Healthy for the Holidays: The fit person's diet strategies for Thanksgiving

November 13, 2:02 PMWest Palm Beach Health and Happiness ExaminerTracy Allerton

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   Author Steve Siebold says you need to
   think like a fit person all year-round,
   but especially during the holidays.
                                               

Gulp. It's that time of year again: the holiday season, with its plentitude of fattening food and drinks.  But if you want to avoid the typical five-pound seasonal weight gain, you need a plan; you need to adopt a fit person's diet strategies.   You need to think about the holidays -- starting with Thanksgiving -- like a fit person does, not like a fat person does!  And, you must get tough with yourself -- mentally tough.

Or so says renowned mental-toughness expert (and Palm Beach County resident) Steve Siebold in his new book, Die Fat or Get Tough: 101 Differences in Thinking Between Fat People and Fit People.

"Getting fat is your fault," Siebold declares in his introduction, making it clear that he's not going to pull any punches in his no-excuses approach to weight loss.  Die Fat or Get Tough is full of brutally blunt advice.  For instance: Difference No. 6, "Fat people give into cravings; fit people prepare for cravings"; or No. 90, "Fat people rely on diets, pills and potions; fit people rely on themselves." 

These kinds of changes in your thinking are crucial to getting -- and staying -- healthy and fit, Steve Siebold insists.  Not only that, but mental toughness -- i.e., willpower -- is especially crucial this time of year, when people are presented with an abundance of food and tend to overeat.  One bad meal, Siebold warns, can completely derail your progress: 

"99 percent compliance is failure. If you’re going to get fit, it’s all or nothing – including Thanksgiving!"  

Yes, that's right: Fit people make consistently healthy dietary choices, all year-round!  Here are some other mental-toughness tips from Siebold on fit vs. fat thinking for the holidays:

•  Fat people lie to themselves; fit people are brutally honest. Will you tell yourself it’s OK to become a stuffed turkey this holiday, or are you mentally tough enough to know when enough is enough?
• Fat people would rather experience the short term satisfaction of stuffing their face; fit people prefer the long term pride of achieving world-class fitness which leads to a better body, better sex and a better all around you.
• Fat people make choices that keep them fat; fit people make choices that keep them fit. Which category will you fall into on Thanksgiving?
• Fat people give in to cravings; fit people remain compliant. Sure the pecan pie looks tempting, but will you act like a fat person or be tough enough and resist like a fit person?

Read more about Steve Siebold's program and his strategies for getting through Thanksgiving, in our Q&A with Siebold.

Read more tips and info from this Examiner about diet, nutrition and fitness.