The Holidays Start...

I didn't do as poorly on our trip to Atlantic City as I feared. Eating out, I had entree salads quite a bit, and as I predicted it did not lessen my enjoyment of our vacation. I did have a few too many snacks here and there, especially once we discovered the gigantic gourmet cupcakes at one of the hotel's bars. Yikes. I only indulged twice- they were so big and so good, I could have easily eaten one for all three meals every day. We did a lot of walking on this trip, climbed a lighthouse, walked the boardwalk, strolled all over an aquarium, even toured an entire battleship. So I don't feel as though I skimped on exercise.

I came back with an extra two pounds, but that was easy enough to shed. Yesterday we had the big company luncheon for Thanksgiving, and I only had a salad again. I sat at the table with all my co-workers, and we talked and visited and I didn't mind that they were eating mac and cheese and mashed potatoes in front of me. In fact, I enjoyed my salad so much I barely noticed what they had on their plates.

Starting tomorrow we're visiting family from Thursday through Sunday, in Tennessee and then the Georgia Mtns, so another four days of meals out. Where I have control over my choices, I will eat what is healthiest. When I am staring at the family smorgasbord, I'll enjoy it by limiting portions. Hopefully I'll get a walk or two in over the weekend.

I haven't been to Weight Watchers the last two weeks, and I will miss again this weekend. The month of December I plan to put my nose to the grindstone with my weight loss efforts, and get through the rest of the season without any kind of gain. As soon as we get back from our Thanksgiving visits, I will hit the grocery store to stock up on "salad fixins" and plenty of fresh produce. I will end the holidays 2011 wearing the same size pants I started off in!

SANDY

All Is Well

I had a slight slip up this week, but nothing I am going to beat myself up about. It was more like I made decisions based on my old behavior, instead of reframing the situation so that I made the right decisions. One night this week found James and I out late, running errands before we could even get home from work. We stopped for dinner at the one place that was conveniently located near all of our stops- my old foe China Buffet. I have avoided this place for many many months now. I don't particularly care for buffets to begin with, because I think most of them lack quality food, so we don't usually go to them. For me, a Chinese buffet is even more dangerous than any of the others.

Although I only got one plate- and I was happy to see they had new, smaller plates now- everything I brought back to the table was fried. I could have made wise choices there- steamed veggies, chicken without gobs of sauce, fresh fruit instead of fried doughnuts. I'm unhappy that I did not even look at the healthier options, and instead fell back on my old favorites that were greasy and fried and dripping with sauce. I know one meal out is not going to derail me, but to continue to repeat this cycle of eating out poorly, is what got me to the weight I am now. I don't want to sit there next time and just drink water- I want to be able to enjoy the meal, without the million fat grams and, even heavier, the guilt.

We leave for our trip tomorrow, and I'm going to try to not feel so much anxiety over "gaining weight" yet I don't want to give myself permission to completely fall off the wagon just because it's vacation! Instead I'm going to try and look at this as an opportunity to give serious thought to my food choices BEFORE they end up on my plate.

SANDY

Size Does Matter!

So I confess, I did have one of those startling moments that kicked my butt into gear as far as getting this weight off. And that would be the clothes in my closet! Now that the weather has cooled off, I saw that my long-sleeve shirts from last winter are all 2X, and I've been in a 3X for awhile now. Despite the fact that I love to go shopping, I realized that I did not want to have to go buy a whole new winter wardrobe because I can't fit into last year's items. I already did that once this year- in the spring I had to go buy all new (bigger) clothes for this summer. I've got plenty of clothes in my closet- from sizes regular large up to 3X, and I would really rather concentrate on fitting into what I already own. It's nice to go clothes shopping because you want to, but it sucks to go because you MUST.

I had another good loss this week- 2 more pounds- and I wasn't sure that it would happen. I did a terrible job of tracking my points and we were out of town last weekend. Weekends always set me back- we go out a lot and although I am doing a lot better on making choices at restaurants, I still sometimes slip up. But I'm not going to beat myself up over it this time. My goal is to keep a steady loss of one to two pounds a week, but I know there will be weeks when it doesn't happen. In the past, I've always gotten discouraged about a gain. I can't let it get into my head this time.

At Weight Watchers this week, our topic of conversation was closely related to that. A lot of people- including me- let one week of gaining set them back both mentally and diet-wise. I have certainly done that before- on weeks where I thought (or knew) I would have a gain, I would decide not to go to my meeting. Then I would just tell myself, since I'm not weighing in this week I might as well just relax the diet and enjoy. That is a trap I can't let myself fall into this time. I'll be 45 next month. I do not want to enter my next decade of life heavy and unhealthy and tired.

Challenge for this week is our upcoming vacation next weekend. I have to remind myself that visiting another city is NOT license to eat whatever I want and however much of it I can inhale! Will I really enjoy Atlantic City any less because at lunch I have a salad with light dressing, instead of a huge bacon cheeseburger?? I should hope not!

SANDY

Digging Deep

This is the time of year where I'm going to have to dig deep and get through all the rough patches. There are so many distractions right now that could easily derail me from my progress, but I am trying my best to stay focused on my GOAL. There are certainly the approaching holidays, which we will all have to deal with- James and I go away for Thanksgiving, and host my parents for Christmas (mom's cooking!), and a birthday bash weekend for me on New Year's. We also have a vacation scheduled in two weeks (five days in Atlantic City!!), and it's always SO hard not to indulge when we're out of town. Even quick weekend trips here and there add up. I've never been one to pack my carrot sticks to take in the car with me- although I probably should be.

I usually start to go astray at this point on Weight Watchers. I'm not near a computer to track my points faithfully, I miss meetings and the all-important weigh-ins because I'm gone on weekends, and I fall out of the routine of getting on the treadmill every day. But this year I don't want to completely get lost during the shuffle of the holidays. I don't want to gain the typical holiday pounds. I don't want to go crawling back into my meetings sometime in mid-January and my leader not remember who I am. I don't want to have to dust off my exercise equipment in the basement before I use it again.

I have a quote on my desk at work: Good habits result from resisting temptation. I will not be tempted to overeat at holiday gatherings and parties. I will not be tempted to collapse on the couch every evening after work instead of exercising. I will not be tempted to gain "just a few pounds" because it's Thanksgiving.

I am proud of the weight I've lost these last few months, and I want to do everything I can to keep pushing forward and not slide backwards. I know everyone who is trying to lose or maintain their weight, has the same battles this time of the year. And this holiday season, I want to win the whole war!

SANDY