Give Yourself the Gift of Health!

'Tis the season for over indulgences; meat and cheese trays, cookies, dip and chips, etcetera. This is the last two weeks of holiday parties and we need to keep at the forefront of our minds that the most important thing is the time we get to spend with the people we love and NOT the food we're piling into our mouths. I am posting a list of ideas to help you maintain over the next few days. Remember that the most important gift you can give yourself is health (mental and physical)!

1. Drink lots of water (at least 8 glasses a day)!
2. Load up on the veggies from the veggie trays and lean proteins (and lighten up on the dip).
3. Don't avoid your favorite treats, cut them in half.
4. Let everyone else go through the line first.
5. Avoid mindless munching.
    a. Keep your hands busy by playing games or holding a glass of water in your hand.
    b. Get up and walk around (or go on a short walk outside, if it's nice out).
6. Wait 20 minutes before going back for seconds.
7. Determine whether the food is "worth" the calories. Take a bite, if it's not good, don't finish it! (The kids starving in Africa won't starve any more just because you threw away a partially eaten piece of pie- unless you were planning on shipping it there).
8. Bring gum to chew on while deciding if you really need that second plateful.
9. When not at a holiday party, eat healthy food (fruits, veggies, lots of fiber).
10. Pre-plan your exercise to make sure you stay active! Not only will it help to balance your eating, it will also help to relieve holiday stress.
11. Bring healthy dishes to share. Healthy doesn't mean it has to be bland!
(31 Days of Healthy Holiday Desserts)
12. Take time for yourself; a long walk, a good book, a bubble bath, etc.
13. Be a kid!
      a. Get down on the floor and play games with the young ones.
      b. Go outside and help build a snowman or snow fort.
      c. Look at this season with all its magic and joy.
      d. Go sledding or ice skating.
14. Lighten up on the adult beverages. Too many can not only make the next day not fun, it can also cause your self control to falter and over eating to ensue.
15. Get enough sleep.
16. Don't bring up politics or religion with your family! The less stress the better!
17. Pray. Take the time to center yourself and remember the true reason for the season, Jesus was born!

Hope these help some of you, I know I'm going to try my best to follow my own advise! ;)

Refusing to feel guilty!

Today at Weight Watchers we talked about determining which foods are worth eating (especially at holiday gatherings). I listened as many ladies talked about how other people would be hurt and possibly even angry if they didn't eat the food that the others had made. We talked about things that could be said to try to counter or avoid hurt feelings.

After thinking about this for a couple hours, I still feel really bothered by this conversation. Why should others take such offense when we don't eat their food? Shouldn't they be happy for us for making healthier life decisions? Perhaps even happy that we know their dish will taste so good we have to avoid it in fear of over eating. When did not accepting a plate full of food become an insult? Take a look around, one-third of U.S. adults are obese! (http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html) Why are we force feeding friends and family or making them feel guilty when they only take a small portion? I think, who cares if they are offended! That's an issue that they have to deal with, is their self-esteem so low that by me not eating a piece of their pumpkin pie it diminishes their self worth? Does my coming to spend quality time with you, visiting, playing games, etc. not show how much I value our relationship?

If you are hosting a gathering this holiday season or participating in a gathering by bringing a delicacy to share, please be mindful of others. You do not know the journey they are on or the internal demons they face. Would you offer a drink to a recovering alcoholic? I'd hope not, please consider those of us trying to make healthier choices as recovering junk food addicts (depending on if sugar or salt are our choice for binge eating). Don't belittle our goals or make us into the bad guys this holiday season. If you feel bad that someone isn't pigging out as much as you are at your next holiday gathering, take a look in the mirror, re-evaluate, are you really angry at the person making healthier choices or at yourself for not following suit?

Be kind, remember the reason for the season and enjoy the time with your family and friends!

Do as I Say and Not as I Do

Wow, I guess I let time and life just slip right past me! I have been running a Holiday Survival group and trying to motivate others to watch what they eat and get up and be active. The goal is to NOT gain and possibly to lose over the holidays. I have to say, however, that I'm totally failing as a role model.

I went into Thanksgiving feeling pretty good, started the day with the Turkey Trot 5K and followed it with a healthy protein shake... but that's where the healthy choices stopped. I broke the one rule that seems to be my ticket to healthy eating disasters... drinking alcohol. I won't lie, I love how relaxed alcohol makes me feel but, unfortunately, that lackadaisical attitude carries over into my eating habits. I don't think and just eat what tastes good. Needless to say, I gained some weight. The next day I did a lot better and got a workout in, drank a lot of water and even planned on facing the scale at WW the next day. Unfortunately, I also decided to have a "squat & plank off" with a 17 and 13 yr old. I won but definitely strained a hamstring and thus took some pain meds/ sleep meds and slept right through my WW meeting as well as my workout and straight into the middle of Saturday morning!

I'd love to tell you that I pulled myself up by the bootstraps and kicked it into high gear but that would be untrue. I DID go to step class on Sunday, Chisel Monday, treadmill Tuesday and Cycling/ Tabata today, despite that effort I did NOT watch what I ate and continued to not only clean up the unhealthy leftovers at the house but devoured the candy that was brought to the staff room at work and overindulged in the treats provided at the inservice today.

How can I fix this and move on?
1) Re-evaluate my goals... a) I REALLY want to be a WW leader, I believe in their mission and know it works. b) I want to get into the middle of my BMI range so I feel confident even when I have my slip ups (knowing I can get back down without too much difficulty). c) I want to help others on their healthy living transformation but cannot feel competent doing so unless I am doing my best 90% of the time!  d) I want to be a role model for my kids, showing not only healthy living but that they CAN achieve their goals and MAINTAIN/ inspire others!

2) I'm not going to give up, I'm going to brush myself off and reboot.

3) Focus on the positive, I've been working out, I beat two atheletic teens in a squat and plank competition, I am getting much fitter and fit into the smallest size since pre-puberty. :)

4) I will focus on my water intake and increase the fruits and veggies, decrease the carbs and dairy.

5) Pray. Anytime I get overwhelmed or stressed I need to take the time to pray about it and seek God's guidance.

Last Thoughts:
What are your health goals? Are you taking steps to not gain the dreaded holiday weight? Remember to focus on enjoying time with family and friends, the food is secondary. If it's nice out, go on a walk after a big holiday meal or play Just Dance or another fun Wii game with family & friends! Enjoy the season.

Plank Challenge (I'm in the blue)

Squat Challenge, I did a little over 300!