New Year, New Me!

[kirstykay]

WOW!!! It was so great to come back here and see all the encouraging and helpful comments!!! Thanks for stopping by my journal! The support means soooo much to me!

I've had a terribly busy week, and I can't believe I haven't been back here in over a week!!! I won't go into all the boring details. Everything is fine, but I wasn't expecting to get so busy.

In the meantime, I've had my 44th birthday! And all the celebrating that went with it went very well, plan-wise! I didn't have any cake or any other desserts! MAJOR victory for me...unheard of, really! And the best part is that I didn't feel like I was missing out!!! That is the biggest SHOCKER! I went out to eat on several different occaisions, and my husband ordered fresh fruit for us each time! Others at the table were actually JEALOUS because our fruit looked better than their desserts!!! What a hoot! My husband also made prior arrangements at the restaurants for us to get OIL FREE vegan meals prepared with an emphasis on veggies. They were delicious, and as others have mentioned here, the chefs were very accomodating and helpful...these were nice restaurants! Of course, my favorite celebration was with my kids...we went to Flat Top grill (my favorite restaurant) and had a great time! I love that place because I KNOW all the food is MWL legal, and I get to choose exactly what goes into my meal!

Well, now I'm facing the Thanksgiving Week! (As we all are!) And I'm feeling the pressure of getting everything ready. College kids are coming home and that will be so nice. But it also adds a bit of pressure as far as food goes. It probably shouldn't, but since they eat differently, I feel a certain stress around making sure they have what they need. I am going to keep it really simple this time. I think I am the one who puts more of an emphasis on food than they ever have, so I just need to lighten up.

My plan for this week is to PLAN! That is something that I haven't done well this past week, so I will remedy that now. I'm logging my food in the Holiday Excursion thread, and I want this week to net me a weight LOSS! That would be a first in the history of holidays for me. In order for that to happen, however, I know I need to be on my guard and conscious of everything that goes into my mouth!

We are making turykey on the big day for the rest of our family, but I plan to have lots of healthy sides that will be the saving grace for sticking to my plan. Unlike last year, I will not be making a vegan dessert, and will rather stay away from it all together. My son makes a delightful cinamon pear halves that we may throw together if there is time.

My Thanskgiving meal will be:
Garlic Yukon Gold and Red Mashed Potatoes
Cabernet Roasted Vegetables
Sauteed Brussel Sprouts and Green Beans with Mushrooms and Garlic
Fresh Cranberry Sauce from Trader Joes

Well, here we goooooo! Here's to a healthy and guilt-free holiday! Good luck everyone!!

[nomikins]

Happy Birthday!!!!!!!!!!

[fulenn]

Glad to hear that your birthday celebrations went so well! Sounds like you have a great plan for Thanksgiving. Hope you have a wonderful few days.

Fulenn

[RAS]

Happy Birthday,Sounds like you had a really good one! RAS

[wife2abadge]

sounds delicious! Happy birthday and may your holiday week be stress-less.

[quote="kirstykay"]
My Thanskgiving meal will be:
Garlic Yukon Gold and Red Mashed Potatoes
Cabernet Roasted Vegetables
Sauteed Brussel Sprouts and Green Beans with Mushrooms and Garlic
Fresh Cranberry Sauce from Trader Joes
quote]

[fulenn]

Here's hoping your thanksgiving was as successful as your birthday.

Have a great weekend!

Fulenn

[kirstykay]

One of the saddest periods here on the forum is the January posts from the members telling in excruciating detail, how they got "sucked in" and lost it big time. Usually by something innocuous. Suddenly there was a crack in the dam and down it went. We all have an idea of what can send us spiralling out of control and if you an keep a handle on it that is the best. It's agony reading many of the post holiday posts, especially in the journal. It's even harder to see that contrast with those that didn't get drawn into the quicksand. I am sure you know yourself well enough to know your own limits.
Good luck.
f1jim

Jim posted this in another journal that I just read, and it really resonated with me, so I wanted to add it to my journal and remember this for the rest of this holiday season! I am definately one of those people who can indulge and then have regrets, and I want to avoid that this time around!!! Thanks for your sound wisdom, Jim, and for continuing to call us to something better!!!

Our Thanksgiving went well. I made the roasted vegetables, green beans and brussels sprouts, garlic mashed potatoes, and root vegetable casserole...all were a great success and everyone at the table raved about them! Of course, they raved about the juicy turkey too, but we sent all the left-overs home with our guests...everyone left stuffed and happy! ...We were just happy!!!

I know I still ate too much, but I am happy that I ate only my food. I'm thrilled to say, I managed to stay away from the dessert table! I also decided to stay away from the wine because that alters my food judgement! I did allow myself to have some coffee with soy creamer as my treat for the day. I think this was a great compromise! I think my favorite part of the night was being with family and I was really able to relax and enjoy the company and our time together. Our kids are all getting older and times like these are fewer and farther between...the realization that we never know where life will take everyone made this holiday a special blessing because we were all able to be together.


At the end of the weekend, my daughter got a text from the administration at her college saying that a student had died in a private plane crash on her way back to school. The terrible tragedy is that her dad was flying the plane and her sister who was riding along was also killed, along with another friend who was with them. My heart is breaking for the poor mother and wife of this family, and for the parents of the other young man who was killed, as they try to deal with this unbelievable loss. The other strange thing is that the friend who died is a senior at the university where my son attends! Such a terrible loss for both communities!

It just puts everything into perspective and makes me realize how quickly things can change...and to do my best to make it all count...and to be grateful...

[nomikins]

Life turns on a dime. Sorry for the loss. Things like that really help to hurtle us back to what is important.

[bunsofaluminum]

You did GREAT for your Thanksgiving! way to go. It feels good to be nicely full without being in a stupor, doesn't it?

Now to keep going and look forward to post-holiday regrets or otherwise. I remember a post by someone, regarding decision making. Look two weeks into the future. Do you see yourself happy with today's decision, or regretting today's decision? If we transpose this over our post-holiday journal entries...what kind of entries do I want to be making on January 2? What weight do I want to post on my ticker?

ooh, makes me want to take this seriously.

way to go on your meal, and your previous fast was awesome, too. Keep going!

[kirstykay]

Great words, NOM and BUNS! You are so right!

I just read an excellent article from the founder and CEO of Lifetime fitness. Here are some of the highlights that I think are relevvant with our goalls here and with this forum in particular:

"Success in most endeavors comes from the clear, precise and thougthful setting of goals, combined with a real commitment to making them happen - even if it takes a while."

"We are what we repeatedly do," Aristotle tells us. "Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." The problem is, mediocrity can also easily become a habit. Giving up can become a behavioral norm. We can and do get used to anything. If we repeatedly set goals and then forget about them, or we create a pattern of coming close but not quite finishing, that becomes a comfort zone for us."

"The way we conduct ourselves also sets a sort of cultural expectation that can affect those around us, for better or worse. That's why it's so important to establish a habit of finding and gently stretching your own comfort zones, of reliably accomplishing the challenges you set for yourself, and inviting those around you to do the same. Over time, this creates a culture of growth, a culture of celebrating successes. And, believe me, that culture is a much more rewarding place for you and everyone around you to be in than a culture of disappointment, apathy and half-hearted excuses."

"The truth is, the pursuit of ambitious goals often involves some developmental phases that masquerade as obstacles, or even impending failures. These are the "wow-this-is-harder-than-I-thought" moments that hold the greatest potential for our personal evolution."

"Expect resistance, and greet it with excitement when it comes. That's your opportunity for growth, right there. Nothing succeeds like success, and if you can get closure on even one tiny little piece of your goal today, I suspect you will feel a rush of motivation that will entice you to accomplish another little piece tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. Before long your own personal finish line will come ito view. And, when it does, you can sprint those last few yards with well-earned confidence."


Here's to the sprint.....

[fulenn]

Thanks for that post today. I needed to be reminded of that. And I hadn't thought about mediocrity becoming a habit. I mean, I know that, but put with your whole post it seems like a new idea to me. Anyway, I needed to hear that.

Fulenn

[kirstykay]

Thanks for that post today. I needed to be reminded of that. And I hadn't thought about mediocrity becoming a habit. I mean, I know that, but put with your whole post it seems like a new idea to me. Anyway, I needed to hear that.

Fulenn

ME TOO! I can easily get caught in a pattern of mediocrity and unfulfilled goals, then I get discouraged and feel defeated. This article pointed out to me that that pattern is NORMAL...not a character flaw...and that I have the power to change it. It gave me the insight and inspiration to not settle for the mediocrity that can quickly become my comfort zone...because I don't have to...

Sometimes it's just helpful to hear old truths in new ways!

Have a GREAT DAY, Fulenn!

[nomikins]

Thanks for sharing those snippets. It felt like me to a T. Good things to remember and apply. Gonna print and apply to my December goals.

[Anna Green]

Hi! You rocked Thanksgiving! Way to go! Good example for the kids too. They saw you eating healthy and happy. That's powerful.

The article you quoted was good. The habit of success piece hit me too as something I want. It is habit isn't it?

You have a wonderful day.

[kirstykay]

Glad you could relate, Nom and Anna! Thanks for stopping by to comment!


I'm posting this here so I can find it later and remember it. It's from the Star McDougaller thread, and one of the MOST helpful things I've read!

For me that's exactly what it means. If I take a 1/2 cup of rolled oats, cook it up in a couple cups of water, add a TBS of ground flaxseed and a mashed banana, I get a large bowl of oatmeal. That's all the oatmeal I need - a big bowl of oatmeal and tea is breakfast. Lunch is a big bowl of steamed vegetables, beans, greens and a starch. Sometimes its 1/2 cup of brown rice, sometimes its a handful of frozen sweet potatoes, sometimes a cup of shredded hashbrowns. It's a lot of food. You can see a picture of today's lunch on the Holiday Excursion discussion topic. For dinner, I have a large salad with ff dressing, a full bowl of soup and another starch. Either a whole sweet potato, half a large winter squash or 3 small baby yukon gold or red potatoes. It's enough food so that I'm only a tiny bit hungry when finished. If I eat till I'm satisfied - well I can't eat till I'm satisfied. I can eat enough for the 300 pound woman I used to be and still want more. Something inside me is broken. I think that's true of many former morbidly obese. I eat enough so that I can go 6-8 hours between meals to allow for digestion and detoxification and be truly hungry for my next meal. It's really not a big teeth clenching, nail biting thing for me. I don't carry a calculator around with me (OK, that's a lie. I'm a chemist - I do carry a calculator around with me ) But you get what I mean. I just eat a reasonable amount of whole food at mealtime and then get on with my day. What constitutes a reasonable amount for me may be different for someone else. You have to be willing to experiment a little to feel out your own needs.
Kate

I feel like now I can "quit my crying" and grow up a little bit. Yes, there are people here that have lost their weight more effortlessly than I seem to be able to....Yes, there are some to whom it seems to just "clicK" while I tend to struggle and struggle to fight for each pound I lose...Yes, life is unfair. Get over it! Get on with it! Wake up and realize that you are no longer feeding the 255.5 lb. woman you once were. You are now feeding the 135 lb. woman you ARE BECOMING! Sometimes, that leaves the 255.5 lb. woman angry and feeling sorry for herself. TOO BAD! I am not powerless. This is NOT too hard for me! Just "eat a reasonable amount of whole food at mealtime and get on with your day!" I LOVE IT!