Tis the Season

Once again we meet on the eve of Christmas and New Years, in the midst of the eating season.

I was thinking of my supervisor, who told me a little story about her yoga class. Some of the students were complaining about their weight gain over the holidays.

The yoga teacher looked at them and said (I'm paraphrasing here), "It's only two days, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Two days of overeating won't make a difference -- it's all the other days."

Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

There is such truth in that thought. It's not the two days -- it's all the days in between that we overdo, we eat cookies and cakes and pies. We eat, drink and be merry for a whole season instead of two days. And then we wonder why we gain weight over the holidays.

A look in the mirror is in order. Nobody put that cookie in my hand, that piece of pie on my plate, that glass of eggnog in front of me. I can choose to nibble and enjoy or I can choose to overdo and pay the price. It's truly up to me.

Tis the season, but let us just be merry and skip the overeating and drinking...

Moving Is Heck On An Eating Plan!!

Moving is a nightmare. Too much stuff, too few helpers, not enough time.

On top of that, I don't know about you but my eating plan is totally out of whack. I'm tired, and when I'm tired, I tend to eat for energy.

Lord knows I have enough stored energy (aka fat) to manage just fine. But on those long drives to and from the old place, seven hours one way when I 'm towing a trailer, I tend to snack. At least I usually have a bag of carrots and a flat of bottled water, but you know, at some point I usually end up with an Oreo cookie milkshake.

Yes, yes, I know that's the donkey in me demanding some sweet treat to compensate for the drive.

We don't even want to think about the calorie count in an Oreo cookie milkshake. Let's just say, it's well over half my daily calorie requirements. Probably more like three fourths if I'm honest about it.

But the moving will be over in another two or three trips, so I can look forward to unpacking and sorting my mounds of belongings.

I think I'll have a garage sale -- and start a serious workout plan. Well, after I finish unpacking the 40 or 50 boxes of books. That's a workout all by itself...

Swapping Out the High Calorie Foods

I know you've probably seen the book "Eat This Not That!" I've glanced at it, but a lot of it isn't applicable to my life, since I cook and have been avoiding fast foods.

Still, the fact that a McDonald's Big Mac only has 540 calories? Really? So if I left off the sauce and put mustard on it instead, it would be even lower in calories, now wouldn't it?

It's not always the food you eat, but the extras poured over or piled on it that pushes the calorie count up to an unacceptable level.

Back off on the gravy, the salad dressing, butter, sour cream and all the other goodies. I'm not saying don't use them at all, I'm saying to use a little for flavor instead of a lot as a side dish. Gravy is a condiment doggone it!

One tablespoon of salad dressing instead of two. One pat of butter instead of three. One tablespoon of sour cream instead of 1/4 cup. All these changes lead to lower calorie counts and eventually to weight loss.

Her Last Meal

Wow.

Just wow. To be so young and discover that you have stomach cancer. Only 36 years old and they removed her stomach.

She can still eat but now, like a gastric bypass patient, her food intake is severely limited.

I can understand those who choose the bypass or bariatric surgery, but to find out that it's literally eat or your life? What a choice, especially for a foodie.

I better be grateful for my good health. Even if I need to lose weight, I still have a choice...

Link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/opinion/sunday/i-wont-have-the-stomach-for-this.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=stomach%20cancer&st=cse

Portion Control Tips

Instead of spooning or pouring the sugar and creamer into your coffee or tea, use sugar cubes or packets.

You'll know exactly how many calories you just added to that zero calorie coffee...

Backsliding

Oh dear.

The last few weeks have been horrible for my eating plan.

For one thing, I've retired from my job. I was taken to lunch, invited to potlucks, had more than enough cake.

And, on top of that, my daughter is moving out. Too much fast food as we pack, paint the new place, and move her in. Today is another busy day, finishing the painting and moving a little bit of furniture (bed, sofa, some clothes, a TV) in...

I don't want to talk about my weight this week. Maybe next week or the week after...

I've Lost 10 Pounds!

My apologies for lagging in my blogging.

I had surgery at the end of January. Ooooo, that was a little discouraging! I didn't realize that I'd bloat up like a balloon! I've read since then that this is a common occurrence.

Since then, I've been bouncing up and down between 10 and 12 pounds down. Losing weight always a slow process, especially when you can't get around too well for a while. And that nasty, nasty bug that I caught two weeks ago didn't help. I'm better now, just coughing a lung up at random intervals. But better...

So, as soon as the weather gets a little warmer so I can walk without coughing (cold makes it worse), I'll get my behind out for that daily walk again.

Slow but sure, that's the cure!

A New Year - New Goals

I just read this blogger's thoughts on weight loss and dieting and it really spoke to me.

http://www.mydaily.com/2011/02/01/quit-my-diet/?icid=maing%7Cmain5%7Cdl9%7Csec1_lnk1%7C40535

Virginia Sole-Smith reflects the conflict that so many of us battle. We don't necessarily want to fit into society's standard of "thin is in", we just want to fit in our jeans -- or our thigh high boots!

For myself, I've always had a lovely big butt. I often described my figure as a "big butt 10". I don't want to be skinny, I want to be my normal curvy self -- just smaller than I am right now. If I'm too skinny, I don't feel good.

I don't understand those teeny-tiny model types, taller than the average woman, scrawny with big feet, that walk like new colts instead of graceful women. Their bones stick out.

Honestly, it's just not pretty.

As a woman, I deserve to be curvy.

I don't have to fit into society's stick-figure standard of beauty. Skinny doesn't mean healthy. If you aren't eating properly, you just are not going to be healthy. Eventually your body will age very ungracefully if you don't feed it the proper amounts of vitamins, minerals, calories and yes, even fats.

I'd rather have my booty than to be unhealthy and thin, thank you so much.

Made It to the New Year

I'm pleased to announce that my slow-go plan is working and I didn't gain any weight over the Christmas holidays.

Despite spending a week at my Mom and Dad's and oh my goodness, Mom can cook!

How did I do it?

Well, I avoided loading up with the cakes, cookies, pies, candy, nuts, etc. between meals. At mealtimes, I didn't use a lot of extras like gravy and butter. I loaded up with salads and vegetables.

As my supervisor told me, quoting her own yoga instructor when members of the class were whining about weight gain over the holidays. Paraphasing: "That's only 2 days out of the year. If you eat right the other 363, you shouldn't gain weight."

Ouch. A truth that we hate to face.

In the end, it is all about the individual choices that we make every single day. Do we choose a cookie or a carrot? Well, the reality is that you can eat the whole bag of baby carrots and still take in fewer calories than those in one cookie! And don't discount the fiber, vitamins and other healthy parts of carrots.

So while there will be those who poo-poo my 9 pounds lost since I started following a tortoise plan, a loss is a loss is a loss. It's all good.

So if I can double that loss over the next year, then I'm doing great! If I can triple it, I'm just about at goal.

But stop, let me not look too far ahead. This is an ounce-by-ounce process and moderation is key.

Moderation, the word of the year.

Moderation in all things -- including my eating habits.