The Winter Warmer is Upon Us

  Hibernation and a fatty extra layer for the winter remains only for the bears. I know I am not alone when it comes to this topic; as the weather gets colder we have a harder time getting out of bed, we want to eat more comfort style food, we want to stay home in the warmth of our doors and have a harder time motivating ourselves to get to the gym or get on a hike, or what ever your exercise pleasure may be. BUT I encourage you to fight these feelings and continue to your goals. With the holidays approaching it is only that much more important we stay on track.

  http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/22/the-skinny-on-holiday-weight-gain/?_r=0
The article above shows information on the average weight gain during the holiday season, DONT allow people to scare you by saying it is 7-10 pounds because it is actually only about a 1 pound. Which sounds easy to change right... well not as easy as you think, the 1 pound is of fat not of water or other factors that otherwise may lead you to think it will go away in the day. Dont be afraid of the holidays though, if we get ahead of the game and start a healthy habit now it will lead us through the Thanksgiving and Christmas season full of all the delicious foods and things we otherwise punish ourselves for eating. Allow yourself to indulge and be joyous with your family but do it all in moderation. Allow your self a slice of pie but take only one, dont go back for seconds and dont try three different kinds. Take smaller portions of things like potatoes and eat more of the turkey; it will still fill you up and it will keep you fuller for longer.

  I have made a pledge to myself this week and will challenge you to make a similar pledge to yourself...

    I pledge I will eat 100% clean 6 day/week and on day 7 I get ONE cheat meal. I pledge I will work out at least 4 day/week and will strive to get 5 or 6. I pledge I will work hard on keeping my mental health not only by getting rest days and maybe some meditation, but by expressing myself how ever I need, whether it is by communicating more openly with the people around me or it is by picking up some art supplies expressing myself artistically, OR picking up a pen and paper and writing down what ever is in my head how ever it desires to come out.

If you need help with any of this please do not hesitate to ask I am here to work through any questions or concerns you may have, ESPECIALLY when it comes to clean eating. I have tons of recipes, and if I dont have what you are looking for I will find it!

Be STRONG!