The average American consumes about 60,000 calories during the entire festivities of the year (Thanksgiving, Hanukah, Christmas, New Years', etc). That's a total of thirty days, as the festivities always start early. All those extra calories translate into a total gain of over 17 pounds of fat (1lb of fat = 3500 calories). It takes from 8 to 16 weeks to lose the weight. So why not be a little more aware? Try to limit the damage to your body and in turn to your mind.

Mindful Wisdom

When the next holiday approaches, make yourself a promise to indulge in a mindful fashion. Respect your hard work: don't destroy what you've achieved the rest of the year. Think of all the workouts and days on diet you've spent. If you have to go full-blown into the celebrations, do it the day of the celebration, not an entire week before and certainly not for thirty days

Mindful Action

Eat mindfully by chewing each bite 20 to 30 times. Drink a glass of water prior to each meal, eat the protein portion first, pause for a few minutes, eat the carbs (leave the sweets for the end of the meal), pause, then if you still have room get to the dessert. I doubt you'll have any room left. A meal should last 30 to 45 minutes. In France, where I come from, we take about an hour to eat a full course meal. Do you see a lot of overweight people in France? In addition to that fact, most people walk everywhere instead of driving. I read once that Americans drive 10 miles to the gym to walk two miles on a treadmill. Does it make sense?