Slimdown Wellness Challenge 2021 | Health For The Holidays Week 1

Hello friends!

Welcome back to another fun-filled challenge through Fort HealthCare—and this one is complete with ho-ho-holiday cheer.  This challenge, the Slimdown, is an opportunity for participants to take a closer look at their health for 6 weeks and strive to maintain their weight (or even lose a little!).

Now, we really don’t want to be known as the healthcare organization that is taking away Christmas cookies, candy canes and holiday joy, BUT, I do hope that we get notoriety that we care about our participant’s health—even during the holly jolly holiday season.

The holidays are an amazing time of year. There’s many get-togethers, family members, great food, lights and ornaments, and general sense of happiness that occurs. Additionally, there’s many get togethers (food and booze), family members (stress), good food (increased weight), lights and ornaments (lack of sleep from overstimulation) and general sense of happiness (well…I hope this is real!)—and they can all wreck a little havoc on your health and your immunity.

The holidays are a busy time of year and one that we should be spending a bit more focus on our health, but we tend to do the opposite and tell ourselves that “we’ll start on January 1”. Sound familiar? Yea, me too.

Maybe this holiday season can be a bit different for you. I’m not saying sign up for a marathon or be the family member that brings the sugar-free pie to grandma’s as a “SURPRISE! Let’s see if anyone notices”, but maybe you can identify one or two things you can do daily or weekly that will benefit your overall health and keep your goals in mind during the 6 weeks of hustle and bustle.

Each week of the Slimdown Challenge will discuss different health-related ideas and tactics to continue to look at your health and be conscientious. I’m going to encourage you to take time during this first week of the challenge to decide what you:

1. Want to work on with your health

2. What you can work on with your health.

From there, set a goal, note why this goal is important to you, and make a plan how to knock out that goal. While working on that plan, think about barriers and challenges that may come up during the timeframe that you have your goals set—how will you address them? And finally—when you have accomplished your goal, how will you celebrate (please, don’t say an all-you-can-eat buffet!)? Celebrating and rewarding yourself when you hit your goal(s) is important, but, it’s best if you choose something that won’t sabotage your hard work and efforts.

We’re happy to be “losing” with you this holiday season, and we’re cheering you on every step of the way.

Until next time!