Steve v5.0

Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

The holiday season is over- and with it most of the goodies and extra food that found its’ way into our house.  No more piles of cookies and breads and candies and other weight loss land-mines that I fell prey to over the last month or so.  It also marks a return-to-normal for gym visits- no more holiday closings and wacky hours.  All is right with my world once again!

Or is it?  I’ve lost some serious ground on my way to a healthy weight.  How did it happen?  Why am I being punished with an extra yoke of fat to haul around?  Why?

Oh, boo-friggin’-hoo.

Here’s the thing; I gained weight because I ate more than I should have and moved less than I could have.  It’s as simple as that. I was into the Christmas cookies a little too often and the daisy chain of parties and other gatherings gave plenty of opportunities for grazing the carb troughs.  Plenty of simple reasons for the gain but what it all comes down to is that it’s all 100% me- making less than beneficial choices.

Things like this make me get all introspective and ookie.  But before the self-doubt and disappointment sets in, I realize that when the junk fills the trunk it’s up to me to refocus and start making the right choices again- either relearning the lessons that haven’t quite stuck or by massively applying what has… er… stuck.

It all comes down to this- I’ve been looking over my list of fifty (50) things I learned during my initial 150 pound weight loss and am really focusing on them to formulate my plan of action for this last 40 pound push so that I will achieve my goal by my next birthday.  It’s more of a review and re-do kind of thing I suppose; I’ve already learned what I must do- what I will do to achieve my goal.  It’s now all about the doing.

Rock on.

Blandest Smoothie Ever! (with the power of apples!)

1/2 Apple
1S EAS Protein
1S Ground Flax
4 Ice Cubes
Water

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I feel pretty fortunate to live in the Pacific NW.  It’s green and lush, we get all four seasons, ocean and mountains are fairly close by, lots of wildlife, blah-blah Rockwellian, blah-blah fishing, and blah-blah-blah.  A-hem.

The weather is typically mild but every once in a while it gets a little atypical outside and we find ourselves more inside than out.  It’s been that way since Sunday and I’m getting a little cuckoo with the cabin fever.  Snow, ice and freezing temperatures all but shut this town down.  Schools and businesses (and MY GYM- DAMMIT!) close leaving us all with a temporary change of focus until things thaw out and open up again.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but with everyone home the change in focus sometimes gravitates to the kitchen… and hot chocolate… and cookies… and banana bread… and over-indulgence… and bloating… and guilt… self-loathing… grouchiness… dysfunction… unhappiness… blah-blah-blah.

I’m kidding! It’s not that bad- not bad at all!  The kids are excited by the snow and quickly run outside with their sleds.  The dog entertains us by rabbit-hopping all over the yard, and the white layer of snow this close to Christmas just adds a certain something-something to the whole flavor of the season.  It’s all good- especially when I remember that being indoors doesn’t give me a reason to over-indulge in all the goodies. Good times.

We do have some goodies though.  I made some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that were pretty good but I’ve kept myself to eating a modest few.  I also reduced the amount of sugar I would normally use and used whole grain flour augmented with ground flax.  They were good- just not as sweet as usual, making it easier to walk away after just one or two, and all the fiber in them makes for a fairly filling experience.  Kind of like swallowing a couple of those inflatable lifeboats.

We’re still iced over.  School has been canceled again and the gym is still closed.  The cookie thing has been done and a reprisal isn’t all that appealing.  I suppose I could search Google, Epicurious, or Food TV for some healthy recipes but to me it seems like a good day to catch up on work and figure out the remainder of the year.

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• Recipe: Wheat-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

 

This time of year typically has us seeing a lot more of family than usual.  It’s good to catch up on what everyone is doing, how various kids have grown, and just stoke to coals of dysfunction.  Good times, good times.

Our gatherings have always been staged around a big meal; some holiday dinner, Sunday brunch, reunion picnic, potluck, whatever- always a meal.  That’s OK I guess, it’s kind of tough to yell at each other with our pieholes stuffed with… well, pie.

Here’s the thing though, I’ve often wondered why the meal had to be central to the activity.  Why can’t we just get together without the big production that goes into coordinating and creating some huge dinner?  I understand that we all have to eat, I just don’t think that eating is all we have to do.

We’re hosting the Christmas get-together this year.  We just hosted Thanksgiving- and that was a pretty big production meal-wise (though I maintained myself and ate a modest portion) and I really don’t want a repeat.  I’ve considered backing off a little food-wise and instead of huge sit-down meal, just putting out a variety of snack-sized things to nosh while people visit.

I wonder how that will go over…

Meanwhile…

Our family had an absolutely phenomenal time today.  We went up Mt Hood to hunt down a Christmas tree.   It was quite the adventure, we climbed hills and hiked all over the place through an incredible snow storm.  We found a great tree and at one point almost sank our car in a lake.  This little adventure lasted all day, everyone had a great time, and none of it involved a huge elaborate meal.

All the days of my life should go this way.

 

Image by tomsflickrfotos2 via Flickr

‘Tis the season for giving– that’s for sure but I’m thinking that there should be a little getting, too.  Gifting myself a few very important items this year will help ensure that I’m around for a while- and that there will be less of me to squeeze for presents next year.  (I confess that I don’t know what the heck I meant by that.  Nobody “squeezes me for presents- they’re more apt to beat me like a pinata.  I’m ineptly just trying to say that I’m working at losing a little more weight over the next few months.)

So here’s a short list of stuff I’d want under my tree that, if I didn’t already have them, would help me in my battle with my bulge.

1. An Accurate Scale – something like they have at the doctor’s office.
2. A Powerful/Versatile/Quick/Easy Blender – like a Blendtec (POWERFUL/versatile/quick) or a Magic Bullet (versatile/quick/easy).
3. A Food Scale – for QUICK and ACCURATE additions to your blender, bowl, or plate. No more guessing, no more heaping tablespoons.

Tempted to play Santa for yours truly?  I won’t stop you.  The last thing I’d want to do is prevent a warm-fuzzy and hey, this weight loss blog is all about me.  Send me one of each!

Jibber-jabber aside, using these three little things help.  I’ll be demonstrating how I use each and why they’re important in coming entries.  The time I have left between now and my “drop dead weight date” (aka 6/6/2009) is coming faster and faster with each passing day and I’m becoming increasingly aware of my apparent equilibrium.  It’s time to refocus, get serious and shrink some ass.

Read about some people “doing the do” here and here.