Is food part of your holiday celebrations?

Trust me I get it... my title is just that, a rhetorical question.  Yes food is always part of your holiday celebration.  So is spending time with loved ones, attending your favorite church or religious affiliated service, opening up presents and maybe even singing "Happy Birthday" to a Baby Jesus near you (that one my kids still love doing each year).  Food is always part of your holiday celebrations - whether it is breakfast cooked Christmas morning, a brunch with family after opening up your presents, dinner with the extended family (either home cooked or out to eat) and then there are all the holiday treats that are baked for the celebrations we attend.  Food is EVERYWHERE!  And the food that is available isn't necessarily the most healthy choices, especially when you are counting calories.  


As someone who never worried about what I ate, and no that isn't because my body burned off food quickly, but more because I just didn't care about what I ate and what it meant to my body, health and weight, the holidays were always a time for indulgence.  I loved everything about the holidays... especially the food!  Ham, scalloped or mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, turkey, dips, spreads, cheese, wine, beer, cookies, pies, cheesecake and candies.  Nothing on the aforesaid list screams HEALTHY!  But this year had to be different... I have been working so hard at counting the calories that I ate and as of 12/18 had lost 14.2 pounds.  This is huge for me and definitely is something that I didn't want to reverse.  


Unfortunately I will say that I allowed food to take over during the holidays.  I did not track anything  from December 22 - today (December 28).  I ate what I wanted - when I wanted it.  I didn't even think about actually attempting to figure out the calories that I was eating.  We had family come in from Michigan and we went to Primanti's for dinner and I ate what I always eat when I go there... #2 Best Seller - the Pittsburgher!  It tasted fabulous... as did everything else that I put into my mouth (The Texas Pecan dip was AMAZING but totally loaded with calories).  No calorie counting... none what so ever.  And to be perfectly honest I don't think that I could have calculated all of the calories that I had eaten.  There were so many homemade treats that I couldn't find in my tracker and this would have left me guessing for what the amounts would have been.  I also want to disclose that this obsessive compulsive person that weighs in every day did not weigh in at all during this time.  I felt that I would be entirely too depressed by what the scale was telling me.  So I essentially ignored what I was doing that was working in the preceding weeks.  


Today was the day that I came to terms with what my holiday over indulgences did.  I had to weigh in to see what the damage was to my weight loss journey.  I stepped onto the scale... ready to face the truth of my holiday food loves... and when I saw the number in front of me I actually started to dance!  I danced because it was only 0.6lbs that I gained.  Less than 1 pound over the Christmas holiday period!  This was a reason to celebrate and I was ecstatic!  So how do I attribute this success when I know that I didn't eat right for 10 days... I believe it is a few things.  First, I have an understanding of my body and it's telling me that it is full.  I have become more and more aware of when my stomach is starting to feel full and at that point I shut off the food.  This gives my mind time to catch up with my stomach and really determine if in fact I am completely full.  The second thing that I believe helped with my success is understanding what foods are better to eat and will "fill" me up.  Foods with high fiber will help to make you feel full and stay full longer.  So while there are foods out there that may taste super good, they may not be higher in fiber and thus won't stay with you long enough to make you satisfied.  Looking back at this 10 day period, I chose foods that were higher in fiber and therefore allowed me to stay full longer (and not snack as much).  Finally, I attribute this success to a little bit of luck.  Yes I said luck!  I don't think that I did all that much to keep the weight off.  I didn't exercise (that's starting after the new year), I ate things that I wanted but just not as much as I would have loved to have eaten, and I gave into many of the temptations that are all around my house (buckeyes being the worst offender).  I think lady luck had been on my side over these last 10 days.  


So while the Christmas holiday is behind me, there is definitely a long road ahead of me.  Many days of temptations that I will have to either ignore or divulge in.  There are many hours of me worrying about what I have eaten and how it will affect the bottom line of my weight loss.  Time spent worrying that the scale will tip in the wrong direction and send my mindset into a tailspin.  But when those times come up, I have this Christmas holiday period to reflect upon and remember that I can be successful when I least expect it.  I thought that I needed to take the food out of the holiday celebrations but I have learned that isn't necessarily needed :)


Be happy, be safe and celebrate the New Year and a new you!  I know that I am!  

Reason to celebrate...trying to think positively.

Another weigh in and I am happy to report that I am down 10.4 pounds in 4 weeks!  Woooo Hoooo... that is something to celebrate.  And because I reached this little milestone, I treated myself to a grande skinny vanilla latte at Starbucks yesterday (all for 130 calories).

Even though I am happy that I hit the first 10 pound mark (in just 4 weeks), I am reminded, when I walk by the mirror or put on my pants, that this 10 pounds is really nothing in the big scheme of things.  Really... 10 pounds and I have 100 to lose!  I know that this is the "negative" or "half glass empty" view, but it is difficult to be so positive about such a little accomplishment.  10 pounds... 10 whole pounds.

I started to have this conversation Saturday night with a friend.  I remarked to her that it is hard to stay focused at times when there is no change in my pants size.  I realistically know that my pants size will not change for about another 15-20 pounds, but this is one huge marker for me that the weight it coming off.  It also is a BIG reason to celebrate in my world.  During our conversation she said to me that 10 pounds was significant.  She said that to remind myself of what 10 pounds is, go to the store and pick up 10 pounds of meat.  This 10 pounds is weight that I won't have to carry with me any longer.  So yesterday, while grocery shopping, I did just that.  I picked up 10 pounds of ground meat and realized that 10 pounds is a BIG loss.  Not having those 10 pounds attached to my body is great in so many ways! 

So changing my outlook to one of a positive viewpoint is key to success, or so I believe in my mind it is.  I have been working hard at remaining positive in many situations in my life, and weight loss should be no exception.  I guess sometimes you need someone to point out the obvious so that you can move past the negative.  I have added a picture below... one that was shared with me and I use daily to refocus my negativeness towards a situation.  Just remember your attitude (whether negative or positive) will determine 2 things.... your outlook on a situation and your outcome from that situation. 

No looking back...

I am now 3 weeks into this and I honestly can say that I feel better.  I know that I haven't lost mega amounts of weight in the past 3 weeks (8.4lbs to be exact) but because I am feeding my body better, I do truly feel better.  Additionally, I am getting more sleep each night and drinking plenty or more water.  These are all basic facts that I learned when I was in Weight Watchers, and these basic things make a big difference in your weight loss success.   

Much of the success that I have had is based in the fact that I am tracking everything that I eat via the Lose It! app.  Weight Watchers worked the same way too - tracking the food that you eat, except with Weight Watchers it is a points based system and for me now it is really all about calories.  I ABSOLUTELY HATE that I have to track everything that I eat.  I hate needing to enter in information about the food that I am eating.  I hate that I have to plan ahead for the day to ensure that I have enough calories for dinner.  I hate that I have to count calories at all!  But with all of that hate... I realize that it is what I have to do because it is very obvious that without this tool and tracking I cannot do it on my own!  Hence why I am in this situation to begin with.  

So although I hate the thought of tracking my food, I will continue to do so.  Why you ask... because there is no turning back now.  I have a "taste" for losing weight and I have a definitely goal in mind.  I also have so many smaller goals that are based upon my weight loss (like going to the beach this summer and not covering myself completely up or wearing those smaller sized clothes that I have packed away this spring).  I want to be able to feel even better, and I know that will come with each ounce that I lose.  I also want to be a great role model to my kids about difficult struggles and managing through them.  Finally, I want to love myself on the outside as must as I love myself on the inside.  

I guess staying positive is the key to not looking back and continuing on this long journey ahead of me.  I know that magically tomorrow, that I will not love tracking my food.  I also know that I will not suddenly wake up 40lbs lighter.  Instead of hating the idea of tracking, I must find the positive in it.  For me... it's the end result that gets me through that dislike.