Holiday Plan

I decided about 3 minutes into Saturday that I wanted to take the weekend "off" from calorie counting and just enjoy the holiday weekend (read: eat candy). I was thinking I would still keep it under control and just indulge in a couple pieces of candy. Wrong. As soon as the first piece was gone there was no stopping me. I had a weekend of complete candy consumption. More sugar than I have put in my body in probably over a year. Now, I am OK with taking breaks and not worrying about what I eat for a couple of days, I think doing that makes it more possible to eat healthy long term. But this weekend was different. This weekend the old Amy sorta creeped out. I felt like I used to get when I was on a diet and decided to "take a break". I would eat WAY more than I needed to because I was going back to "dieting" on Monday. I was NEVER successful at getting back on a diet after a weekend of overindulgence. And this break had me feeling like that old Amy, just a bit. Not enough to freak me out completely, but enough to be aware that come Monday it would be more of an effort to get back to healthy eating than other breaks I have taken since I started this. I think part of it is that we are entering the holiday season and I am not sure how I am going to make it through this without completely falling off the wagon. I have a hard time during this time of year wanting to diet. Ordering iced green tea at Starbucks instead of a hot white chocolate mocha or making tacos for dinner (no cheese, sour cream, guacamole, beans) instead of lasagna. Something about the colder months makes me want to eat more comforting food. This is probably an excuse, maybe I am getting burned out - I'm really not sure. There is one thing I learned from this weekend: I am not perfect and I will have set backs. I need to not let myself get so down about setbacks that I give up completely. I need to plan ahead on how I am going to handle the upcoming holiday season. So here is my plan, in writing, for the holidays:

I Will....

• Stick with my lifestyle change everyday except for the following
• November 19-22 (Vacation)
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
• Stick to my exercise schedule everyday - even the days above that I take off
• Only expect to lose a couple of pounds in the next two months - I would like to weigh 155 on January 1st 2011. If I can get through the next couple of months with even a tiny loss, I consider this a victory.

This is my plan for the holidays. Everyone needs a plan if they are trying to change their old habits - have you made yours?