It's that time of year again....

We are creeping up to the holiday craziness and you've likely already come across ads urging you to begin the latest diet craze or fitness fad to prepare for the extra pounds. Like clockwork by mid-December you will be inundated beyond belief with transformation pictures and success stories. It is as predictable as the sun setting. Every. Single. Year.
This is where the picture you see here is perfect.
Do you need to wait to start? Do you need to have a dramatic transformation program to get back to health?

As adults you have lived through this cycle long enough to know what you need to be doing to maintain health. Perhaps the real challenge should be: Can you make it through the holiday season WITHOUT sacrificing your health?

You see if you prepare your body and your eating habits BEFORE the stress and the rush then you are in a better position to survive a setback without it being a major crush to your system.
It that possible when Thanksgiving is nearly a week away?

YES!
Here is an excellent video from What I've Learned on how heart variability is an indicator of willpower. The more variability you have, the better self control. What is heart rate variability? It is the amount of contractions you heart makes during one minute. Your heart rate will increase when you inhale and decrease when you exhale. Your heart rate will respond to stressors or triggers you come across such as a potential threat that would require you to run turns on the sympathetic nervous system increasing your heart rate OR vice versa for a situation that is relaxing leading to the parasympathetic nervous system turning on (this is called pause & plan).

Since breathing affects your heart rate variability it is a powerful tool to help reset the body by returning energy to the brain and increase your self control. This is the perfect time to start some mindful breathing so you can maintain willpower through this stressful time of year. A simple 10 deep breaths can be all you need.

Back to the picture: how long do you need to think about changing your habits so that you bypass the holiday crash and remain constant and steadfast instead? Perhaps instead of acting on impulse you can employ this simple technique of deep breathing to regain control and keep from panicking.

In the meantime, movement is essential for keeping stress levels low as well so don't put your health on hold in order to crunch in more than you can humanly do. Keep your health at the top of your to do list so that you don't fall into the trap of stress induced sickness.