Monday, December 21, 2015

'Tis the Eatin' Season

This season, I'm not just dealing with holiday eating, but holiday eating in a different state, and one that has lots of delicious food that we don't have in Texas, so it's a potential double-whammy when it comes to trying to maintain some semblance of healthy eating.

Now, I could just let it all go, eat all the things and face the music in January, but let's face it, that's how I did it for too many years and if you look at my "before" pictures, you can see that it didn't go so well for me.  Not only was it too hard to get back on track, but I really didn't feel super great when I ate ALL THE THINGS.  So this holiday/vacation season, that we get to spend in North Carolina with both of our kids (adults...kadults? I feel like there should be a word for this), I'm vowing to do things a little differently.

First, I'm bringing my standard breakfast fare (craisins, low-calorie granola) and will buy my beloved Fage plain Greek yogurt when we arrive.  Hopefully starting out most of the mornings with a normal breakfast will put me in the mindset that it's a regular eating day.  Now, I'm sure I'll be having pumpkin pie for breakfast the day after Christmas, as is our tradition, and also we plan on doing a long run with breakfast out at the end, but it would be nice to not begin most of my days with a calorie bomb.

Second, the word of the day is SALADS.  Even when we go out to the BBQ joints, I'm planning on ordering a salad.  I know that these places are very generous with their serving sizes, so I feel pretty confident that I can have some tastes of whatever Jeff and the kadults (...is it working for you yet?) order, and come out of it without feeling the need to A) unbutton my jeans; B) roll out to the car; or C) fall into a food coma.

Third, exercise.  We are still in training mode for the Houston half marathon, which is in mid-January, so we have to get some good long runs in while we're in North Carolina.  I'm pretty excited about this, actually, because there are a lot of great running trails and paths available, and the weather should be nice and cool.  So running will not only help with the extra calories, but also, maybe I'll cool it on overeating because running with a janky stomach is not fun.

The last thing that I haven't quite figured out is the candy issue.  Because I'm going to have some (I ordered some See's Candy to be sent to Sam's place).  And I'm going to enjoy it.  But I know me, and once I start up with the sugar, it's a hard habit to break.  Obviously sugar is a trigger for me, but it's one I don't want to give up.  Life is too short to never eat good chocolate.  So although I've identified a potential problem, I don't have a solution.  Maybe the salads and exercise will help offset the chocolate?  I'm human, I know I won't be perfect with my eating this season, but I should be a lot better with it than I used to be...and that's pretty much all I can hope for; if my imaginary report card has "shows improvement" checked, I'll be happy.

13 comments:

  1. Looks like a good plan to
    deal with the holiday foods.
    Hopefully this all over unseasonably
    warm weather won't mess with your
    runs to much. It is supposed to be
    in the 80's all week down here the
    normal is 72. Ah well with global
    warming what are going to do?
    I am sending my best wishes to you
    and yours for a lovely holiday.
    Did you finish all your gift knits?
    Sadly I did not.

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  2. You have a great plan in place! This is how I deal with my beloved chocolate covered cherries: I dole them out 2 per night. While my brain is rioting and wanting me to eat 8 at a time, I just keep telling myself that tomorrow I get 2 more and they will last longer if I eat them only 2 at a time. If I take the 2 and walk away from the box, I'm usually completely satisfied with the 2.

    If you can't do that, how about you give the chocolate to Jeff or one of the Kadults and ask them to dole you out a couple a day? Might work.

    Besides that, HAVE FUN!!!!

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  3. You have a great, and do-able plan set! Have a wonderful Christmas week. xo

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  4. See's are the best!! Sounds you have things under control. Enjoy!!

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  5. A good breakfast and the plan to order a salad everywhere you eat out is a great idea - I'm sure it will help you keep focused while still enjoying holiday treats.

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  6. I love your game plan! I too am going in with the mindset of "is it insulin worthy" to stay away from treats that just aren't really worth it in the end :D

    Have so much fun! And I like the kadults - I have two at home :D

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  7. You are going to have so much fun this year! I think the "I don't feel so good" feeling after eating too many sweets is what ultimately keeps us in line and reigns us in. Plus having a plan and a need to keep active, that's also a good reminder of what is really important to us. You have convinced me to go to the gym this morning!

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  8. We had a holiday luncheon at work last week and I was super impressed with all the different salads! I think you can find a way to keep things interesting in that area! My cousin gave me a cookie plate this weekend as a thank you for something I did for her but except for that, i've been real good with holiday treats.

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  9. Awesome planning for your NC trip! Chocolate is necessary when it comes to Christmas so don't worry about that one :) Enoy and have a wonderderful time with your family!!! Oh and I like "kdulats"!

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  10. I think more than half the battle is HAVING a plan ahead of time, and yours sounds great. I'm worried a bit too about eating certain foods that have a tendency to throw me into the mouth of the addiction wolf.

    Great idea about a new word for adult children! I am totally stealing it but tweaking yours a bit to be kidults, simply because it rolls off my tongue more easily.

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  11. I think you will do fine, you have it all figured out. The "problem" is that portions in the US are so huge. I see photos of meals that are half the size here.

    I just planned my Christmas meals. I used to get too many food in the house but this year I'm sticking to breakfast and dinner. No lunch because we have breakfast pretty late on Christmas day. No baking either but .... I do have planned to make a Tiramisu pie on December 27 :)

    Have a great time with your family dear Shelley.

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  12. I do what Helen said! I hand the box of chocolate to my husband, tell him to hide it and then give me two pieces a day! Have a wonderful visit with the kadults! Oh yes, I like that word. It's perfect.

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