We are closing in on the last of the holidays for this season……New Year’s!! Then comes the time of The Resolution! Have you thought about yours?

No dates present

Imagine, if you will, that it is one month from now. It is the first week of January, 2010. This is the week that New Year’s resolutions are out in full force. And for many, many, many people, The NYR means one thing– weight loss. “Oh! I am going to go exercise and lose that weight that I have been meaning to lose for the last blah blah blah.” The health clubs go nuts because we go wandering in to their membership offices with the very best of intentions and sign up for a guaranteed monthly withdrawl from our checking accounts. And for six weeks, we try sooooooo hard to do the right thing, always not quite certain if what are doing is really the right thing– but, hell, we’re doing something and that must be good, right? And then, after six weeks, Valentine’s Day rolls around, candy is placed all around us and any resolution that we had such a short time ago is completely forgotten about– except, of course, for that monthly withdrawl by the health club, which continues on for at least another 11 months.

I see it every year. Sometimes it is the exact same players year in and year out. And it is so frustrating: January comes around and we realize that we are in exactly the same position with regard to our own health as we were the year before. One of the big problems preventing us from succeeding is what I call The Festive Fifteen. Sure, there are six weeks at the beginning of the new year when we have the very best of intentions. But the last six weeks of the year are filled with the very worst behavior. From Thanksgiving through New Year’s, Pumpkin Pie through Champagne, we have six weeks of parties and celebrations and parties and food and drink and celebrations, on and on and on.

Now, granted, with the current state of the economy, the chances of huge office parties celebrating another great year are less likely. But taking their places will be stress-related eating, drinking, more eating, and then probably more drinking. The desire to cut loose this time of year is still very great. And that leads to The Festive Fifteen– not literally 15 pounds like the Freshman Fifteen, but extra weight and calories that we are consuming throughout the six week period. So when it comes time to fulfill our Resolutions, we are already far behind the eight ball. All the calories, the partying, the stress and the sugar over-tax our systems and it is very hard to dig out.

So here are some ideas to keep the celebration running high without necessarily burying yourself for the New Year:

1. Keep a food journal. Sure, some would find this extreme and perhaps a little controlling, but by writing down what you eat on a regular basis, you are far less likely to over-consume.
2. Don’t stand next to the food. Sometimes you’ll find yourself camped out next to the food table at the office party. Make a small plate for yourself and move quickly to the other side of the room. Turn your back if you have to. Absolutely no grazing.
3. Eat something before the party. You don’t have to be full when you attend, but if you have a small snack, you will be less inclined to keep eating when you go out.
4. Water, water and peppermint gum. Ice cold water is terrific for quelling the appetite and it is also a great alternative to that extra glass of white wine. And peppermint is also a fantastic appetite suppressant– a couple sticks of gum and you will feel less hungry and your breath will smell wintery terrific.
5. Work out. Sounds easy enough, but it will probably take a little extra strategizing to figure out how to work exercise into your life this month. Make the time and reap the dividends.

So go out and have a fantastic holiday season! You deserve it! But do some great stuff for yourself so you can get that head start and make this year’s Resolution the most successful ever!