Mission Lean: Holiday Edition to Stay on Track
'Tis the season to get chunky!!!! Seriously. From Halloween to New Year's Day, it is a fast ramp-up for indulgences. Gaining a cool 5 pounds is easy breezy.
These are the best days of cocktails, social events, corporate gift baskets, and office parties.
On November 1st, the USA moved the clocks backward. The adjustment is NOT NICE for many of us. It’s cooler. It’s darker. Easy to sit in front of the TV to binge-watch a series or ca
tch up on movies while snacking mindlessly at night. This is the time that people get depressed and emotionally eat and drink. Or, be grateful and thankful and emotionally eat and drink.
You get the point. There is a lot more eating and drinking.
For me, once it gets dark, it is an automatic signal for me to hop in my pajamas and go to bed. Having a 5 pm bedtime is just not realistic. For me, staying awake after dark comes at a cost of snacks, sweet treats, and ice cream. Yes, ice cream in the winter…alone. No peach cobbler or apple pie is required. It is comforting for me to indulge. No particular reason is required.
This time change is wreaking havoc on my semi-bad habits. I was doing really well at shutting off media at night until there was a medical emergency. My phone was off, did not receive the alert, and found out the next day…SURPRISE! Instead of going to the gym with my dad, I was taking him to Urgent Care and subsequently the ER.
Bringing my phone into the bedroom creates a new problem of finishing off YouTube videos that I fell asleep on from the couch! There HAS to be a better way to stay balanced. BE AWARE yet UNATTACHED.
Here is my plan until March (when the time SPRINGS ahead and there is more evening sunlight).
✅On the days I am not running around the city with the boys, I will walk on the treadmill after dinner for an hour. This will give me time to binge on YouTube or Netflix. It also gives me enough energy to meal prep for the next day or finish off a bit of work.
✅Create a wind-down routine. This includes stretching, meditation/prayer, and light reading. Consistency will help me detach from media, blue light, and sensory overload.
✅Put my phone on DND (DO NOT DISTURB). Important people will get through. If you’re not on the VIP list, it will have to wait until the next day.
Mission Lean is still possible. Maybe NOT as lean as I expected. But I can still make progress.
There are a few things that motivate me.
🏃🏾♀️➡️ Tracking my calories holds me accountable. Plus, I paid for a year subscription. If I can’t get it together naturally by then, I give up.
👖 Being able to fit into my clothing. I have dress pants that I REFUSE to replace. Who knows, I might need them for a meeting or something.
💪🏾 Flexing at the gym. This is what true gym rats do.
👚 Buying a crop top for the summer. Maybe we can squeeze in a vacation before the boy goes to college. Or after, he might be the perfect dog-sitter.
Why throw the baby out with the bathwater and start in 2027? I’m going to plow through and make the best of 2026.
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