You ate it. Get over it. Move on.

A good rule of thumb for holiday eating

I worked so hard to get the weight off, and this weekend I ruined everything.

I shouldn't have sat around watching football for that long without working out.

Did I really drink the entire bottle?

I can't believe I ate that much!

If any of these phrases sound familiar, you're not alone. For those of us who are actively working on staying healthy and losing weight, Thanksgiving can be a deathtrap. Many of us feel that we've worked hard all year, counting calories, portioning out foods, killing ourselves at the gym, only to have our efforts squashed by one day (or, perhaps one weekend) of eating. For some, this weekend is enough to completely give up on losing weight until the new year rolls around. For those of you who are struggling to rebound from what you did (or didn't do) this weekend...here are a few tips to keep you moving forward.

• Get over it: Sounds harsh I know, but at the end of the day we can't change our past behavior. I love the phrase on the coffee cup above because it sums up what we should do to keep ourselves on the right track. Whatever we ate has been eaten, and there's not anything we can do about it. At this point, all we can do is face it, own it and move on. Remember, Thanksgiving was just one day, and I don't care how horribly you ate, one holiday will not be the death of you. Be encouraged =)
• Toss the leftovers: As hard as it might be to get rid of Aunt Sally's pumpkin pie, can you really withstand that temptation? If you're serious about getting back on track, then getting rid of everything that tempts you might be the way to go. If trashing food is too painful, then consider freezing or storing it in someone else's fridge. This might sound a bit extreme, but for those of us who can't say no to a caramel glazed poundcake (oops, did I just say that) this tip can be a lifesaver.
• Don't beat yourself up: Whatever you did, please don't beat yourself up for anything you ate. Thanksgiving is a holiday that is all about enjoying good food, with good friends and family. Hopefully you enjoyed yourself and created memories that will last a lifetime.

Tomorrow is a new day, so don't ruin it by letting any Thanksgiving guilt hold you hostage. Have a great Monday!

Vacations are the best stress relievers...ever!

Sigh, well it looks like my Thanksgiving vacation is drawing to a close. I had such a nice and relaxing time with my family that...I really don't want to go back to my normal life, lol. But alas, all good things must come to an end.

Looking back on this week, I learned the importance of taking time out to rest. These days, we all have so much going on that I think we have a tendency to overlook taking care of ourselves. Well, at least I know I'm guilty of this. Lately it seems like I've been there for everyone except myself. Work is important. School is important. Listening to others is important. But at the end of the day, I don't leave enough gas in the tank to take care of my own needs...and quite frankly, I think it began to show.

Before my vacation, I felt overwhelmed (and frankly, a bit unmotivated) by things at work, school and in my life. I definitely felt burned-out emotionally, which had an effect on my attitude and my ability to stay positive. Today, post vacation, I feel refreshed and revitalized. Even though things are the same at work, school and in my life, I now have more energy to face things head on (and with a good attitude).

To all my blogging buddies, if you've been a little overwhelmed lately, I encourage you to take some time off (if possible). Do what you want to do, spend time with people you enjoy, and take time to make yourself happy. I guarantee that it'll pay off in the end. =)

NaBloPoMo is almost over

This month I signed up to participate in National Blog Posting Month (aka NaBloPoMo) http://www.blogher.com/blogher-topics/blogging-social-media/nablopomo.

Basically, NaBloPoMo required that all participants commit themselves to blog everyday for the month of November...yes everyday...rain or shine. When I initially signed up, I doubted that I'd even last a week. But, I'm happy to say that I've lasted the entire month. Looking back, there were a lot of things I learned about blogging, but perhaps the most important lesson I learned was not to doubt myself. I think I mentioned in an earlier post how I have a tendency to count myself out of things before I even begin. I   mean, if I don't believe in myself, why should anyone else, right?

Anyway, I don't have a clear plan to "fix" the negative self talk that I so frequently do, but I am so ready to throw it out for good! One thing that I think will help is to continue to set goals for myself so that I can work on retraining my mind. I plan to focus on this area quite a bit in 2013.

Hang in there NaBloPoMo bloggers...one more week to go!!!

I can't believe I didn't eat like a pig today!

Earlier this week, I set a few eating goals for Thanksgiving:

1) include a green salad with my meal (to help cut my appetite)

2) to eat the foods I really love (Mac & cheese, yams, carrot cake) until I'm full (being STUFFED is not allowed)

3) measure out small portions of those foods I can have anytime of the year (mashed potatoes, bread, ice cream, etc)

I'm happy to report that I'm really proud of my eating today. The only goal I didn't meet was to eat a green salad with my meal (I made it, but decided to eat greens instead). But, I ate what I wanted until I was satisfied, and not FULL. I also ate really small portions of the things that I didn't really want as bad as the turkey, mac and cheese, etc. I think this is the first time I didn't get overstuffed. It's also the first time I didn't have a second and third plate. I'm really happy with myself.

Now, I did overdo it on cake today, but even with that I stopped eating when I was satisfied. Not sure how this will show up on the scale next week, but it felt good to prove to myself that it's possible to eat reasonably during the holidays. Hurrah!

Wishing everyone out there a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! I hope your day was filled with food, fun, friends, and family.

Just checking in

Hey Everyone!

Today was a low key day. Last minute prep for Thanksgiving. Found out today that I didn't have a cake pan for my mom's famous carrot cake. For shame! Luckily we were able to pick up a pan at the grocery store, so all wasn't lost. Thanksgiving was saved after all!

This morning I had an MRI on my foot. Glad that my Dr. recommended that I have it done. I've been in so much pain over the last two weeks, that I'm concerned that there might be something pretty nasty going on in there. I'm grateful for my friend who called me tonight just to pray for me and my foot. That really made my day. Thank God for good friends =)

Setting eating goals for Thanksgiving

Today's Weight Watchers meeting left me with a lot to think about. With Thanksgiving just a day away, it's definitely time for me to reevaluate my plans for holiday eating.

One thing that my leader mentioned was making trade-offs between what you have to have, and what you can do without. Basically she stressed the importance of focusing the balance of our points on those foods that we love and can only have once or twice a year versus eating everything in sight, just because it's there. Great idea right?

So my new plan is to 1) include a green salad with my meal (to help cut my appetite), 2) to eat the foods I really love (Mac & cheese, yams, carrot cake) until I'm full (being STUFFED is not allowed) and 3) measure out small portions of those foods I can have anytime of the year (mashed potatoes, bread, ice cream, etc).

My goal for Thanksgiving is to enjoy the special foods that I really like, but not overstuff myself just because food is all around me. Anyone else out there have food related goals for the holiday?
Wish me luck :)

Is Jessica Simpson a good spokesperson for Weight Watchers?

Jessica Simpson in her Weight Watchers commercial

Every time I go to my Weight Watchers meeting and see Jessica Simpson’s face, I’m annoyed. Not because I have anything against her as an entertainer, but my annoyance is rooted in how she as a spokesperson perpetuates negativity toward overweight women.

If you didn’t catch her commercial, here’s a quick recap. Basically, the commercial is 30 seconds of a close-up of Jess’ fluffy face as she talks about “eating real food in the real world”. Yes, that’s right, all we ever see is a close up of her face. We never see her entire body, just her pretty face. This, to me, is problematic.

In my opinion, this commercial isn’t about selling a weight loss solution, nor is it about motivating women to lose weight. Unfortunately, the commercial is more about hiding a body that does not meet the world’s pre-defined standard of beauty. Not showing Jessica’s body implies that there is something that needs to be covered up…something that she’s not proud of…something that she is not comfortable with the world seeing. Many of us on Weight Watchers already have our own body image issues, so seeing this commercial certainly doesn’t help us change our negative thinking.

What makes Weight Watchers so special is that while it teaches you to make lifestyle adjustments for weight loss, they also do a great job encouraging members to embrace the “skin that they’re in”. Any member that is ashamed or discouraged by their body always receives loving encouragement that helps them accept who they are, and where they are at the moment. Hiding a “less than perfect” body is not part of the Weight Watchers philosophy, so unfortunately the Jessica Simpson campaign does much more harm than good.

I realize that the commercial was done to preserve the Jessica Simpson brand, and I’m sure if I break this down from a marketing standpoint, it makes perfect sense. I still wish that Weight Watchers would have selected a celebrity that was willing to be open and transparent about their weight loss journey from beginning to end. In my opinion, this would have made a huge impact on women nationwide, regardless of whether or not they are on the program.

Oh, this just in. Jessica has lost 60lbs, and has just finished shooting a new Weight Watchers commercial...AND, I’m assuming that you’ll be able to see her entire body in this one.

Coincidence…I think not.

Check out this image from the set. Jessica is the blonde on the far right.

On the set at Jessica's new WW commercial