The Holiday Season is upon us. Whether you love it, hate it or are completely indifferent to it we believe that your feelings should have nothing to do with food or your weight.

Unfortunately, society doesn’t necessarily agree with us. Pretty soon you’ll start reading about challenges and guides on how to stay slim during the Holidays, or how to choose the right foods at the party so that you don’t gain an ounce, or tips and tricks like eating an apple and drinking a gallon of water before the office dinner party so you don’t overeat. Then, you’ll start seeing all the detoxes (another topic for another day) and how to “get back on track” after the Holidays.

If you have personal goals and you are actively trying to loose weight or not gain any weight during the Holidays - all the power to you! Some of these challenges can be a great tool for that. But if you want to enjoy all the delicious food and not worry about one things? Go for it, no judgment! Pro tip - you don’t have to want to loose weight, ever. You can be happy in your own skin and should be. The Holidays have great food, yes, but they are about so much more: family, friends, gatherings and love.

So here’s our challenge: try to enjoy yourself. Approach this season in life with gratefulness and reflection over the past year, while looking ahead at the future and making new goals. Focus on your health and wellness and what makes you feel good. If this is the one time a year you eat sugary foods, then go for it. If you want to stick to your health goals, be strategic on how to approach events (bringing your own food is a great tip and stick to your exercise routine) and then just do it. Basically, our challenge to you is to not spend any energy thinking about food, feeling bad about food, or promising how 2020 will be your year as you stuff your face with cookies. Just let those feelings go and stuff away.

While you don’t have to wait until 2020 to start fresh, it is a time when most people like to reflect on their year and what we’ve accomplished before January first, and imagine the feeling if you know you finished string, not because you didn’t gain a pound during the holidays, but because you stayed true to yourself and put your health and wellness (whatever that may look like) first.

While we love the Holidays and the food that comes with it, here are some strategies that we like to keep so that we don’t go crazy.

Here’s our top strategies we use to feel our best and enjoy this season with our loved ones:

Bring your own food to gatherings! This will allow you some control if that’s your thing and will give you at least one option that you won’t feel bad about
Focus on protein, as you should be doing the rest of the year. Protein will help you feel satiated longer, so you don’t feel hungry after the sugar crash. Fill your plate with protein and veggies first, and leave some room for dessert!
Move your body. Keep up with your exercise routine. It’s the best running weather (in Texas) so get outside if you can or join a class. Take your family out on walks or fun activities to keep the family time going. You are not moving as punishment for the cookies you ate, you are moving so you can nourish your body and because you can!
Manage your stress. Do not put so much pressure on yourself to make everything perfect. If not eating the cookies is stressing you out more than eating them, then eat them. Seriously. The world won’t end. If you are stressing out about having to attend every party, you can practice saying no, you are a grown adult that can say No!

The goal here is to be true to your body and to always feel your best, we want to start 2020 fresh and happy and ready to take on new goals, not feeling guilty or gross and ready to punish our bodies for the Holidays.