What does “holiday progress” look like for you?

(Read time: 2 min 30 sec)

A few years ago, I gained about 3kgs over the Christmas holidays.

And I was HAPPY about it!

You see, the “Old Eric” would have gained 7kgs or even 10kgs during that time.

But the “New Eric” had better skills and better habits. I continued to live a healthy lifestyle as best I could during the festive season.

So in my eyes, gaining 3kgs rather than 7kgs or 10kgs was massive progress. The next year I managed to maintain my weight, which was even more progress for me.

Progress is progress, no matter how small. In the end, it all adds up.

Going into the upcoming holidays, I want to challenge you to think about progress a little differently.

This may seem counterintuitive to many people, but being able to maintain your weight (especially after weight loss) is actually a HUGE win.

1) Most people gain weight over the years.

• If you’re managing to maintain your weight, ?you’re winning?.

2) Most people gain a LOT of weight over the holiday season.

• Chances are the “old you” is one of them. But if the “new you” manages to maintain your weight or only gains 1-3kgs rather than 7-10kgs, ?you’re winning?.

3) You can’t be losing weight ALL the time.

• It’s mentally and physically tiring. It can negatively affect your hormones and metabolism, and it’s not always practical.

• Progress is not all-or-nothing, just because you’re not losing weight doesn’t mean you should give up and gain it.

• If you’re choosing to maintain your weight rather than giving up, ?you’re winning?.

4) You’ll have different priorities at different times.

• If you enter the upcoming Sleekgeek 8-Week Transformation Challenge in February 2020, losing weight will probably be high on your priority list.

• But if you’re spending time with family and loved ones over the Christmas holidays then family time and fun are probably higher on your list of priorities than weight loss.

• You can’t make everything a priority all the time, because then it’s not a priority. But you can change your priorities from time to time while doing your best to maintain everything else in your life at adequate levels.

• If you’re maintaining your weight while you shift priorities for a bit, ?you’re winning?.

5) You need practice for when you do reach your goal weight.

• There’s a lot of information and advice out there on how to lose weight, but not so much about how to maintain that weight lost.

• So when you do reach your goal weight or lose a satisfying amount of fat, you’ll need to know what maintenance looks like.

• If you’re practising for maintaining your goal weight, ?you’re winning?.

Keep in mind that this is not a free card to just give up and coast along. It’s not all-or-nothing.

Maintenance still takes a lot of effort (anyone who’s been “stuck” on a plateau and unable to lose any more weight despite their efforts will know that it’s certainly not effortless). But it’s do-able.

Imagine what 2020 will be like for you if you can start the year off immediately chasing your goals rather than first spending months taking off the weight that you packed on over the holidays?

What does “holiday progress” look like for you?

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P.S. I’m taking on online nutrition coaching clients if you’d like some private one-on-one help winning the holidays and making 2020 your best year ever.

Read more here or enquire via email before spots fill up: eric@sleekgeek.co.za.