The sure fire way to gain weight over the holidays

I would say that manifesting something we really don't want in our lives is really about becoming unconscious, falling asleep at the wheel, dialing down our self-awareness and letting negative coping behaviours replace healthier ones.

Gaining weight over the holidays isn't really about how much food there is around. It's about using the holidays as an excuse to throw self-care out the window. Often times, people drop any fitness routines they might have in place and sometimes even overeat to the point of self-disgust.

Why?

Yes it's a busier time of year for many people but that would imply we have less time to put stuff in our mouths. The real issue is that we have been programmed to think the holidays are a beautiful time filled with joy, abundance, meaningful time with family and friends. And when we are faced with the truth that the holidays can often be a complicated or mixed emotional time for anyone with inadequate parenting or living in complicated family make ups or even with teenagers in the house, we reach for some type of comfort.

I'm not saying this is the case for everyone but I've generally found that people who turn to food for comfort are using food as a tool to repress something. For those who had wonderful childhoods and just like to overeat over the holidays, this blog post might not be for you. Unless of course, you haven't embraced the fact that no one's life is without struggle and no childhood is 'perfect'.

Like many of you, I have very mixed memories of Christmas. Some wonderful and some not so wonderful. I remember noticing that my parents became particularly more stressed over the holidays and there were more emotional outbursts which I didn't really 'get' as a child. It's like Christmas can bring back to life these times in my childhood.

When routines are thrown out the window, it can be more difficult trying to stay on track with what is truly important to us like perhaps not gaining weight again over the holidays.

But I do think we can practice getting better at taking really good care of ourselves despite the holidays!

We can enjoy treats but not to excess. We can rejoice in the abundance of food and drink but we need to know when we start using these two things like any other addictive substance.

So if you don't want to gain weight over the holidays, try to stay wide awake! In so doing, we can enjoy the joyful moment more fully and let those emotions fill us up and we can also face any memories that need a more objective view, from a place of self-compassion and love.

Maybe this is the time in your life you can start with those few minutes of daily meditation you've been meaning to do. Those few minutes can go a long way into keeping you conscious!