We hope the HAM Plan will ensure Christmas is not a turkey!

Throughout November on our Alumni Forum I’ve kept up what was dubbed the BUGOYA Plan. It sounds like a fancy Russian ballet group but it’s actually the acronym for the “Buck Up and Get Off Your Ass” Plan.

I needed something to keep me going during this rainy fall month and BUGOYA really helped me out. No matter if I was travelling to Amsterdam or sitting at home looking out at the wet weather, I just had to get out there and move my butt then report back to the Forum, no matter what.

The other day Shauna and I were talking about December. I love December because I really enjoy my family time and a few vacation days around Christmas. I actually turn my computer off! But what gets me a bit anxious is all the holiday celebrating around food. If I’m not careful I go overboard very easily and then I get slightly down and depressed, because this menopausal age grouper has the hardest time losing even one pound. I have races in January and February 2013 that I want to be in good shape for. I can’t physically afford to gain any holiday weight.

Shauna, on the other hand, has a packed festive calendar and is nervous about mindless overeating, which she says she often succumbs to in social situations. She’s on a weight loss mission and doesn’t want to have extra extra pounds to lose come January.

So we decided that together we’d set up a December challenge to keep ourselves on the straight and narrow. So we bring you…

The Christmas HAM Plan

(HAM = Happy And Mindful)

We don’t believe in “diets”. Instead we both firmly believe in good habits, so that’s what we’ll be practicing this holiday month. We each have a small list of habits and we’ll blog about our efforts here on the Up & Running blog, each and every December day. We’re even throwing in our stats: starting with “0” kilograms and letting you know whether we’re at + or -.

Feel free to follow along, comment or tell us about your own HAM Plan. December will be a month of joy, not anxiety. We hope to show you how.

Julia’s HAM Plan

• I’ll be eating three meals a day, no in between snacks
• My meals will be eaten sitting down.
• I’ll be having one serving. Period.

Shauna’s HAM Plan

• I’ll be eating three meals a day too, with no snacks.
• My meals will also be eaten sitting down at the table, a habit I’ve fallen out of lately. I want to enjoy my food properly!
• To combat Christmas Couch Butt, I’ll be exercising for a minimum of 20 minutes per day