Los Angelista Holiday Fitness Challenge Day 22: The Hunk of Fat!

It's Christmas week and that means you and I have some serious challenges ahead of us if we're going to wake up on January 1st not feeling like we have new lumps of fat stapled to our hips and waistlines. Seriously, have you seen what seven pounds of fat looks like?

If not, this image is one pound of anatomically correct fat. Multiply that by seven and that's what the "Average American" gains over the holidays.

Keep that hunk of fat in mind when your Aunt Millie drops her special brownies by your place, your landlord brings you a huge box of fudge, or when a box of cute green, silver and red foil-wrapped chocolates arrives from a client.

Now more than ever (said in the most dramatic voice I can muster) we must band together to stay true to the tenets of the Los Angelista Fitness Challenge! And what are those hallowed principles?

1) Step on the scale: Have you weighed yourself lately? I weighed myself again today and I haven't gained any weight. I haven't lost any pounds either but that was not my goal. I wasn't trying to stress out about losing a few pounds during the holidays. If the number on the scale went up for you, at least you know now so you can check yourself. Do NOT throw in the towel just because you gained a couple of pounds. Tell yourself so what, now what and vow that the scale will NOT go up any more.

2) Exercise 30 minutes a day: Last Friday I fell off the wagon and only walked for 20 minutes. Then again, the next day I ran 20 miles so I'm not feeling too bad about that missing 10 minutes! The thing is, I am busy, busy, busy just like you. But what I'm finding is that if I don't get some form of exercise every single day, I start to get, to put it politely, very cranky. Since it's such a busy time of year, I'm happy to set aside some time just for myself every day. It makes me feel better.

3) Writing down what you eat: I lost my notebook that I used the first couple of weeks so I had to get a new one. I tried a couple of websites to track stuff and it was waaay too easy for me to forget to login and type up what I'd eaten. Back to old school pen and paper!

Anyway, what I've found is that if I want to eat a brownie, I eat it. I just write down that I ate it. And then later on in the day when I want another brownie or have some ice cream, uh, well, I know I've already had one that day because the proof is in my notebook! I can't mentally forget that I ate it, so I can say no to a second one. I'm not counting calories but we all know it's not rocket science --if I eat two brownies and ice cream every day for a month, I'm gonna pack on the hunks of fat pictured above.

What I'm trying to do is keep that hunk of fat in mind when someone snidely says, "Oh, you don't want another slice of cake? Are you on a diet?"

Nope, I am not on a diet. I might be next month but not today! I just like my pants to fit and I don't want more hunks of fat on my backside than are already there. Seriously, fat is like annoying guests that overstay their welcome: HARD to get rid of once they're all cozy and comfy in your space!

Good luck keeping the fitness hope alive this week! I'm updating on my fitness challenge almost every day over on the Los Angelista Facebook Fan Page. Come over and say hi!