Keeping the Balance while Keeping the Holiday

This month one of the main themes in most magazines, health sites and articles is how not to gain weight during the holidays, how to banish bloat during the holidays, how to manage your diet during the holidays, or however the title is cleverly put.  My inbox has been flooded with those types of emails from the various health and fitness sites I visit.I think we ALL have read so many of these articles and tips and we ALL absolutely know what to do.  We know to eat a little something before going to a cocktail party.  We know that cheese does not count as a vegetable at lunch, nor do Bloody Marys.  We know we need to do our best to get some exercise during this busy time.  Now that Christmas is over I guess we can all sit back and evaluate how we did.  Check in with ourselves and see how we feel, or better yet, how our jeans feel.Personally speaking, it is not the time leading up to Christmas, or the meals at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day that do me in.  I love those meals, prepare for them and enjoy the celebrations they represent.  What gets me is this time right here.  This week between Christmas Day and New Years Day.  I was just telling The Third Son that I loved this week because everyone is still home and we are all moving at a slower pace.  It is a great time to rest, relax and enjoy.  It would be absolutely perfect if it were a bit colder here!However, it is this slower pace, and being home more and having the boys home with all the leftover treats and the large amounts of food required by these males,  that tends to do me in.  I find myself having to stop myself from grabbing a bite of this or that or a taste of something else . . .I can see how this part of the holiday could be the time for me of making the unhealthy choices, sitting too often, letting go a little too much.  There has to be a balance of staying in a relaxed mode and soaking up this down time, but not letting it all go to pot.  So, I'm just putting it out there for any of you that may find yourself home a little more, still in holiday mode even without all the events, wanting to enjoy this last week of 2016 BUT not wanting to begin 2017 too far behind and with snug jeans!Sometimes we just need to walk away.  Turn the light out in the kitchen and just get out.  And chug your water.  Lots of water.Enjoy Your Day!