The Holidays. The time of year when many people start to stress about eating. What should be an enjoyable experience has become a problems for far too many people. And there is no shortage of meddlesome butt-in-skis who want to tell everyone else how they should eat. Talk about your Scrooges! Bah humbug to all these types, I say.

My holiday eating guidelines are very simple; eat whatever you like at parties and family get-togethers. No rules, just right, to steal some company’s advertising slogan.

And please, if you are going to bake don’t embarrass yourself and insult your guests by following any of the depressing alternative, low-fat recipes. Nothing steams my onions more than biting into a brownie that’s been made with low-fat sour cream or some other egregious, ersatz ingredient. Try an experiment; make a plate of real brownies and another of low-fat brownies, label them accordingly and see what happens. You know what happens, admit it.

And Santa knows if you dishonestly substitute these odious ingredients into your baked goods, and will deliver a healthy lump of coal into your stocking if you do so. Even you non-gentiles.

I am on record as saying the Holidays are the wrong time, the worst time, to try and make a change to your eating habits, and that food avoidance is a losing philosophy for both the fit and unfit. I don’t care if it’s this time of year or the summertime cookout season, you shouldn’t try to make a change to your eating habits when the opportunities for great eating are plenty. Trying to prove that you have willpower by changing your diet during this time of year is foolhardy, and is like an alcoholic going to a liquor convention.

For all of the types who say to me, “But Sal, you don’t have to worry about what you eat, so it’s easy for you to say!” I say, “I take care of business for the vast majority of the year so I am going to eat, and eat a lot, of the seasonal stuff that I like.” And actually, I do have sympathy and rachmones for those folks who struggle with what they eat, which is why I advise NOT to try to make changes now. Wait ’til it gets a little easier. But at the same time, I’m not going to be a nutritional goody-two-shoes and not eat what I like because of what other people say or can’t eat.

Christmas cookies and pumpkin pie and eggnog and other holiday delicacies only come around once a year; enjoy them.

So if you are the New Year’s Resolution type, another tradition that I dislike, wait until January 1, 2012. Get it out of your system and enjoy the next month or so; eat, drink and be merry knowing that in 30 days you will be making changes.

During this time of year ridiculous holiday eating guidelines are published in just about every magazine and newspaper in the land and are featured on web sites and television news and information shows. My advice; totally ignore them.

The Thanksgiving/Christmas/Hanukkah/New Year holidays are a time when you should enjoy all the special food and drink that make their annual appearance starting today. This is not the time to start a diet – there’s never a good time to diet – to stress about food or attempt to make major changes to your lifestyle. Rather than worry about what you’re going to eat at parties and family gatherings and fret over missing workouts, embrace the pumpkin pie, egg nog, stuffing and whatever food and drink you love and forget about the gym.

To be honest, if you’ve been lazy all year don’t compound your mistake and try to compensate by avoiding foods, dieting or starting an exercise program now.

Who wants to low-fat, low-sugar pumpkin pie? I eat about 6 pieces of pumpkin pie a year and I’m not going to waste time eating the ersatz stuff. If anyone tries to tell you that eating 4 or 5 pieces of pie – or any of the food you love – over a couple of day period is going to result in weight gain or have a negative effect on your health, tell them to shut the heck up. Also, ignore people who like to talk about how “good” they eat and have tips and rules about how to avoid eating “bad” foods.

There’s no such thing as bad food. People, on the other hand, now that’s a different story.

And about the gym. I’ll tell you, I cannot wait to take a break from working out and blow off the gym for a couple of extra days. We are like batteries. We need to be recharged regularly. When a battery runs low on juice you don’t keep using it, you replace it or recharge it. We can’t replace our batteries, so we have to recharge. The holiday season is a great time to back off from the gym and recharge. Take it from me, I’m a professional.

So when faced with the opportunity to spoon a pile of mashed potatoes and gravy on your plate, take it. If you have to choose between your aunt’s old school real sugar, butter and milk pumpkin pie and some no-fun relative’s “healthy” option, make your aunt happy and eat 2 pieces.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving and start the holiday season on the right foot.

Here’s the only answer to the questions regarding how long it takes to burn off a macaroon, chocolate chip cookie, piece of cake or any other of the holiday foods that people obsess over; I don’t care and neither should you.

Stop wasting your time, energy and effort worrying about burning calories just because you’ve eaten a food you a so-called expert has decided is “bad.”  Personal trainers and nutritionists who preaching this kind of “calorie-burn” nonsense should be embarrassed, as they are doing a huge disservice to those they should be helping.

Do you worry about how to burn calories after eating a salad, piece of grilled chicken or fish, or a stir fry?  If you worry about this kind of stuff, you have bigger issues.  If your trainer or nutritionist is feeding you this kind of info you should move on.

I’ve come to accept that I’m a lone voice in the woods when it comes to this philosophy and I also don’t care to argue with people who want to obsess over how many calories they eat and, in turn, how they can burn them off.  There are enough people out there who are sick and tired of being preached to by the no-fun-allowed wing of the fitness profession, and these are the people I want to reach.

Exercise should not be a means to manage body weight and body weight is not a measure of fitness or an improvement in fitness.  If you firmly believe that the scale is an accurate way to measure health and fitness move along and go watch re-runs of “The Biggest Loser” while doing some low-intensity cardiovascular exercise.

I want people to have fun eating, drinking and exercising and as a result make positive associations between the three.  I love hearing my very fit and capable clients and friends talking about how much they enjoyed a meal, party or workout – or all three – and sharing stories with them about food, drink and exercise.  This approach – moderation in all aspects of life – is one of the major reasons that 90% of my clients have been with me for 8 years or longer and my newest clients have enjoyed an incredible improvement in their fitness level.   My clients recognize that I practice what I preach, which further reinforces my message.

So ignore the folks who are concerned with burning off cookies or any foods that you enjoy eating, you’ll be fine.  Have fun, it’s the holidays.

It’s that time of year again when too many people start to stress about what should be an enjoyable experience; holiday eating.

Personally, this is my favorite time of year for food as I love all the things that come with the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year holidays.  The traditional foods are great – Thanksgiving dinner and all things pumpkin – but my family has a great food tradition for Christmas and New Year, as well.  Members of my family are great cooks and bakers, especially my wife,  and starting the week of Thanksgiving all kinds of cookies, pies, and other edibles arrive on the scene.

My love for these foods is guiltless and unconditional.

However, for as much as I love eating the foods that come with the holidays, I am surrounded by people who are racked by guilt, stress and loathing over what should be a pleasurable time of year.  We are subjected to an almost nonstop drumbeat of healthy eating tips and as a result a majority of people have become unhealthily obsessed with food.

If you believe the statistics that are bandied about, despite all of this healthy eating info, people are fatter than ever before.  And people who do exercise and try to “eat healthy,” too often practice “avoidance eating,” where moderation is a sign of weakness/potential weight-gain/unhealthiness.

Eating 5 or 6 pieces of pumpkin pie – or indulging in any other gastronomic pleasure – over the short term will not do any “damage” in the long-term, just as doing 5 or 6 workouts has no long-term health benefits.  If your habits are consistent you deserve the occasional treat, and there’s nothing wrong or damaging from an occasional break from the monotony of every day eating and exercise.

If you don’t eat desert, you won’t live any longer or be healthier and you aren’t more disciplined than those of us who do. Frankly, the preachy, “don’t eat this” people are insufferable bores and are no fun at parties.

I feel sorry for folks who cannot enjoy the foods that come with the holiday.  The “healthy alternative” recipes for pies, cookies and cake are depressing.   If you’re in that place, you’re missing out.

So my message is, if you enjoy it, this the time to be both naughty and nice.  Workout, skip a workout, eat well, eat pumpkin pie. Life’s too short to worry about love handles.  Eat, drink and be merry.