In the past, I've tried so many different methods to lose weight...you name it, I've tried it. My most successful attempt ever was tracking my food with Weight Watchers in 2009 - I lost 26 pounds in 4 months. But as wildly successful as I was, I use the word "attempt" because once Easter hit, I indulged in all the treats I'd been denying myself - pound cake, cookies, chocolate, chips and dip - and I reversed all the hard work I'd put in. It wasn't a total lifestyle shift for me because it was something that I could only maintain temporarily and a simple, single special occasion (one that I don't even particularly love the food associated with) through me completely off course. But I learned a big lesson about myself and the holidays: holidays are always just around the corner, so you need to have a game plan to succeed through them, not after them. And when I have no self control and I see my goal slip further away from me with each bite, I don't enjoy the holiday - in fact, I become the sitting-in-the-corner-mad-at-the-world-so-don't-you-dare-try-to-talk-to-me guest. Yep, I'm the self-loathing Scrooge.
Keeping myself accountable through this holiday is how I can avoid becoming the biggest Scrooge of all. This blog (hence why I'm starting today!) and my challenge groups will definitely help keep me in check. So how do I plan to push through this week? Am I going to avoid all of the treats? Absolutely not. I know that when I pressure myself to be perfect, I fail. Miserably. So let's shoot for progress.
Here's my plan for holiday happiness:
1. Think it through. I'm going to think through all the treats I'll come across and decide which ones I'd be sad to miss, and which ones just really aren't worth it. At my family's get together, I know my mom's cookies will be plentiful and delicious. Being a hardcore peanut butter lover, I have to have a peanut butter blossom, or two, or three. But the other cookies I can do without. At my husband's family's, I'm not sure what the menu will entail for dessert, so I'll scope them all out before I touch anything and decide which would be worth the splurge.
2. I have to workout. Breaking a sweat, especially in the morning, changes my whole outlook on food. I start asking myself questions like, is that really worth a half hour with Shaun T? Or more?!
3. Remember what the season is about. The holidays are not a time carved out to get fat, even though most Americans will gain between 5 and 10 pounds this holiday season. Gaining weight can happen 365 days a year! The holidays are a time meant for making memories and spending time with people you love. That's my focus - quality time with people (not food!).
4. Drink water first. If you make a rule that you have to drink another glass of water before going to the food table again, you'll be sure to visit the bathroom more than the snacks.
Here's my game plan for a truly happy holiday. What's yours?
Photo cred: http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wn_Jc4Ipe1E/UMMlvYXbA4I/AAAAAAAAA2U/bGje6x1QiVE/s640/32.jpg
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