Six Reasons to Dump Your Diet Over The Holidays

I am not a fan of diets. Eat smart, don’t overindulge in anything, and know your own body. That’s my philosophy. If I’m going to compete I’ll take my diet more seriously, sure. Otherwise it’s moderation.

Thing is, diets are popular. It seems like every news site has advice about how to stick to your diet over the Thanksgiving holiday. Every article is the same…no-brainer tips that anyone who has legitimately tried a diet already knows.

When did celebrating by eating good food become such a bad thing? Being health conscious is all well and good, but when it starts ruining the holidays, it’s time to put your foot down.

In fact, I have six pretty convincing reasons why you should just shrug off the diet and go for broke these holidays.

1. You can get an educated opinion to justify nearly any diet you want. Surely you’ve noticed that the health community changes its mind on a daily basis about what food is good for you and what will vaporize your liver. The low-carb people are at war with the whole-grain people, the no-sugar people are at war with the fruit-only people. Margarine vs. butter, NutraSweet vs. aspartame…it goes on and on. Every single food on the planet except spinach and celery is off-limits for some type of diet. So why not just relax on the holidays and enjoy food because it’s GOOD for once, instead of worrying so much about whether or not it’s good for you?
2. The old axiom “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die” is true. We’re all gonna die! But don’t die without a fight. If you’re gonna kick the bucket, take a few of those evil pumpkin pies out in the process.
3. The fear-mongering right-wing crazies say that inflation is coming. Next year all you will be able to afford for Thanksgiving dinner is a can of Vienna sausages and a few soda crackers.
4. Guilt sucks. You THINK you will feel guilty by giving up your diet for a day, but actually the opposite is true. You will feel guilty because inevitably, you will FAIL to follow your diet 100 percent. If the candied yams don’t get you, apple pie will. The only way to avoid the guilt is to give yourself permission to eat what you want.
5. Good food is a way to celebrate life. Feasting is a tradition that goes back as far as recorded history. You are going to look like an ungrateful, antisocial tradition-breaking masochist if you skip out on Thanksgiving dinner because you’re on a diet. People may admire your dedication to your face, but they’re really pondering what sort of mental defect you have.
6. Your BJJ training is not going anywhere without you. There is no hurry. If jiu-jitsu is what’s keeping you from enjoying holiday feasts, and you don’t have a tournament coming up in the next couple weeks, relax. You can afford to pig out a couple times a year, and the worst price you’ll pay is that you’ll be lethargic during class for a couple days afterward. Big deal. You don’t have to be an elite super jitz machine every time you hit the mat.

This post is a little tongue-in-cheek…if you have medical dietary restrictions, obviously you need to follow them. But I’ve seen my share of diet martyrs who are just WAY too worried about what they eat with very little to show for it.

Good food is one of life’s great joys. If you have the opportunity to sit down and feast with family and friends this Thanksgiving, you really do have something to be thankful for. Relish it.

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