What an ideal photo. Everyone is happy and smiling. The family appears healthy and nice. Is this not that what we all strive for during the holidays? The illusion of perfection, peace, tranquility, happiness? I mean Madison Ave sure pushes the concept hard. However, the reality maybe very different. You and your mother maybe on the outs, your father-in-law maybe an alcoholic, your brother could be on crack, and your sister could possibly be Medusa live and in person. Welcome to the reality of the holidays and the start of your holiday stress!

During the next few weeks, October 31 until December 31, we will place so many expectations on ourselves and be pulled in every direction possible, all in the name of The Holiday Season. We will strive to bring those Norman Rockwell idealistic Thanksgiving and Christmas scenes into our reality and generally fall short. Why? Because we are human, stress is real, and our coping skills may be non existent or overwhelmed.

Let’s look at all the stress we face during the season.

In-laws
Family
Extended Family
Children
Friends
Co-Workers
Planes, trains, and automobile travailing
Gift Giving
Shopping, crowds, parking
Money, credit cards, finances
Losing weight
Maintaining weight loss

All these stressors are jammed packed from October 31-December 31. It will be so easy to reach for those foods that will ruin our diet or maintenance phase of your diet, those so called comfort foods that will extend your waist line and increase the numbers on the scale. It will be so easy to give into temptations when out at holiday parties, office parties, and visiting friends and relatives. Heck even making your specialty dish to bring to the gathering may tempt you to get more than a little taste here and there.

Having a plan to reduce your holiday stress and being prepared for temptations is a plan to stay motivated on your hCG diet or hCG diet maintenance phase.

So I ask all to share their plan, ideas or how they cope with “Tis the Season” stress.