Is it just me or do the Holidays actually come earlier every year?  By that I mean Labor Day is barely gone, the weather is still summer hot, and in most Big Box stores Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are already in full swing?

I don’t know about you, but I have a hard enough time resisting the Halloween candy when I buy it on the 30^th of October to put out the very next evening, and that includes the candy I buy that I don’t particularly like- which is the ONLY candy I buy.  Sugar is sugar after all, “deep sigh”, and I am an addict.

Everywhere I go I am assaulted with Halloween treats.  I walk into the market and besides the floor to ceiling candy displays there are cupcake, cookie and fully decorated cake displays right there in front of me.  Shopping the “outer rim” of the supermarket doesn’t always work anymore because the “in house” bakery is typically right there between the deli and the meat/fish departments and the end caps of every aisle are full of bad “goodies”.  I even found my crazy brain trying to tell me that the cute little mini cupcakes weren’t really that bad.  Really?  Fortunately I didn’t believe myself and walked past them - this time.

At the caps of every aisle there are Halloween Oreos, Scary Doritos, tons of candy corn, chocolates, licorice, and all the other treats that keep dentists and bariatric surgeons in business.  What happened to one aisle with all the holiday treats that I did NOT have to walk down if I didn’t choose to?  The marketing geniuses have taken over.  I wonder how many of them are obese from being taken in by their own creations? 

There have been Christmas trees and Christmas decorations at Target, Lowe’s, Home Depot, Costco, Sam’s and Wal-Mart since the school supplies were moved aside.  As soon as Halloween is over the chocolate turkeys and pilgrims and pumpkin peeps will be out in full force, followed shortly by the candy canes, fruitcakes, chocolate wrapped in Holiday foils and the cakes, cookies, cupcakes, chips, dips and eggnog for the Christmas season.  OH - Joy to the World……..

How are we going to do it?  How are we going to thwart the intentions of those Madison Ave marketers that get paid 6 figure incomes to contrive new ways for us to consume crap?

Me, I stay close to all my weight loss surgery pals.  As a matter of fact, as WLS Success Matters, Wendy and I have created an amazing group to cover November 1^st through December 31^st - those 9 weeks of hell known as the holiday season.  We have strategies to help you cope with the aisles of ever growing sugary foods, the parties, the alcoholic beverages, the stress of relatives you may only see once a year - basically everything that can get in the way of a successful weight loss surgery patient during the Holidays.  We challenge you, we coach you, and we share strategies, recipes and constant tips.  We become family and are available to you 24/7 to talk those chocolate Santas out of your shopping carts.

Why don’t you come to Hangin’ Through The Holidays ™ with us and make it to 2017 in one piece, with your mind and your body unscathed by the aisles of Fright that we face every time we go to a store, to the lunch room at the office or even to visit friends or family. 

Here’s the link for more information or to register Hangin’ Through The Holidays ™

I wish all of you a Happy and Healthy Holiday!