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!
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