The Festive Five

Most people have heard of the “Freshman Fifteen”, those unwanted pounds packed on in your first year of college. But what about what I dub, “The Festive Five”? The pesky five pounds put on in just a few months of party-going during the holidays. Those delicious pumpkin and pecan pies offered up or worse yet, made by one's own hand, quickly render your favorite jeans unwearable. Or at the very least unable to don without jumping up and down for some extra propulsion, or flipping practically upside down on your bed for gravity assistance, as you try to convince yourself they must have shrunk in the dryer. Come January 1, there's the obligatory resolution: To lose the Festive Five.  An annual tradition, along with putting out cookies and milk for Santa. You see where that got him. Sound familiar?

But January and February, cold months here in the South, are not conducive to outdoor exercise for weight loss. So here we are in March, coming out of winter hibernation, still packing the winter insulation, and feeling disappointed in oneself. Still wearing those five pounds. Even after you cut out the pies and Christmas cookies! No longer devouring the mountain of sour cream enhanced whipped potatoes or cornbread stuffing. No tiers of petits fours or imbibing in the spiked (or just spiced), eggnog. The only thing remaining is the last cookie no one wants to eat. Oh, and the muffin top you encounter around the top of your Levi's waistband. They are both stale and old, and no one wants either.

What to do? Now that it's (barely still) March, trade “dig in” at the dinner table with dig in some dirt and create a healthy backyard veggie garden. Sure, treadmills have their place. But does that activity produce healthy peas and beans for you and your family? Exercise and healthy produce packaged into one fabulous endeavor. That’s a recipe for success. Brush the cobwebs off of your shovel. Ignore the chocolate Easter bunnies. And if several years of Festive Five have accumulated, and you are now at Festive Forty or Fifty, no worries. Take it one broccoli plant at a time. You will be able to once again not only fit into those jeans, but fasten them without the use of a rubber band, AND be able to bend down without fear. Go ahead and get your denim dirty planting some loose leaf lettuce seeds! It will all come out in the wash.

Join me and let's get growing.