I really don't know where to start this, but I know it needs to come out of my head and onto this page.
Throughout the past week, Americans had their first dabble in the holiday season of 2016. Personally, I spent time at home, eating meals my mother prepared for me as opposed to meals I would normally prepare for myself. For some, this might not be ideal. For some, this might bring feelings of uncertainty, lack of control, and even anxiety. Thankfully, for me, that was not the case. Unfortunately, this has been the case for me in the past. I have experienced feelings of anxiety over the inability to count my calories, the inability to control what ingredients I was consuming, the inability to control the foods that were brought into the house. I have experienced uncontrollable concern over when I would have my next meal, which really sounds ridiculous to me now considering I live in a very food-secure household. Experiencing feelings like this is not normal. It is a true cause for concern. Whether you are an athlete, a recreational exerciser, or someone who avoids the gym at all costs, feeling like this is not normal. It is normal, and important, to be mindful of your intake during the holidays, but it is not normal to be hyper-aware of it. If you have spent any time exploring the realms of Fitness-Twitter or -Instagram, this is probably not the first time that you have heard this spiel. Rather than repeat and hammer in this point, I want to shine light on a new one. Many people will say that "unless you are preparing for a competition of some sort, tracking macros/calories during the holidays is unnecessary and unhealthy." While I agree largely with this statement, I think it is important to also identify that many people will use competitions to "excuse" their fear of food, weight gain, not tracking, etc. So let's get this straight: Preparing for a competition should never be used as a crutch to avoid eating holiday food. Preparing for a competition should never be used as an excuse to keep you on track. Preparing for a competition should never be used to "respectfully" decline your family's meals. Preparing for a competition should never be used to avoid binging during the holidays. While I have personally had poor experiences with competing in bodybuilding competitions, some people find great passion and joy in it. Although I recognize that prolonged intensive dieting inherently has negative consequences (that's another 20+ blogs), I think it truly is wonderful when people have a strong passion for something. I understand passion. I understand dedication. Unfortunately, I understand using these things as an excuse to restrict, too. Both times that I prepped, I began my preps January 1st. Why might that be????????? Because I knew I could enjoy Thanksgiving. I knew I could enjoy Christmas dinner. I knew I could enjoy holiday parties. I knew I could bake my lil heart out. I knew I could enjoy drinking on New Years. I also knew that I lacked self-control around normal food, so weight gain would be unavoidable. Putting a deadline on that weight gain, that "lack of control," took away my fear of the holiday food because I knew that I would have no choice but to lose the weight for prep. I know there are many people who have a different, yet similar, mindset from the one I had. Many people choose to prep during the holidays because they can more easily turn down holiday food. They choose to prep during the holidays because they have a "valid excuse" to tell their mother when they decline her freshly baked pumpkin pie. They have a "valid excuse" to decline desserts, meals at holiday parties, outings with friends. They have a "valid excuse," and this can allow them to avoid holiday weight gain. Obviously, not every single person who chooses to prep throughout the holidays has this mindset. Many people are set on a particular show, a particular goal, etc., and the holidays become an unfortunate casualty. But I think that too often do we say "unless you are prepping for a competition, you don't need to track on Thanksgiving," and not often enough do we ask "why are you truly prepping for this competition during these months?"
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