Holidays aren’t the enemy when it comes to your weight loss goal, all-or-nothing thinking is.
I have a confession.
I’ve been phoning my workouts in all year.
I haven’t set a single PR.
I haven’t been following a structured program.
I haven’t trained at my potential.
But I’ve still been in the gym 4–5 days a week.
I’ve still prioritized 3+ lifts and 1–2 cardio days.
I’ve still showed up, even when the effort wasn’t “elite.”
Because something is always better than nothing,
and because sustainable results aren’t built with extremes - they’re built in the middle.
If I still lived in my old “go hard or go home mindset,” I probably would’ve completed 3 workouts this entire calendar year,
…instead of the 200+ I actually completed.
And realizing that got me thinking about the holidays.
We all know what happens between Thanksgiving and New Years
People start telling themselves stories like:
“I’ll start January 1st”
“There’s no point right now”
“I should just enjoy myself now and get serious later”
And then those 5–6 weeks become 12–14 weeks, January 1st feels harder, and the cycle repeats itself year after year.
But what if you navigated nutrition the way I’ve navigated fitness this year?
What if you accepted that your choices don’t need to be a 10/10 to count?
What if you prioritized your non-negotiables instead of perfection?
What if you focused on:
eating protein 3x/day?
having a veggie at 2–3 meals/day?
eating enough to not show up to events starving
enjoying balanced plate before reaching for snacks and sweets
prioritizing steps on days you don’t sweat
…instead of trying to make the perfect choice, and feeling hopeless when it doesn’t work out the way you wanted?
What if you allowed the goal to be “show up and do what I can” instead of “if I can’t do it perfectly, there’s no point…”
Non-negotiables are what keep your progress from disappearing
Most people don’t fall off in December because they don’t have the ability to be successful.
They fall off because their only plan is perfection.
And when perfection isn’t possible… the only other option becomes nothing.
That’s ^^ the problem.
When you have non-negotiables that are achievable even on your busiest, most chaotic holiday weeks:
you don’t go backwards
you don’t lose momentum
and you don’t have to “start over” every January
You maintain the foundation that keeps you in the game.
Holidays aren’t the enemy. All-or-nothing thinking is.
This year, I’ve been giving less than my best when it comes to fitness.
But I’ve continued to consistently do something.
You can do the same with your nutrition this holiday season.
Not by being perfect, but by staying in motion.
By focusing on 3–5 behavior anchors that keep you showing up in small ways, no matter what the calendar looks like.
That’s how you get to January 1st without feeling like you “need a reset”.
Need help knowing what behavior anchors to choose or how to shake that old all-or-nothing mindset? I’m here to help.
