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Is it crazy to try to lose weight now?

ByNicole Doria

You tell me.

Or better yet… am I crazy to try to lose weight now?

No, really you tell me. I might be. I really might.

But I personally think this could be the best time of year to try to start a weight loss journey. This depends on your personality though and how you look at taking on things. This is quite literally as hard as it’s going to get. When I started my original journey of losing 135 pounds back in 2012 with a five year-old, a three year-old and a seven month old… This was as hard as it could possibly be. But… when you’re first starting out, you’re also really really pumped. You’re ready to do this. You’ve probably hit a point where you’re sick of your own mess and you’re ready to get shit done. At least that’s how I was… and that’s how I am? Yes, I’m about to head back down that road too, and I’m gonna do it right during the holidays. It might sound crazy, but hear me out.

A deficit during this time of year helps you practice being picky and choosy.

This practice is about value. It’s picking and choosing things that will bring you some type of value and moving away from other things that will not bring you value either in the moment or later on. It’s a pretty simple thought process but it’s teaching you how to take a moment and assess what is actually going to satisfy a need that you have internally. I do this practice with two questions….

  1. Is this going to bring me some value? Now this could be that it is going to help me reach my protein goal. It could be that it is going to satiate a craving for chocolate that I have had. This could be that it will help me have the energy later for a work out that I want to complete. This could be I absolutely love this particular food made by this particular person, and it is only available during this specific party.
  2. Is this still going to bring me value later either emotionally, physically or mentally? Or will it take value you away? I always feel so much better when I’m able to hit my protein goal, so yes! This food might quench my craving but it also might give me a stomachache later…so no. Having these few drinks with friends might be great in the moment but I will not sleep well and I won’t be able to do my favorite workout tomorrow…so no. Again this food is only available by this person during this time of year at this specific party…. Hell yeah it’s worth it!

Resource: Mindful Eating Strategies for Dining Out & Weight Loss

Additional Resources: Tempting Foods & Feelings of Scarcity

I just want to touch on one more thing here. Why is this valuable to practice? Because on the other side of a diet, there’s no calorie deficit but there is also no diet mentality that says that you can’t have certain things. Now granted there’s no actual restriction while you’re in the diet except for the calorie restriction unless you place one yourself…. But that’s different conversation. But mentally… when you move out of dieting, there is a tendency to bring back foods that you did not have. And it might be hard to control the frequency or the portion. This practice can be used during any dietary phase. It is more about assessing your bodily needs and wants. How well is something going to serve you? And if we eat with that thought process in mind, we are going to have a greater level of acceptance with whatever comes afterward.

A deficit during this time of year helps you practice higher level strategy.

There are going to be a lot of different things around you. Your environment is going to be filled with food and sweets and baked goods and all of the great flavors and smells. There are going to be a lot of candy dishes. You are going to have parties and cookie exchanges in your schedule. There are going to be holiday programs and tree lighting events. There is going to be a lot of shopping. all of these things bring about higher level strategy when it comes to navigating food and your body’s needs.

  1. Let’s talk food environment first. What are you gonna do when there’s candy dishes and baked goods out on the counter that you pass 1 million times a day? Maybe you have them in an opaque container or maybe you have a spot that you can put them away so they are out of sight and out of mind. Maybe you have your meals and snacks fine tuned so that you do not get hungry by maximizing all the different things that help you feel a higher level of fullness (protein, fiber, volume, healthy fats, hydration). Maybe you pre-track a small portion of your favorite of those things into your day for your nighttime snack before you head to bed.
  2. Let’s talk party strategy next. There is so much that can be said for this, but it comes down to some simple things. do you want to try to manage as much as you can around the party? Do you want to try to actually manage at the party? Do you want to try to do both? I put this out there like that with my clients because I think that there is a lot to be said about this. Some people simply want to enjoy time with friends and don’t really want to worry too much about managing themselves during one particular meal. If that is the case, we work the moments before, and then we work the moments after. If somebody does wanna try to understand how to navigate parties, we talk about things like the plate method, how to navigate a buffet by only allowing yourself one plate and looking for proteins and vegetables first, or maybe we simply go for mindfulness techniques and try to be the slowest person in the room to finish what is on your plate (for one option).
  3. Let’s talk about being on the go. So there is definitely a lot of other things that I can go into here, but truth be told… one of the biggest and hardest pieces of the holidays is that we are not home as much. Meal prep might not be an option because you can’t take it with you everywhere you’re going. Maybe this is coming up with three different places in your local area that has three different items each that easily fit into any day because they give you the appropriate macronutrients or calories that you need for one meal. Maybe this is figuring out how to have a go bag that has shelfstable snacks that can hold you over even when you need to go through the drive-through to grab something for the kids, but you don’t want to use your calories like that.

Resources: Mindful Eating & Food Environments for Weight Management, Surviving the Holidays & Mindful Eating Strategies for Dining Out & Weight Loss

When we are presented with different moments, we are ready and open for strategy. That is when our brain wants it. I could tell you every single tip and trick that I have used over the last 14 years but it’s not going to matter unless you can apply it within the next month. Your mind is not going to care. It’s going to care about the other things that are on your to do list right now. So when we are presented with a challenge…. that is the best time to learn the strategy. Even if that means that is quite literally one of the busiest times of your year… you’re willing to strategize when you’re motivated to do this.

A deficit during this time of year helps you build some of the small habits that will carry you through to the bigger goals that you will set for yourself come January.

Because let’s be honest. we do not set tiny bit goals for ourselves come January. We set big audacious goals. We dream big. We think big. We set those intentions. And by mid February we fall flat on our face and then we give up. But…. what we never see is that we need the time to build up to those big audacious habits that can help big audacious goals. In order to run a marathon, you have to be able to run a mile first.

  1. Start thinking about your January goals in September and October. Don’t wait. January has this infectious… contagious… electrifying… feeling to goal setting & starting. But when most people start… They start too big. they might start with. I’m going to suddenly run a mile a day for the next 30 days to jumpstart something. Maybe they haven’t run in months. Do you know what I think of when I hear that… the shin splints that I’m going to get… the planter fasciitis that might flare up… my Achilles that is going to tell me how old I am… and my knees. Can we talk about the knees???? Instead, we could be super smart with our goal of wanting to run and mess around in October with a couch to 5K leading ourselves up to a turkey trot, which are super fun. Or maybe a jingle bell 5K. you know there’s usually hot cocoa and cookies at the end right? Not just the normal banana LOL!
  2. The fall season is a great time to start a gratitude practice, reflective journaling or a daily faith habit. If this is something that you have always wanted to do, a lot of people will take the month of Thanksgiving and talk about gratitude. Maybe they’ll also take part of the month and Christmas and talk about the things that they joyful to have with them. It is a lot easier when the things around you are in line with a habit that you want to create.

Resources: Creating a Legacy & Procrastination Paralysis, Goal, Timeline, or Actions, The Scale, Fluctuations & A Goal Weight, Goal Setting: Exposure, Desire & Confidence & Goals: Actually Getting Started & Perfectionism

Takeaway

Could you practice all of these different things outside of the deficit? Yes.

But sometimes a deficit adds the little bit of pressure that we need in order to push ourselves out of what’s easiest and to try to choose what will make our life easier in pursuit of something hard.

Hope this helps!

Coach Nik

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