'Twas the Week After Christmas--Mamavation Monday

'Twas the Week After Christmas, and all through my house every creature was stirring to burn off those holiday pounds.

Christmas was filled with pitfalls for me. I did well with the alcohol, which is what usually causes me to overeat. However, my major downfall this week was the food that was everywhere and my proximity to it.

My "game plan" usually involves serving myself, then putting the food away. I NEVER put food out on the table to let people serve themselves. I always leave the food in the kitchen, and then go out to the table to eat. When I don't have the food sitting in front of me, I'm less likely to keep helping myself to more.

But guess what--everywhere I went this weekend there were tables full of food. My in-laws, my dad's house, my mother's extended family. I felt like I just couldn't escape! I tried to utilize many of my other tactics like shrimp cocktail and drinking lots of water. But it just wasn't working.

All and all, I had a rough weekend. But I'm getting back on track today. I'm starting my "New Year's" workout plan early--today. I see no reason why I should wait another week to do something good for myself. And I'm making a better effort to eat healthfully. You won't find any food waiting for me on my dining room table!

Staying well, while being sick.

Being sick sucks. But inevitably, it happens. I managed to contract some sort of bug over the weekend. I had to work and go out in the massive snow we got here in Michigan--I blame that! LOL!

So I want to talk about how to stay well--or at least stay on track--while being sick. If you are anything like me, when you're sick (except when you're nauseous or throwing up) I will curl up on the couch and eat and eat in front of the tv. And comfort food is my favorite. I love a piping hot bowl of something ooey-gooey like mac and cheese. Because chicken soup is only appetizing for so long.

Some of my tips to distract myself from all of the ooey-gooeys that I love are:

Green Tea: It's hot, broth like, without being broth. And it's zero calories when sweetened with stevia. And you can get it in a ton of different flavors to liven up your taste buds.

Drink lots of water. Water fills you up and will prevent you from getting dehydrated. Particularly important if you are running a fever or having other "lovlies" like diarreha or vomiting.

Watch your portions and how you prepare things. You can still have your comfort food, just make sure you are using fiber filled noodles, and low fat styles of preparation. Instead of a block of velveeta, see if you can make mac and cheese with low fat cheese.

All told, I'm starting to feel better. I've been trying to evade creamy milk products like yogurt, milk and sour cream because they thicken mucus (I really hate that word by the way). But I don't have a problem with cheese.

But getting sick has made me learn my lesson: I should have worked out more these past couple weeks. Because exercise helps your immune system, and I don't get sick when I've been working out. Nothing like a little reminder from the almighty to get back on track!

Mamvation Monday-Chaining myself back on the wagon.

Pie. Brownies. Cookies. Chips. Dip. Crackers. Mashed Potatos. Rolls. The list goes on and on. This is my confession of the things I have put in my mouth in large unhealthy amounts this week.

I now know why people have such a hard time losing weight, or at least not putting any weight on over the holiday season. There is food EVERYWHERE! And for a food addict like myself, this is a really bad situation.

I thought I had everything all planned out. I planned how I was going to excute Thanksgiving. I planned what I would and wouldn't eat for Hanukkah. I'm planning for Christmas (yes, I do celebrate both). But, the problem that I'm finding is that I can't plan just for the holidays. The holiday food, lasts the entire holiday season. Which of course leads to all of those extra calories adding up. I know I don't have to eat this stuff, but it's just so hard not to. It's been tradition for years. And it makes me happy. And then I am sad because I ate it all. And then I eat to cheer myself up again. It's a vicious cycle.

So I'm trying something different this week. Instead of just counting calories, I busted out my old points slider and am going to try doing weight watchers again. Everytime, I have done it, I have lost a good 30lbs plus. I know if I can just stick to the plan for a week and see a decent loss, I will continue in my efforts.

I am also going to get back on the workout wagon this week. Now that my husband has taken up doing odd jobs and is hardly ever home, and my son has gone from 2 naps a day to 1. I'm having difficulty finding the time to workout. So my goal this week is to be more active. It's getting colder and snowier here in Michigan, so my Sketchers toning shoes have hit the closet, but now that I know that Earth Footwear makes boots for toning, I really need to figure out how to get my hands on a pair (If you would like to gift me a pair, here's the website: http://www.earthfootwear.com/ I really like the "Invent"-size 10 please :)). Earth's boots would make bundling up the baby and trudging through the snow a whole lot more comfy!

This weeks goal synopsis:
1. Loose at least 2 lbs with Weight Watchers.
2. Recommit to at least 30 mins of excercise a day.
3. Get some hot new Earth Footwear boots to make walking in the snow super cozy.