same problems,
concerns and struggles as you do. Although today
I always get in better shape between Thanksgiving
and New Year’s, that’s a result
of a conscious choice, a close examination of
my old belief systems and a lot of action. For
me, it all started about six years ago.
For most of my adult life, I wasn’t much
of a traveller and I didn’t enjoy flying
or staying in hotels. I had a belief that if
I traveled, my workouts and nutrition would
suffer. After all, “it would be hard to
stick with my usual bodybuilding diet, and I
wouldn’t have access to my usual gyms.”
Because of these reasons (excuses), I never
did much travel back in those days.
Then I was forced to take some trips for business
reasons. Predictably enough, my nutrition and
workouts suffered while I was spending time
in airplanes and in hotels. With my experience
having confirmed my beliefs, I re-affirmed to
myself, “See, traveling is nothing but
a pain. You just can’t stay on a diet
and training program when you’re out of
town.”
After several more trips, I noticed that something
very negative happened: I surrendered. I had
resigned myself to “not bother”
while I was on the road. I let my expectations
create my reality.
But I didn’t let it go on for long. As
soon as I became aware of what was happening,
I decided that I wouldn’t tolerate it,
so I challenged myself and my previous limiting
beliefs. I asked myself, “Why the heck
not? Why let myself backslide? Why even settle
for maintaining? Why not challenge myself to
improve while I’m traveling?” The
answer:
There was no reason, there were only excuses.
From that day forward, I set a challenge for
myself: To come back from every trip or vacation
in better shape than when I left. Of course
there were exceptions, as when I went on a vacation
for total R & R. But I never let travel
get in my way again…
I prepared food that I would eat on the planes
so airline food was never an excuse…
I only chose hotels that had kitchens, so I
could cook my own food…
I went food shopping immediately after check-in…
And I actually found myself training harder
than usual!
No matter where I was training - it could even
be some “dungeon” of a gym in the
middle of nowhere - it didn’t matter because
my mind was focused on improving and looking
better when I came home than when I left. I
had a goal!
What do you think happened? It’s not
hard to guess: I always came home in better
shape than when I left.
Since then, my “travel challenge”
has become somewhat of a ritual in my life.
When I’m away from my “home-base”
it becomes a “fitness road trip.”
I search the Internet or yellow pages or ask
locals to help me find the most hard-core gym
nearby wherever I will be staying. When I get
there, I train every bit as hard as if I had
a competition just weeks away. I look forward
to it now.
In fact, this experience is what led me to my
“holiday fitness challenge.”
Like many people, I travel over the holidays,
so I’m automatically in “travel
challenge” mode at thanksgiving, Christmastime
and New Year’s. But with the additional
temptations and busyness that the holidays bring
on top of the usual travel stresses, I saw fit
to declare a new challenge: “The Holiday
Challenge.” The difference was that for
my “holiday challenge,” I pledged
to not only to return home in better shape than
when I left, but to enjoy the holidays to the
fullest at the same time.
People who think I “deprive” myself
to look the way I do would be shocked: I eat
some damn good food over the holidays including
Pie at Thanksgiving and my mom’s famous
red and green Jell-0 Christmas cake. Then on
New Year’s I’m usually toasting
champagne and having a blast with friends or
family. The difference is, every other meal
stays right on schedule and I work out hard
and consistently over the holidays; I don’t
let everything fall apart just because ‘tis
the season.’ In fact, I work out HARDER
over the holidays!
The idea that you can either enjoy the holidays
or stay in shape - but not both - is damaging
and limiting. It hurts your social life, your
emotional life and your physical life. Life
is not an either or proposition; it’s
a matter of balance. Success does not mean going
to extremes. Success can be a simple matter
of re-examining your beliefs, rearranging your
priorities, setting goals, changing the questions
you ask yourself, re-evaluating your expectations
and acting in accordance with all of the above.
Your expectations will become your reality.
What are you expecting this holiday season?
Are you expecting to be in better shape after
holiday parties, celebrations, banquets, dinners,
and desserts? If not, then why not? What’s
preventing you from enjoying all of the above
and still getting in better shape? Do you have
a limiting belief which dictates that it’s
one or the other? Could it be that you never
set a goal, intention or expectation to do it?
Could it be that you’re rationalizing
or making excuses? If so, then I challenge you
to change it this year.
I CHALLENGE YOU TO BE IN BETTER SHAPE ON JANUARY
1st THAN YOU ARE TODAY! I CHALLENGE YOU TO BE
FITTER, HEALTHIER, LEANER AND MORE MUSCULAR!
There’s less than a month until the end
of the year. Why not see how much you can improve
your physique over the holidays, without depriving
yourself of any holiday enjoyments or festivities?
Just step up your expectations. Step up your
standards. Step up your nutrition. Step up your
training. Step up your action. Step up to the
“holiday fitness challenge” the
minute you finish reading this, and then just
see what happens!
Eat right, train hard, and expect success,
Tom Venuto
Fat Loss Coach
www.BurnTheFat.com
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About the Author:
Tom Venuto
is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal
trainer and freelance fitness writer. Tom is
the author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle,”
which teaches you how to get lean without drugs
or supplements using secrets of the world's
best bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn
how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase
your metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com
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