10/09/2026
12 things I’m doing for the last 12 weeks of 2026 👇
I already know it won’t be perfect. Holidays, travel, five course Italian dinners. So I’m planning for all of it.
I want January 1 to feel like any other Friday. No big restart. Just me, still doing what I do.
1. Every holiday event goes in my calendar first. Then I plan my workouts around them, so they still happen.
2. Gym 4x a week, and always the day after a big meal. That food goes to work.
3. 12,000 steps a day, up from my usual 10,000. More travel and more food means a little more movement.
4. Eating well the week before a big event so I don’t show up to it with the hunger of a 15-year-old boy. One big meal won’t undo a good week. A few every week adds up.
5. 35g of fiber a day. It keeps me full, so I’m not walking into the party starving.
6. The dollop method at big dinners. One spoonful of everything I want to try. The first two bites are the best ones anyway.
7. Choosing which events I drink at, and my number, before I walk in. Drinks are where my holiday calories add up the fastest.
8. Halloween candy and holiday leftovers leave the house the day after.
9. Finding an accountability buddy. One meal out loves to turn into three days off. A buddy gets me back the next morning.
10. Rereading Atomic Habits. I want my habits set before January, so I’m not building ten new ones at once.
11. A gallon of water a day! Thirst pains are the same as hunger pains. The less hunger pains the best in my opinion.
12. Maria-fying holiday recipes to be higher protein, lower carb, and lower fat so that I can satisfy the craving but not overdue it on calories.
That’s the plan and my expectations of myself are no lower than B-. I’m giving myself permission to not be perfect. 🤩
12 weeks. Maybe five or six parties. Holidays are doable if you have the structure for them.
You get a flat tire. Do you change it, or slash the other three? The holiday season is no different.
I started my own fitness journey the Monday before Christmas in 2015 🤣. There is never a convenient week.
YOU JUST START.
Follow for more on getting through the holidays without gaining the weight.