Permission to be Human this Christmas

Christmas is almost here and I can already feel the fear, tension and guilt in the air!

Out there there are thousands of people who are trying to get their health and weight on track, but they are also wrought with anticipation of what food and drink they can or can not eat and drink over the festive season. Will they offend Great Aunty Joan if they turn down her famous Christmas pud this year because they are trying to cut out sugar? Will they look like the ‘sober loser’ because they don’t want to over indulge in whiskey and wine at Christmas lunch? And what about all the boxes of Rose’s chocolates and Cadbury Favourites that everyone likes to have fill stockings and bowls with to enjoy? The temptation to ‘wreck’ all their dedication is EVERYWHERE!

Cue the feelings of lack of self-control, reckless abandon, guilt and shame that follows a Christmas day or two (or three!) of ‘over-indulging’. Then the inevitable, “Okay, stuff it, I’ve already messed up, so I might as well carry on now… But my New Years resolution is to… (fill in the blank about weight loss/get fit goals).”

Here is where I come in and say that I give you Permission to be Human!
You are human. You have one life. Enjoy it!

That means giving yourself the permission to enjoy a glass or two of wine over your Christmas meal. It means to enjoy kicking back with a beer in the sun while the kids play cricket on the grass. It means to re-live your childhood Christmas mornings with your own children and enjoying some chocolate when they offer it to you. It means to pile up your plate with your favourite foods that everyone has spent hours preparing. It means to be carefree and happy on this one day a year when most people are surrounded by the people they love.

Enjoy being in the moment. Stop thinking about tomorrow and how tight your pants may feel. Or how puffy your eyes may look in the morning. Give yourself Permission to be Human over Christmas!

By no means do you have to overindulge or eat and drink things you wouldn’t normally, but if you do, the next day, get back to the plan. Just because you indulged yesterday, doesn’t mean you’re a failure. It doesn’t mean all is lost. It doesn’t mean that you might as well go on a junk food binge until New Years.
No, it means that you gave yourself Permission to be Human. And now you are just jumping back in where you left off with your healthy lifestyle.

So that means giving yourself permission to getting back to the plan.

You are Human. You have one life.

Enjoy it!

– Fi xxx

P.S. Obviously, if you are a recovering alcoholic, or have food intolerance’s etc, you need to use your common sense this season!