Lori

This is a really tough time of year to be trying to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Having the energy, the time and the will power to eat right and to exercise is so difficult right now for so many of us.

For those of you maintaining your current weight right now TERRIFIC
and those of you that have managed to lose during this crazy hectic time SUPER DUPER  AWESOME.

I didn’t notice before just how long the holidays really are and how early they start.

I thought there was Thanksgiving (being a Canadian girl ours is in October), then Christmas Eve (when we usually celebrate Christmas with my hubby’s side) and then Christmas Day (a big breakfast and huge dinner with my side of the family)
.
Well I forgot about all the dinners and parties and goodies there were leading up to Christmas.
The constant treats and special occasions that are there challenging us everytime we turn around it seems.
At least this is how it feels to me.

So I think we really need to stop being so hard on ourselves when we can’t fit that one workout in or we have that buttertart.
Now I’m not saying go nutso and eat the whole dang plate of cookies and throw your exercise routine out the window for a month.  No not at all.
But still remember we are all human and we all deserve to enjoy Christmas too and to not beat ourselves up over a slip up here and there or a little indulgence now and then.

That being said I am happy and proud to say I did so very well yesterday.
We celebrated Christmas early with my hubby’s side of the family last night.
That consisted of a potluck dinner with tons and tons of food.
You know the snacky finger foods that are soooooooooo good especially at this time of year.
I really enjoyed dinner but I did a great job of not eating too much or too many of the wrong things.
I did way better than I expected to or maybe even better than I had planned.

I also went to water aerobics for an hour at noon even though there were so many things I could have been doing at home to get ready for the dinner which I was hosting by the way.
I feel so great about that choice I made.

Have a terrific Christmas buddies.
I hope everyone has family and or friends to spend  special time with.
Remember to be good to yourself not beat yourself up.

Lori

and I am in such a much better place than I was last year at this time.

Last year I was 93 pounds heavier.

That still amazes me to think that I’ve lost that amount of weight.

Every year on my birthday, like a lot of people I think, I promise myself that the following year I will be a lot thinner and healthier.

Well this is the first year that I actually kept my promise to myself and what a wonderful feeling that is.

I know so many people starting out on the weight loss journey feel like they have so far to go and it seems like you will never get there and it will take forever.

But you need to start today or get back on track today and just move forward.

Yup it doesnt happen overnight that is true but it will happen if you work hard at it and stick to it.

A year really isn’t that long a time if you think about it.

It took a lot longer than that to put the weight on.
So what if it took 2 yrs. or 5 yrs. it would still all be worth it right?

I hope all my buddies are well and going to have a wonderful day
I know I am
I am feeling very blessed and very proud today and just wanted to share that with you.

Hugs everyone
Lori

Yes it is.

I had an awesome time at hubby’s Christmas party Saturday night.

I was all prepared for it - exercised during the day, drank lots of water and ate well, didn’t go to the party starving even though it was a late dinner.
I had lots of vegies on my plate from the amazing dinner buffet, stayed away from the dessert table even though everything I saw being eaten all around me looked soooooooooo good.
I was so proud of myself.
I did have a couple glasses of white wine but drank water in between and much more water than wine.
We danced a ton and it felt terrific.  It was so much fun.
We danced and danced and danced.
Then when I got on the scale Sunday morning hoping that the wine and late dinner hadn’t caused me to gain any weight.
Here I was down 2 pounds.
I couldn’t believe it.  Actually 2 1/2 pounds.  I thought I better wait and see what the scale says Monday maybe I was dreaming or my scale was playing tricks on me or something.
But nope this morning same thing.
I am sooooooooooooooo happy and I say dancing is the BEST exercise there is.

When I told my girlfriend that she laughed and said there is one thing thats a better from of exercise.
I said well maybe except if hubby doesn’t feel like dancing or when he’s done his “dance” I can always find someone else to dance with.
Not the case with the exercise she was talking about.  LMAO

So my buddies I hope you are feeling motivated this Monday morning.
I know its difficult with the holidays coming and I know some of us just hope to maintain over the holidays.  Sometimes maintaining is a very good thing.

Take Care my buddies
and thanks for all your advice and support
Happy Monday!
Lori

HAPPY FRIDAY BUDDY SLIMMERS!!!!!!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
It’s getting closer to Christmas and seems like everyone’s getting so busy.

I am looking for some advice from my wise buddies.

First of all though I’d like to toot my own horn for a second and just say that this evening I got a case of the munchies.
Just wham! Out of the blue. Real bad.
Yikes, can’t have that happening.
I drank water hoping it would fill me up enough to forget about what seemed to be hunger.
That didn’t work.
I brushed my teeth so that I wouldn’t feel like eating anything.
Well that didn’t really work either.
So I went back and looked through my food journal.
There is definitely a trend there.
Right there on the pages I can see the times when I eat at night are the times when my scale frowns at me.
But when I manage to eat well all day, like I did today, and I get in my workouts, like I did today, and stay away from eating after supper time that is when I lose weight.
It really is so simple and there it was in black and white.
So dang it I needed another plan.
So as I sat watching TV I got on the treadmill.
I was tired and not energetic at all, had done my workouts for the day, legs feeling a little sore but I got on it.
I figured any amount of time on it was better than none and certainly better than going to the cupboard or fridge.
So I walked on the treadmill for 22 mins. burnt 100 calories.
Nope not earth shattering.
But burning 100 calories was so much better than eating 100, 200 or 300 calories in the evening then going to bed with no time to burn them off.
After that I lost all urge to eat.
I am proud of myself and feeling confident about stepping on the scale tomorrow.
It’s all up to us and the choices we make.
Not that that means it’s easy cause it sure isn’t a lot of the time.
Sometimes we just have to force ourselves to do what we know is right.
I think we all really do know what we have to do it’s just a matter of doing it.
Anyway just wanted to share that.

Now onto the advice that I am seeking.
Saturday night I have my hubby’s Christmas party to go to.
I am really looking forward to it.
Looking forward to getting all dressed up in my new outfit.
Looking forward to seeing people I haven’t seen since last year’s Christmas party when I was 90 pounds heavier.
Looking forward to dancing like crazy.
Now I plan to make healthy food choices.
I’m not too concerned about that.
I’ve been pretty good about staying away from desserts so I’m confident there.
Like I said I plan to do lots of dancing so that will help.
I am also going to get a good workout in during the day and to water aerobics.
Now I plan to have a couple of drinks while I’m there.
I haven’t drank anything since May and then before that it was New Years.
Not that I’m a big drinker but I do plan to have a good time and have been waiting for this.
So my question is what is the best choice for drink?
The most least fattening, lowest calorie, you know what I mean.
Light beer? Wine? Something else?
I am clueless and would love some input.

Thanks my buddies
I am ever so grateful to have found this site and so many wonderful friends
Lori