1. Creep. Creep.

You know that point in The Other Guys where Captain Gene says, “Creep. Creep”? Well, I can tell you that I am about as oblivious to TLC references as Captain Gene. Watching it now for the nth time, all I can think about when I hear “Creep. Creep”, is that the holidays are creeping around the corner.

It is crazy to me that even before Halloween had passed, stores were selling Christmas trees. To me, seeing costumes and nativity scenes next to each other is a contradiction that my mind has trouble processing.

Thank goodness we are into November and the costumes have been switched out with the holiday food. Yes, thank goodness, that for the next two months I get to pull out the guilt of being overly stuffed for failing to stick to my “eating plan” (I’m adding a pile of sarcasm here to match the pile of stuffing I’ll eat next week).

Being completely honest, my wife and I love everything about the holiday season, the time spent with family, the music, everything but overeating and the guilt that comes with it….

…you know what I’m talking about. I know you’ve carried it too.

…carried it until you start your New Year’s resolutions.

Yeah, that guilt.

What are we supposed to do with this guilt? What does it mean to be healthy, or to eat healthy during the holidays? What constitutes failure to adhere to that eating plan you have upheld all year?

Answering these questions is the reasoning behind this first blog topic, Healthy Holidays.

As I read these questions to Megan while she cooks and gets the kids ready for dinner, comments like “loaded questions” and “are you sure” are being passed from the kitchen. She is also throwing playful leers my way telling me I better make sure I’m on my game answering these questions this early in our blog’s life.

Am I sure? Short answer is no. I completely agree these questions are loaded with a ton of caveats that are different and unique for each of you reading this post.

Does this mean our hands are tied behind our backs? NO.

There are absolutely measures we all can take in our own lives, so we are not rolling through the holidays like Violet Beauregarde after she turned into a blueberry (Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory). It is these measures, better yet behaviors, which Megan and I will cover over the next several weeks.

We will be addressing a hand full of approaches that deal the mindset of what, how, when, and why we are able to eat the way we do during the end of each calendar year. It is these approaches that we view as solutions for the issues we all face during this time.

-NT