Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

Since we’re a little less than two weeks away from Halloween here in the USA, I guess we can start talking about the holiday season.

That’s not because I consider Halloween to be part of the holiday season. To be honest, I don’t really like Halloween that much.

Most of my adult life, I’ve followed kind of a baseball schedule of fitness and nutrition: start working out a little in January, work out a lot in February, get into decent shape by April, keep up the activity until October. Once October hits, rest and allow myself some leeway when it comes to fitness and nutrition, something that lasts a little later than New Year’s Day (leftovers).

That brings me to October. The beginning of October, I’m still doing pretty well. But we always throw a party on the day our neighborhood hosts its Halloween trick or treating (on the Sunday before Halloween). I make what has now become the traditional Cincinnati Chili recipe, which isn’t always the healthiest thing in the world. Especially if it goes on a hot dog. Throw in a few snack here and there, and before you know it, I’ve started a bad annual habit.

Generally, I work hard all year to stay in shape and keep my weight from ballooning. But inevitably, beginning with Halloween and ending after New Year’s Day, I let myself down.

It doesn’t matter what I’m loading up on, or whether this behavior might have potentially dangerous consequences in the future. It’s simply something I’ve made an effort to curb going forward.

I’m not trying to say No to everything now. I’m just trying to moderate, and this year, I’ll be trying to moderate even more than before. Thanks to increased insulin resistance and lower metabolism (Hello, aging), this becomes more critical for me each year.

The good news is, I’m at a point in my life where I’m not motivated by food in general. Most of the time. But not all the time.

I don’t have a strategy that I employ. I just try to eat less, drink less, and eat less and drink less of the things that make it harder to stay in shape and maintain my weight. I also try to remain active, or increase activity, like walking more or doing more yard work, especially in December. It makes me feel like I’m getting a head start on all the New Year’s Resolutioners (Resolutionists?) out there.

Whatever you want to call it, this will be my second year of doing it. Last year, I really dreaded the idea. Now, I’m not so afraid of it.

It’s not about denial… it’s about adding years onto my life, instead of pounds onto my waistline. Is that a bad way to think about it?