So what is it going to be this year? This...



or this...

Today there are just about 90 days left in 2016. I want to be still be smiling when I weigh my self on January 1, 2017. My goal is to stay 100% on plan through October, November and December. I challenge you to do the same.

Over the next 3 months we will face the annual blitz of holiday goodies at every turn. There will be high carb traditional favorites at holiday dinners and parties. Candy dishes, wine glasses and stockings will be full. Nice people will present you with heartfelt gifts that include off-plan no-nos. Yes - the tough days of 2016 lie just ahead. Are you up to the challenge?

The season is supposed to be happy and festive. But we all know what happens when we give in to temptation. We have a moment of joy and a boatload of regret. How is that being happy and festive? How about treating yourself to healthy, on-plan food over the next 90 days and survive the holidays with a new sense of joy. Get to January 1 OP and discover the pride and joy of knowing that you did it. This is your WOE and you survived the holidays without regret.

2014 was the first time I ever vowed to make it through the holidays without cheating. There were no excuses. No justifications. No debates. If faced with temptation, the answer to whether I was going to give in to it was always NO. Guess what? I did it and it felt good. I managed to get it done last year, too. Practice makes perfect. I want to do it again. Just treat everyday as an on plan day. You've dodged the junk before - you can do it on a holiday, too. If you've never survived the holidays OP before, why not make this year special and memorable. Let this be the year that you stayed strong and got it done.


THE 90 CHALLENGE:

The official start date of this challenge is October 4th - exactly 90 days from New Year's Day. But feel free to join any time. Copy the last post and add your Name and Start Weight to the list. Enter your Goal Weight for January 1, 2017. My goal is to lose 7 pounds. But if your goal is to maintain, that is OK, too. Maintenance is good, especially during the holidays. Then record your Current Weight every week (or so) for the next 3 months. Always copy the most recent post and then add your changes to it. That way everybody's info will remain current.

For fun, lets post some NSVs along the way. Every time you are faced with a holiday temptation and find a way to cope without giving in -- that's the kind of NSV I'm talking about. Do it -- turn down the cheat -- and then tell us how you got it done. Staying OP does not have to be boring. If you have ideas for on-plan substitutes for traditional holiday fare, feel free to post that, too. We are not deprived. We are eating healthy.

I used to weigh 440 pounds. Clearly, I had issues with staying out of the goodies. But I've made it through the holidays twice without cheating. If I can do it, you can do it. So come on and join us. Finish 2016 strong!

I borrowed the images above from this [16 Days 'Til Christmas: 7 Tips to Stop Holiday Weight Gain] website. It is not an LC specific list of suggestions - but the it is good information none-the-less.