Thanksgiving: Kryptonite to Dieting

Around this time each year, there is something that triggers in the minds of everyone that makes them want to lose weight and become healthier. It starts off subtle. The weather starts changing and light layering becomes necessary. Either you go to the closet to throw on a sweater and for some reason it just doesn’t quite fit or you grab some jeans before class and they won’t button. It’s at this very point that for the first time you start to notice that you have put on a few pounds. Though you had this weight yesterday, it seems to have magically appeared overnight and you have no idea where it came from.
Here is where we all consciously make the decision to change our diet and get back in shape. We start heading to the gym, watching our calories, and drink water by the gallons. We stay on track for a week or two, three if you are really dedicated, but then the inevitable happens: Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is to dieting what kryptonite is to Superman: the one thing that can bring all your effort to a screeching halt. Thanksgiving is the perfect excuse to “reward” yourself for your efforts. However, for most of us, it is the catalyst that results in us returning to our old grubbing ways.
If you can make it through Thanksgiving and are still dedicated to your diet and exercise, congratulations, but you are not out of the woods just yet. Soon there are finals and the last thing you are worried about is how many calories you are taking in and how many you need to work off at the gym later that night. Cramming in information at the last minute leaves very little time for preparing healthy meals and Little Debbie just seems like the only choice at 4 a.m. Though it seems impossible, some people at this point have actually withstood the temptations of both Thanksgiving and exam week. For the rest of us, we have already decided to get back on track after the Christmas season, which means it will end up being our New Year’s resolution.
It seems to me that not only are we all aiming for the same goal around this point in the semester, but most of us have the same problem with motivation. Diet and exercise are an important part of life and for some reason it only remains important in our own minds for a few weeks at a time. It’s not like we do not have access to a gym, dieticians, nutritionists, trainers, and other support through the Student Wellness Center so we can’t blame anyone but ourselves. Though all this is at our disposal, very few take advantage of it, myself included. Its great to have a goal in mind to become healthy and fit but not reaching that goal with all these resources seems ridiculous.
Breaking your stride by allowing Thanksgiving and exam week to interfere has to come to an end and remaining motivated and determined are the only ways of breaking it. If you can’t hold out for the holidays then when will you? When New Year’s rolls around? Don’t be another statistic! Break out of your cycle and when Thanksgiving rolls around next year, you will be happy to know that your winter clothing is now a few sizes too big!