Taking Weekends Off Experiment

This is completely my own wild hair invention and I'm sure its a pretty crazy scheme and it probably won't work -- so don't follow my example. 

During the week I plan my every bite, record every morsel of food that passes my lips, count protein grams and water ounces and control my carb intake.  I eat on a schedule and if I go off plan it's only a small bite that fits well within my caloric target range. I follow the rules and work really hard to make smart choices.

For the past two weekends... and now this weekend too .... I've taken Saturday and Sunday off of my strict and regimented eating plan.  I make sure I get my water and protein in, but after that, there are no rules.  I don't overeat and I don't indulge in stuff that is too far off my eating rules (no cheesecake or deep fried slabs of meat).  Moderation is key with these free weekends, I think.

My theory is that feeding my body exactly the same amount of calories every day (within 100-200) and eating at exactly the same time every day and not really having a lot of variety in the foods I eat .... it's causing my body to become too efficient and it isn't working hard enough to use up my stored fat as energy.  

I've gone through my weight chart this afternoon.  It's a handwritten chart that I keep in my WLS notebook.  But today I entered it all into a spreadsheet so I could apply some formulas and really examine what's been going on.  

Right now I'm in the midst of a plateau that has lasted 11 weeks.  In the 6 weeks prior to that, I was also on a plateau.  In the 7 weeks before that, another plateau.  Between each of these 3 individual plateaus I've lost a total of 8 pounds - with a loss between stalls of about 2.5 to 3 pounds.  

While on this current plateau I've played around with the same 3 pounds.  The scale jumps between 189 and 192.  When I started this "free weekend" experiment the scale kind of stayed closer to the 192 range ... but now after a couple weeks of this experiment the scale seems to be hugging the 190 range.  

So is the free weekend thing working?  or is the 192 vs 190 number simply a natural progression of this particular stall?  I don't know.  All I know is that EVERYthing else I've tried has not worked.  This whole thing might backfire on me and trigger a bad habit or two. But I feel that since I'm doing the free weekends in a very regimented way (is that an oxy moron?) - when the stall is over, I can go back to my typical meal planning routine and get back on the road to my goal weight.  

Even though I'm free to choose my foods as I wish today -- I know that today's free day has been a bit heavy on the carb side and I'm short on protein.  So I'll pick some delicious high-carb choices for dinner which is coming up right after I finish writing this.  I've got a Turkey Mignon in the freezer that I know has 32g protein and with a side of steamed edamame, which has 14g protein, I'll meet my protein goals for the day.  

I'll report back on how this experiment pans out.  Hopefully it'll be what the body needs to kick this plateau to the curb. 

~Pam

Let's talk about my weight loss stall

To say I'm frustrated is a huge understatement. I swore at the scale today ... and I'm not the swearing type of girl.

I hit the 100 pound mark in mid-August. In the past 5 months I've lost a total of 10 pounds and most of that was in September. I say 10 pounds because I "saw 189" on the scale once and I'm claiming it even though I haven't seen it again recently. The scale keeps playing around between 189 and 191. For the 6 weeks before that it played around with 193 and 191.

The stall started while I was in the middle of training for the half marathon race and I was walking 20 miles a week. Even when I stopped exercising because of my ankle injury - then from shear laziness - I remained stalled. If I eat like a pig or if I go well below my caloric needs - I remain stalled. I had my RMR tested and increased my calorie goal to 1450 - I remain stalled. I've given myself weekends off for the past 2 weeks and not counted anything and just ate whatever I wanted in an attempt to shock my body into some type of change - I remain stalled.

So I've officially been stalled for 2 months. But in the 3 months before this particular stall started, things have been beyond slow.

I've increased calories. I've changed my workout routine. I've kept my protein high and carbs moderately low. I've kept track of my food on FitDay. I've been more conscious about my water intake. I've done all the classic things I'm suppose to do to Break a Stall. 


But apparently my body has a mind all it's own and will do whatver the heck it wants to do.

All I can do is wait it out and try not to let it get me down. I'm trying hard to focus on other goals ... particularly my 9 Goals for 2009.... and trying hard to ignore the scale and it's stubbornness.

~Pam

Meditation

One of my 9 Goals for 2009 is to meditate and become more aware of my spirituality. I mentioned this to my mom the other day and she gave me a funny look... like I was suddenly worshiping some alternate god or turning to some other strange religion. Of course, that's not my intention at all. 

To me meditation is a time for me to be quiet and alone with my own thoughts, to more fully understand my inner self and to learn to love the person that I am and those around me through a greater awareness of my spirit, my relationship with God, my daily experiences and my emotions.

Today in my search for some soothing music to meditate to, I stumbled across the Online Meditation Classes. There are 32 individual class "sessions" that are MP3 files so you can download them, load 'em up on the media player and listen at your leisure. Or listen directly on your computer if that's easier. I've listened to first class and think I'm really going to enjoy this series. It seems to be perfect for the novice meditation student. 

Speaking of music... that site also has an outstanding collection of soothing music. I've downloaded a bunch already. I still want to check out the guided meditation section too. 

~Pam

Grouchy & Pissy

Grouchy and Pissy. That pretty much sums up my mood today. I can feel myself being impatient with myself and others and really don't trust myself to be around people today -- I know I'm going to bite someone's head off and end up regretting it later. So I'm making a conscious effort to not interact with people today any more than I need to.

A lot of this is a result of a fight I had yesterday with my best friend. It's patched up, but I'm still feeling like I'm ready to fight some more. But also feeling defeated and beat down because of it. Reminds me of the song by Terri Clark, "I Just Wanna Be Mad."

Another big contributor is that stupid scale. It's not moving, no matter what I do. I know I'm not done losing, I know the scale will move again sooner or later, I know I need to just keep on course and it'll all work out in the end ... my brain knows all that. But the emotions are not communicating with the brain right now and the frustration and exasperation is setting in big time.

Also feeling especially single these days. But I won't get into that cuz it'll just get me down even more.

As I've said before, I'm an "emotional non-eater." I don't eat when I'm in a mood like this. Which is just as bad as over eating. So I'm being aware of that trait and trying to not let it get the best of me today.

So yeah... this WLS journey thing, it's not always sunshine and roses. Life still happens and some days you just want to hide under the covers and not face the day. But life goes on and you have to deal with it.

~Pam

Carby Day

It's 3:21 p.m. and my day has consisted of way too many crappy carbs. The rest of the day WILL be better.  Going to go make a protein shake now.

~Pam

Five for Friday

So one of my 9 Goals for 2009 is to declutter. I've been doing good on that front for the past couple weeks .... baby steps work best for me. 

One habit I've started is what I call "Five for Friday." Each Friday I go through my house and pick up five things. It can be five things that need to be tossed into the trash or five things that need to be donated to charity or five things that need to be returned to someone else that I might have borrowed or they left at my house. 

Last Friday I went through the shoes in my closet. I packed up a whole box of shoes ... definitely more than five pair. Today I plan to focus on books. I'm being overrun with books in my house and need to box up the ones I'm done with and ship them off to charity. I think I'll also set a goal for Saturdays. 

Whatever I packed up on Friday needs to go into my car by Saturday. That way, the next time I'm at Goodwill, I can drop off a box or two for donation. 

Feels good to be decluttering. 
~Pam

Updated Multi-Vitamin Comparison

I have updated the Multi-Vitamin Comparison spreadsheet post. I've added some of the new bariatric multi-vitamins that are now on the market. As I've said many times before... just because a company slaps the word "bariatric" on the label does not mean it's the right vitamin for us after WLS. Yes, there are some on the list that I do not recommend.) Do your homework carefully and ask questions before you make a switch. Here's the link to the original post on multi-vitamins. http://pamtremble.blogspot.com/2008/01/mulit-vitamin-comparison.html Just for information's sake. I am still using Centrum Adult Chewable Multi-Vitamins. I trust the brand, the quality of the ingredients has been tested and proven to be superior and they are easily accessible at any Walmart or local pharmacy. ~Pam

My Weekly Goals

At our last Bay City Support Group we each set a few goals to work on each week. I handed out the worksheet below so we could record our success as we worked to change our behaviors. Feel free to download the worksheet below and start your own set of weekly goals. 

Your goals do not need to be WLS or health related. This is a method to use for changing any type of behavior you want or for taking small steps towards a bigger goal. As you'll see below, not all of my goals this week are weight related. When I am on track with various things in my life, I tend to be more on track with my health related things. 

Don't forget to reward yourself!   And yes, if you don't hit your goals... you'll have to issue an appropriate punishment as well. 

For me rewards tend to be pampering in nature (pedicure, manicure, bubble bath) and punishments tend to be cleaning and decluttering in nature (spending 30 minutes sorting through crap in the storage room). Also remember that you can't be perfect 100% of the time, so when you set a goal don't expect to achieve it 7 days per week... set a number of days that is attainable and realistic. I never expect to achieve a goal more than 5 or 6 times per week. Some are just 3 days per week. Here's the goals I've set for myself this week: 

1) FlyLady --- I'm using FlyLady to help me clean and declutter my house and stay on track with projects and daily tasks. My goal is to create my PODA (Parade of Daily Adventures) each week and follow through on the tasks I've assigned myself. 

2) Spirituality --- do something that relates to my desire for improved spirituality - meditate, read something or learn something new. 

3) Water --- get all 64oz of water per day. 

4) Exercise --- exercise at least 5 days per week, 30 minutes each workout. 

5) Carb Control --- limit total carb intake to no more than 40% of caloric balance. What are your goals for this week? 

~Pam


Goal Worksheet Blank

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Health & Medicine Research goals challenges

Common Nutrient Deficiencies

Below is a chart that shows many common nutrient deficiencies among the general population. Remember that after gastric bypass surgery that the nutrients we might get from the foods listed here are not fully absorbed. However, this chart is a good reference for the symptoms to look for when you body might be lacking in a certain nutrient.

Download the printable PDF here: Common Nutrient Deficiencies

 

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Health & Medicine Research vitamin nutrients

Remember that post ....

Remember that post from about 6 weeks ago when I was wondering how much I weighed when I was 18?  Well... I found a number as I was sorting through some boxes of crap in my storage room (yes, I was cleaning and decluttering!).  

In my old School Days book that my mom started for me in kindergarten, I found a weight written down for each year all the way up to the 11th grade (age 17).  For my senior year something was written down, but I had scribbled it out so good that I couldn't read the number -- I must not have been happy with that number, huh?

So at age 17 I weighed 160.  As I looked at pictures from my high school and college days I looked normal.  A normal weight compared to everyone else around me.  According to the BMI charts, I would have been 6 pounds overweight.  I don't remember being unhappy with my weight back then - in fact, I don't remember much about my weight back then at all.  

I'm not sure if this changes my current weight goals.  But it's a good number to know, I guess. 

~Pam

Comments from Strangers

So yesterday I got my hair cut and the stylist mentioned how soft and healthy my hair was.  I told her that after losing so much of it, that it had grown back really strong.  Which of course led to a converation about my WLS.  

She asked how much I'd lost.  My answer of "110 pounds so far" got the response.  "What do you mean so far?  You aren't going to lose any more are you?"  

Yes, I do plan to lose more.  But it's interesting to hear comments like that from strangers who never knew me at my heaviest.  Does that mean I'm at a normal weight?  I certainly don't feel like a normal weight yet -- I'm still obese and still wearing a size 16. 

It makes me feel good to hear stuff like that.  And really makes me wonder  how far I really do have left to go.

~Pam

Pasta

I love my homemade spaghetti sauce.  It's easy and so yummy!  Ok, so maybe it's not totally homemade, but it's not from a jar, so I call it homemade.

1 3oz jar tomato paste

1 14oz can diced tomatoes

1 lb ground hamburg

1 cup sliced/diced mushrooms

garlic

italian seasoning

salt

pepper

water (use as much as needed to get the consistency you like)

So anyway, I made a pot of spaghetti sauce today.  (I know, crazy huh -- you'd think with all those beans that I'd make something with them.)

I had a tiny bit of whole grain pasta (high in protein) left in the pantry, so I boiled it up to go with the sauce.  I'd also bought a spaghetti squash last week, but figured I'd go the pasta route today. 

Pasta and my pouch still do not get along very well.  Feeling a bit pukey.  

~Pam

  

Me and My Brilliant Ideas

Ok, try not to laugh too hard while you read this ...

I eat a lot of beans.  And I recently read a blog entry over on "A Year of Crockpotting" about cooking dried beans and freezing them and saving $$$ on canned beans.  What a great idea!  At the end of the post she said she wished she'd cooked more than just one 1lb bag of black beans so she could have more on hand in the freezer.  So that's what I did.  Got a few bags so I could do them all at once. 

But of course, I eat more than just black beans, so I bought some great northern beans, Michigan red beans and pinto beans.  And who needs just a mere one pound of beans... gimme those big 2lb bags.  Maybe two of those 2lb bags.  

Ok, let's do the math.  Four pounds of four different kinds of beans equal sixteen pounds of beans.  I have two big crockpots, so figured I'd do them in batches.  I soaked them all last night before bed and woke up this morning to a surprise.  

It quickly became obvious that the crockpots were too small for the expanded beans.  I only had one big pan that could deal with one type of beans.  I pulled out the big roasting pan and divided another type between that and a normal sized soup pan.  And this leaves me with two crockpots of soaked beans, waiting for the pans to finish cooking the first two types of beans so the second two types can get cooking.  

I'm going to have enough beans to last me a lifetime.  Or else I'm going to be eating a whole lot of chili, ham and bean soup, white chicken chili, tortilla soup and bean salad.  Sounds like I'll be pulling out cookbooks and surfing my favorite cooking websites to find some uses for all these beans!

EDITED TO ADD:  After all was said and done, I packaged the beans up into ziploc baggies with 2 cups of beans per bag.  I now have 40 bags of beans to eat!

Ok, you can stop laughing now!

~Pam

Do Calories Really Count?

I responded to a question on OH yesterday. I thought I'd share my response here and give a little more information about my personal experience with calories.

Before my gastric bypass surgery I spent a solid two years on a very strict diet trying to lose weight. I exercised my butt off and at about 1200-1400 calories per day. I tracked my calories on FitDay just like I do now ... and their online calculators told me that based on my food intake and my activity level that I should be losing about 5 pounds per week. But it didn't work out that way.

Every ounce of energy I was putting in was simply to maintain my current weight at the time. I wasn't gaining and I wasn't losing. My weight stayed steady. Why? Because of the PCOS, insulin resistance and my history of morbid obesity ... my body didn't react like those online calculators said that it should to my calorie deficit.

So when Dave on OH asked yesterday if the whole notion about calories was really true... this is what I had to say:

The whole calorie thing isn't wrong. The calories in vs. caloies out thing works just fine. BUT ... our body is broken. We've spent a lifetime whaling away at our metobolic system and we've damaged it so much that it doesn't work like it should anymore. (This is my personal opinion sorta based on some of the research I've dug up.)

The yo-yo dieting. The bad food choices. The excess calories. The insulin imbalance. The hormonal imbalance. The binge eating. The starvation dieting. And now we throw major, gut-rearranging surgery at our bodies and expect it suddenly to do what we want it to do.

Nik said it beautifully this morning. Our body is really good at one thing. Self Preservation. Our body is programmed to survive and to do anything it can possibly do to keep us alive. 700 calories a day will signal to your body that its dying and it needs to conserve energy, hold on to every ounce of fat (energy) storage and protect us from whatever horrible element is attacking us. You just went from eating 10,000 calories a day to 700 calories a day... the body reads that as famine.

So you have to prove to your body that everything is alright. Feed it the protein it needs to fuel your muscles, organs and blood system. Feed it the vitamins it needs to function. Feed it water to stay hydrated and flush the used fat storage toxins. Exercise to prove you are healthy and want to keep the muscle mass you have. Gradually you'll increase your calories as your body needs more fuel to keep you out of starvation mode. Once you get into starvation mode, things slow down or stop because starvation mode = survival mode = self preservation mode.

That whole 3500 calories burned equals 1 pound of lost fat. Yes, it's true. But it doesn't take into account the abuse we've dished out to our body all these years as we've lived with morbid obesity.

~Pam

In A Hibernating Emotional Funk

For the past several weeks (since before Christmas) I’ve been in the mood to hibernate. I just want to be home, in my jammies, curled up in my easy chair with a blanket and no responsibilities. I don’t want to go anywhere or do anything or socialize with anyone. It’s winter and it’s cold and I’d love to just take a never ending hot bubble bath or something. I don’t know if this “hiding out” is causing my emotions to go haywire or if my emotions are haywire so I want to hide out. But it seems like I’ve been on the edge for the past few weeks with moodiness. Seems like my patience is gone and I get angry pretty easily. I haven’t been hanging out on the OH forums much lately because I don’t have the patience to deal with the silly questions – normally I’m pretty laid back and try to help folks even if their questions are elementary and something they can figure out with a quick Google search or by reading their post-op instructions from their surgeon. But I’ve found myself getting snippy with people and I don’t like that about myself… so I’ve been staying away for now. I’m not the type of person to cry, but I feel like I’ve been on the edge of breaking down and it won’t take much to push me over. Guess it just feels like I’ve been in a funk and I’m starting to get on my own nerves. I’m taking the advice of Dr. Williams and writing in my Emotional Journal. Just writing about my feelings and why I think I’m feeling those things. It seems to help, but it takes a lot of energy to get it down on paper and really deal with those emotions. I’m doing it anyway. This never ending plateau is getting old too. But that’s a whole other post. I’m sure it’s just the winter season doing it. And I’m sure it’ll pass soon. It’s just all starting to annoy me at the moment.

My Food Log

I am a little bit scared to be doing this .... and now sure how long it'll stick around.  But I'm making my FitDay log public.  And I'm putting a big old link right over there on the sidebar for anyone to click on and snoop into my day's eating.  

Today happened to be a pretty crappy day and I'm not proud of what I put in my mouth.  But it's there.  I counted every morsel.  And now the world can look at it.  

I can also see that I need to do a better job of adding food in the order that I eat it.  No, I didn't have a tortilla pizza for breakfast -- that's the plan for dinner (haven't cooked it yet).  And the cake, that was up there around lunchtime... and those Hershey's Kisses, those were spread out throughout the day at work.  And that cappuccino on the drive home tonight - big mistake!  

Today was pretty carb-heavy and if I was smart about my choices, I'd make a protein shake for dinner instead of that tortilla pizza.  But like I said, it's been a crappy day and I really just want a hot meal tonight.  So I'm having my pizza anyway.

Dang!  That last line was squarely in the "Entitlement" category, wasn't it?  Which is my trigger.  The reason I got to obesity in the first place.  Sounds like I need to work on that area pretty hard still - especially on the crappy days.

So are you willing to make your food log public?  Willing to share it on your own blog?  Or just give me the URL so I can peek at your day once in a while too?   I bet this could be a great motivator for being accountable. 

~Pam

My Med Schedule

I just discovered a very cool website that helps me keep track of all my medications, vitamins and supplements. It's www.MyMedSchedule.com - it is pretty awesome. And it's free! I registered for a free account, then added all my various medications and vitamins into my own database (not that I take any Rx's anymore, but I take plenty of vitamins and supplements to keep track of). They have a ton of meds already in their database, so it's easy to pick from what they have listed or create a new medication that's not listed. For instance, some of my vitamins are in doses that are not listed, so I added some of my own stuff. It was super easy! Then once you get all your pills entered, you can assign doses (1x daily up to 5x daily or "other"). And also what time each dose is scheduled throughout the day. You can then print a list of everything you take, how many doses and what times... so you can share it with your doctor or just hang it on the fridge as a reminder. I like the printed list feature because everytime I go to the doctor or surgeon for followup, they want a list of all the medications and vitamins I'm taking and I usually have to write it all out for them - and usually forget something. Now I can just hand over the list and I know it's accurate. The best part ... you can get email notifications or text messages to your cell phone to remind you when to take your next dose. I just received my 11:00 a.m. text message reminder to take a calcium. Pretty slick, huh? So if you have problems remembering to take your vitamins throughout the day -- this is a high-tech way to stay on track! ~Pam

My First Yoga Class

The Wellness Program at work is offering a lunchtime yoga class. Today was the first class and I really enjoyed it. I've had my yoga mat for about 3 years and this is maybe the 3rd time I've used it. Can't wait till next week's class. Interestingly ... when the instructor kept telling us to relax and clear our minds and not think about anything, to focus on your breath, etc.... I just kept thinking: "Wow! I couldn't have done this a year ago!" So I have several yogoa shows recorded on my DVR at home from FitTV. I'm a bit more motivated after today's class to go check them out when I get home. Have you tried yoga before? Do you like it? Does it get easier the more you do it? ~Pam

My Wierd Foot

Remember back in September when I injured my ankle just before the half-marathon?  Well, it's acting wierd and it's starting to tick me off.  

I was diagnosed with paroneal tendenitis and the best way for that to heal is simply rest.  So it's pretty much healed. No pain at all.  

BUT ... the doctor thinks there is still swelling in the tendon area which is causing some other issues.  I can't bend my foot back (i.e. flexing my foot back and forth doesn't happen), I have trouble wiggling my toes and I get a numbness on the top of my foot almost all the time.  The other thing that's starting to irritate me is that when I walk my foot seems to clunk down... like I'm walking flat footed with one foot and normal with the other, so when my right foot hits the treadmill it makes a loud thud.  The left foot is fine but the right food is misbehaving.  

Thankfully I go back to my PCP in a couple months, so I'll follow up about the foot too.  When I told him about it last time he said it was normal for things like that to happen with tendonitis.  But it seems to be getting worse -- or maybe I'm just paying attention to it closer?

~Pam

Dehydrated

I didn't do good with water this weekend and I'm paying for it today. Definitely dehydrated. I've already downed 48 ounces of water today and can't seem to shake it. Whenever my body needs water, it tells me. I get this strange feeling in my ears ... like they are popped (same as when you're on an airplane) and I feel like I'm breathing and talking inside a tunnel or something. I usually get this feeling first thing in the morning, but it's gone with a glass of water in the morning. But today it's holding on for way too long. I just finished my second 20-ounce bottle of water here at work (had about 8 ounces before I left the house this morning). I'm going to eat lunch in a few minutes and hopefully that'll put me over the top so this ringing will stop! I need to be more disciplined with getting ALL my water in EVERYday, no matter what. ~Pam

What it means to be "On Track"

What does a successful day look like? What does it mean to be "On Track" with my diet and post-op life? 

In order to be on track, the following must be in place for me: 

1. Love myself enough to take care of my own daily needs for better health. 
2. Eat a healthy balance of foods. Including staying within my calorie range, and keeping my macronutrients in line. Getting enough fiber and drinking enough water. Eat according to my daily schedule and avoid unplanned snacks or grazing or mindless eating. And the only way I'll know if I'm hitting those daily goals is to track my food in on FitDay. 
3. Exercise because I care about my overall health. I'm not exercising to lose weight, I'm doing it to improve my heart and lung function, build my lean muscle mass and to be a more healthy person. And it's not just about going to the gym - it's about getting out and enjoying life and being more active overall. Keeping those reasons in mind helps me be more faithful to my workout routine. 
4. Be obsessive about my vitamins and supplements. My life depends on it. 
5. Follow the doctor's orders. Follow up with regular lab tests, vitamins and proper medial are is essential. Follow up with my surgeon once a year for my annual check up on my surgery. 
6. Be intune with my body and my emotions and be comfortable with who I am, what I think, how I feel and the direction my life is going. 
7. Be kind to myself. 

If I fall off track, that is not permission to beat myself up. This is not a diet and this is not a race .... it's about lifestyle and the long haul. 

Be kind. 

Be happy. 

Just be. 

Cheating

I watch what I eat.  I track my calories.  I count grams of protein I eat and ounces of water I drink. I exercise.  I eat salad and lean meats.  

Am I on a diet?

No.  I do not feel like I'm on a diet.  I feel like I have changed the way I eat and act and feel about food, but I don't think of it as a diet.  Not in the traditional definition of "diet."

So why do I feel guilt when I eat something that's not a part of my typical plan of healthy food?  Why do I feel like I am cheating.  Cheating like you'd cheat on a diet.  If it's not a diet, doesn't that mean that you can't cheat on it?  

I want to get to a point in my way of thinking that no food is "good" or "bad" and that I can live with whichever choice I make as long as my overall choices are healthy.  This whole relationship with food thing is harder than I anticipated. 

~Pam

9 Goals for 2009

I hate calling them resolutions because it conjurs up imagines of failure and broken resolve. So I am setting goals instead. Setting and achieving a goal is much more measurable and focused, in my humble opinion. I'm giving a simple list here today, but in the coming weeks I'll expand my intention behind each goal and what I plan to do to achive them. So this year's goals are (in no particular order of importance): 

1. Meditate 
2. Declutter
3. Buy less stuff
4. Take more photos 
5. Go to school 
6. Make this afghan 
7. Spend more time with friends
8. Renew love of scrapbooking 
9. Continue Holistic Wellness Plan Goals

Welcome 2009

Happy New Year!  I'd like to wish you all  happy, healthy and prosperous 2009.  

It's odd that I don't feel like it's New Year yet.  Like I've mentioned before, we had our final Christmas celebration today.  We've found that if we do the big family Christmas gathering on any other day, everyone is rushed to get to somewhere else ... but doing it today lets us all hang out and enjoy a relaxed day.  

I was definitely not looking forward to another huge mega-feast buffet today though.  I'm tired of all the food that I've been faced with for the past 6 weeks since Thanksgiving.   My dishes to pass today reflected my craving for healthy food.  I brought a big tossed salad and a sugar free cake (I'll post the recipe later).  I also made some cute olive penguins (I'll post those too).  So instead of the big plate of turkey and ham and mashed potatoes and stuffing and gravy and green bean casserole and baked beans and sweet potatoes and homemade bread.... and a million other bites.  I cut up some turkey breast, put it on top of a pile of mixed salad greens for a delicious and satisfying salad.  I had a small side of broccoli & cauliflower salad and a slice of ham.  Otherwise... pretty much just a salad for dinner.  Perfect.

The cookie and dessert buffet was tempting and had some favorite on it.  I had a few small Christmas cookies throughout the day.  The sugar free cake I made was delicious and actually tasted better than any other sweets I tried.  

Overall... I'm pretty happy with how well I ate today.  And I'm so thankful the official holiday season is over and that my fridge is not filled with leftovers that I'll regret eating.  I'm looking forward to the coming year - today was a good start to it. 

~Pam