Holiday Survival: Model to Help You Enjoy the Holidays

The holidays are here. For many of us this can be a season of stress. It’s a shame that we have to look at such a fun and festive season as stressful, but when you are trying to manage your health, it can quickly feel that way.

The average person puts on a pound at Thanksgiving alone. The scary part is that they don’t take it off during the rest of the year. That’s right, the average person gains a pound every year. That doesn’t sound like much, but where does that put you in 5 years…10 years…20 years? You can do that math and see that it puts you somewhere you don’t want to be.

So how do we cope with “stress season”? I call it the PLAY model. The PLAY model is the key to getting through the “stress season”. By focusing on these steps, you can actually enjoy the coming months!

The PLAY Model

Planning

Planning your events and obligations can make it more manageable. Many of us try to be everywhere and do everything. Before committing to going everywhere or doing everything, take a look at when and where things are taking place. Often, by making some decisions or even just minding the order of your events, you can make life much easier on yourself. Plus, once you know you plan on going to an event, you can make adjustments to the rest of your week or day to make sure that you aren’t overwhelmed.

Listing

Once you’ve decided which events you will attend, list them or put them on your
calendar. Seeing them in an organized (planned) way can feel less overwhelming. Armed with the list of your obligations, you are better equipped to handle the season. Have you ever felt like you were never done? Or you always had another place to be? If you put together a schedule and stick with it, you won’t feel this way. In fact, just seeing the events can help you feel more in control. And when you are in control, everything is easier.

Attending

This seems odd, I know, but by attending is the next step. It sounds automatic to be there, but this is taking it to another level. By attending, I mean truly being present the events. When you are consciously and making an effort to enjoy yourself will remind you of why you are going in the first place. Some people like to list all of the positives of attending events before they go in order to focus on the positives. This can help you stick with diet goals by enjoying a conversation instead of going back for more pie.

You

It’s all about you. This should probably be the first step, but that would ruin my
acronym. YOU can decide what is realistic and what’s not. As you look at your goals, you can decide what you want to do. Making sure you stick to your plan through busy times will help you stay energetic and feeling good. If you are feeling good and taking the time for yourself, you will be able to prevent unnecessary stress from ruining your holiday season.

Stay tuned for the next step in the process. It's called The STAY Model and it can help you keep your routine on track during and after the holidays.

Have a Happy and Healthy Thankgiving!