If you are interested in fitness, you probably have a bunch of rules buzzing around your head at all times:

• Should drink 8 glasses of water a day
• Must do cardio, strength and flexibility training
• Must get 10K steps in today
• Should avoid sugar and starchy carbs
• Must moderate booze intake
• Should eat protein at every meal.

etc etc.

And now the Holidays are approaching and

**SPOILER ALERT***

A lot of these rules are going to collapse into a pile of mashed potato.

Because:

You are a guest at someone’s house

Because you are sick

Because drinking Bailey’s at 8am on Christmas morning with your dad is awesome.

Because there is no way you will make it through the office party without wine

Because your mum makes that marshmallow sweet potato casserole thing because she thinks it’s your favourite.

Because you are hungover as hell

Because your kids are home all day

Because it’s only once a year and you want to enjoy it and relax a little.

And guess what? I’m actually down with all of that.  Really. I do want you to relax a little and enjoy the season.

**BUT**

Sometimes ‘relaxing a little’….. can turn into The Fuckits.

It happens like this:

“I’ve already broken my ‘no sugar’ rule and had a piece of pie. So fuck it. I’ll have three pieces.”

“ Well, I opened the bottle… So fuck it. Might as well finish it.”

“I missed my workout every day this week so far. So fuck it. I won’t bother going today. I’ll get in shape in January ”

The Fuckits are a recipe for weight gain and bing/purge behaviours that will screw up your metabolism long after that ball has dropped on New Years Eve.

So if any of those internal monologues sound familiar,  you need to implement:

Oonagh’s Two Rules to Fight the Fuckits.

1. Exercise consistency.

Just do something.

Pretty much every day.

You don’t have to do the same old thing (those who are in my Masters Of Fitness Awesomeness Program program are banging out quick 20 min at home workouts, for example.)

It doesn’t have to be hard (try Adrienne’s yoga for when you are hungover).

It doesn’t have to be long.

It just has to happen.

Because exercise is a keystone habit. Meaning that if you do it, it sets off a chain reaction that will lead to other positive decisions.

For example, you are less likely to eat Toaster Strudels for breakfast when you just came back from a run. Even a pathetically slow 10 min run.

You are less likely to finish the bottle of wine if you’ve paid for a Bootcamp class the next morning.

DO NOT WASTE MENTAL ENERGY on a big old debate about whether or not you REALLY have to exercise today because blahblahinsertexercusehereblah.

Listen to how funny your brain is trying to make excuses and then do something anyway.

2. Try moderation.

I know. Mega boring. My personal motto has always been:

“If it’s worth doing, it’s worth OVERdoing!”

It’s a philosophy I’ve applied with gusto to everything from run training  to tequila shots, The Master Cleanse to eye makeup.

I love extremes. But extremes are unsustainable and therefore give birth to The Fuckits.

Check it out:

You could be someone who has two glasses of wine and then stops. ( I swear. I have met these people.)
You could go for long walks when you don’t feel like running.
You could make a small plate from the hors d’oevres table and then walk away like

The point is not to be PERFECT…

(and if you try to do that in December, you will probably fail and then get The Fuckits.)

The point is to make better decisions, more often.

And to relax and enjoy the season. 🙂

Did you like this post? If so, leave a comment below and tell me a bit about your strategy for staying fit during December!