I used to be just like any other fit pro when it comes to marketing around major holidays, and send out a newsletter, post tips on Twitter or Facebook or blog about it. What kind of candy to eat at Halloween if one absolutely must, or how to torch fat before, on or after Thanksgiving.

Next up are Christmas, New Year’s Eve and of course, the biggest junk food eating day with the SuperBowl, all opportunities to post something similar to what everyone is concerned with: excess caloric consumption and how to offset it.

We all love a good meal. We gather around it with friends and family, plan activities around it when traveling. It’s comforting and something we all like. The problem arises when we lose focus, or rather hyper focus on a few specific days during the year, lose track of everything else and just flat out adopt the “screw it, it’s the holidays attitude”.

If you eat intelligently (appropriate amount of calories, quality of foods, proper portions and distribution of healthy nutrients and ingredients) and exercise systematically and consistently, a few days out of the year are not going to move the needle. I don’t care one bit around those times. Or rather, I don’t worry. So what if I gain a few pounds? They usually come right off after a few days of clean eating because my body is homeostatic and knows what it likes and needs and has been at the same weight for over 20 years.

I’ve spiked up with hypertrophy programs, or went down with fat loss programs, but always wind up back where it feels most aligned with my needs and lifestyle. A few days a diet do not make. Worry about how you eat between the holidays, not on the holidays. If we add up the holidays we pig out at beyond the Superbowl, since we pushed till that date, we have Valentine’s day (big meals, lotsa chocolate), Memorial Weekend BBQ’s, July 4th, Labor Day BBQ, Halloween, Thanksgiving and back to where we are now.

So, stop the madness, the craziness or the belief that ONE workout will help you from piling on unwanted pounds. Do as you normally would, or better yet indulge, enjoy and chill out a bit. That does a body good if the rest of your lifestyle of training and eating well is in check. If it’s not, then the one meal or one workout will not make a dent in the issues that need to be tackled. Let loose once in a while if you earned it throughout the year 🙂