Thanksgiving has come and gone, and we're in full stride towards the rest of the holiday season. A time of year where home cooked meal, desserts, candy, and everything indulgent is served for every meal, and any time in between. With all the commotion around this time of year, health and fitness goals sometimes fall to the wayside, so that we can indulge and spend time with loved ones, instead of at the gym. No one wants to put down that Christmas cookie or fresh Babka- And we shouldn't have to! But being able to indulge during the holidays and stay healthy doesn't usually go hand in hand.
Last week I stepped on the scale at the gym and wanted to scream. The number hadn't moved. Not that I had been doing a whole lot to make that number say something different, but still. There's always a glimmer of hope that it'll read off something, even just a pound, lighter. I was heartbroken. I came out of the locker room and my boyfriend could tell something was up. "You stepped on the scale didn't you?" i just hung my head and nodded yes. What he said next really just blew my mind.
"What the scale says doesn't matter. Are you happy with how you look and what your body can do? If yes, then there's nothing to stress about. If no, then set specific goals to work towards instead." That really got me thinking about what we define as successful goal setting, and how we approach them. To me, not seeing any pounds lost meant I had failed. I hadn't even thought about the fact that I had upped the weight I was lifting on bench by 20 lbs, or that I could now do two more pull-ups.
During the holidays and really any time of year, changing our mindset away from what the scale says and setting different kinds of goals is a great way to keep your head up without getting discouraged. Challenge yourself though! Try and shave time off your mile on the treadmill. Or see if you can set the recumbent bike to a couple levels higher than you normally do, and stay there longer this ride. Go up 5 lbs in whatever weight your're lifting, or try for two extra reps.
The scale, and whatever weight it reads back, never seems to be enough. And a little tip that I didn't know about until I had already cried several times about what the scale read; depending on what time of day you weigh yourself, you can weigh different amounts! Not that it will be ten pound differences, but for myself seeing just one extra pound sent me into a frenzy.
It's a sad reality that the scale has such an impact our self worth and for some they don't have an amazing significant other cheering them on. But we do have control over how hard we work and the ability to set what success is to us. So during this holiday season, eat the slice of pie and laugh with your loved ones. Have all the home cooked food you've missed in the last year. Be ready to set different kinds of goals in respect to your health, and be patient with yourself. As long as you continue working towards your goals, that's really all that matters.
