If there’s one thing I absolutely cannot stand, it’s having my time wasted.

Case in point: When I helped out at a good friend’s vendor booth during a bodybuilding competition (not mine) earlier this fall, and we were done for the day, I wanted to be “DONE” done.

I didn’t want to stay at the hotel for another night.

I didn’t want to be away from Hazel (my dog) for another night. 

I wanted to go home and be in my own bed with Hazel safe in my condo, even if it meant getting home at midnight.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to change my flight, so I stayed another night and went home the next day.

If I’d thought the trip through more carefully, I’d have scheduled my return trip for that final night.

But I didn’t, and I was stuck wasting my time there for another fifteen hours.

A first world problem, for sure, but it got me thinking about just how much wasted time, energy, and money even a little bit of simple planning can save you.

Take the holidays as an example.

How much time and energy (and maybe money) have you spent trying to lose weight you regained through the holidays?

How many years have you been circling this mountain?

And are you SO excited to repeat the cycle for the millionth time that you’re totally fine with risking it? Again?

Seriously, with even a minimal amount of planning, you could totally navigate Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s without another 10, 20, or 30 extra pounds to lose come January.

Instead, you could flip your 2025 calendar to January 1, 2025, get out of bed, stand in front of the mirror, and proudly smile at what you see, because this year, your weight stayed the same. (Maybe it even dropped a little bit.)

THIS year, you ate well AND did it without making yourself sick and bloated.

THIS year, you didn’t take one step forward and twenty steps back.

Doesn’t that sound better than waking up, getting dressed, and trying not to think about how your clothes – which WERE getting looser – are cutting off your circulation again?

A lot of times, we look at life through an either/or mindset.

Either I’ve gotta eat bland cardboard OR I’ve gotta eat well.

And yeah, to get the weight off, you’re gonna need to be a little uncomfortable sometimes.

But that doesn’t mean you need to eat bland cardboard

This Thanksgiving, I wanna invite you to try out the both/and mindset.

What if you can eat well AND it can be healthy?

What if you can eat food you enjoy AND wake up without a weight jump the next day (provided you get your sleep and water)?

Again, I’m not saying there’s no sacrifice that’s needed to get the weight off (or keep it the same through the holidays).

I’m saying that it doesn’t have to be complete torture or a complete free-for-all. There is a middle ground!