I just jumped online to have a look at the NZ school holiday dates and I found that there are 388 "half" days at school (what does that mean anyway?) , which is 194 school days.  That tells me there are 167 non school days.  Correct?

So we've just had school holidays and without fail most of my clients this week have told me "It was a bit tricky to [insert action here] cos it was the school holidays/weekend"

So what I'm hearing is that for 167 non school days we're going to not even attempt to do what we do for the 194 school days?  Seriously?  Let's put that into a percentage.   We're going to do something 55% of the time and something different 45% of the time and we're going to expect to lose weight long term?

And for the people who challenge me and say "But you don't have kids".  Give me a break, I've been a kid, I've got parents, and I'm not so far removed from life that I don't know how busy things get.  I don't have kids, but I've undertaken other busy things that you may not have, and I get Easter, Christmas and long weekends just like you do.

My overall point is this.  Each day is simply a day.  If you try to dictate ALL your actions by what is going on around you, then who is controlling your day and life.  Yes, there are times that things just go a little bit mad.  But this is always going to happen, there will always be school holidays, Easter, birthdays, christmas's, social outings, funerals etc.

Let's stop using these things as excuses and start taking charge of the situation.  I can guarantee you a 55/45 split will not help you lose weight, so stop fighting it.  How can you turn this into an 80/20 or better still a 90/10 effort.  Who can you ask for advice on how to manage this desire to change your entire life just because it's the school holidays?

Here are 5 wee tips to get you started.

• If you are improving your nutrition, make sure you are enjoying it, so you will still enjoy it in the holidays.  If you don't enjoy it, change it!
• Do your grocery shopping online if you are unable to leave the house due to looking after your kids
• Exercise at home when the kids are there.  You are the parent, if they need to get out of your way for half an hour, tell them.
• When going away for a week or so, plan in advance if you need to buy food from the supermarket, and talk to your friends/family if you are staying at their house about what you would prefer to eat and can you help them prep meals to ensure you both get what you want.  Take the control back

If you have any other tricky holiday downfalls, feel free to ask questions in the comments section and I'll throw a few more tips at you.