Back on the wagon, anyone?

Thank you, to my dear friend for reminding me that I had not posted a new blog entry in a few weeks. I have to say it isn't because I haven't wanted to, because I really did, but I wanted this to be a positive experience, and honestly, during the holidays, it is hard to be positive when it comes to eating well and losing weight!

I mean really, who ate too much on Christmas, had one piece of candy (or 5!) too many at the office, or imbibed a little more than they thought they would over the last few weeks? If you say "No, I didn't", then you are either lying to yourself or you are a model of perfection, and you should bottle that up! You would make millions!!!! :-)

Anyway, when my dear friend said she wanted to see my next blog post, she wrote: "You are doing great and even on the struggle days doing better than most. Keep up the good work and tell us all about it." (I promise that going forward I will post even if-well, when-I am struggling!) It was a good reminder to me (there seem to be many hiding out there lately if you are looking for them!) that something like this is a journey, not a destination. Interestingly, I have said that many times during classes that I teach, but honestly it fits so well in this situation. The last month has been, well, according to the scale better than most years for me. I was actually surprised when I got on the scale this morning. In a good way! They say most Americans gain between 5-10 lbs during the holiday season. I will honestly be able to say that I lost, which I wasn't expecting. Now, that is a journey I like to be on....

That by no means is indicative of how I feel I have been doing. I have been beating myself up for eating this or eating that. Giving myself the mental lashings, if you will. But after my friendly reminder, I sat back and said "okay, well, who cares what went before, what matters is what goes on now". So, enough of the negative self-talk, and show me the Pollyanna thoughts.

I titled this entry "Back on the wagon, anyone?" because honestly, how many of us have a love/hate relationship, perhaps a bit addictive with one or several types of food? Sweets, especially chocolate are my best friend, and my mortal enemy. So, after the past month of gorging ourselves on every fatty food known to man, the goal is to re-shape the eating again. Start adding green things back into the diet (and no, the green and gold Packers chips DO NOT count...darn it....) and focusing on the water intake.

I happened to come across the normal, for this time of year, "how to lose weight" stories on FB today, and thought I would click in and see what they had to say. Nothing new and earth-shattering, I'm sorry to say. (By the way, I want to see that story someday...."Medical Breakthrough: Here is the absolute BEST and only way to lose weight GUARANTEED"...but we have already had it...decrease calories and/or increase activity...so simple...) But I digress...what the story had to say towards the end really made sense to me. Here's the link to the entire story. http://www.myoptumhealth.com/portal/Information/item/Positive+Thinking%3A+The+Key+to+Weight+Lo?archiveChannel=Home%2FArticle&clicked=true

• Form a positive relationship with food. Food does not have to be the enemy. Instead, view it as something that nourishes your body.


• Avoid an "all or nothing" attitude. You don't have to be perfect. Plan to eat well 90 percent of the time and allow for small indulgences. This will help keep you on track for the long term.


• Treat yourself well. Ignoring your own needs can cause stress and resentment, and eventually lead to overeating. If you work to feed your soul, you will be less likely to overfeed your body.


• Refrain from negative self-talk. Think about the mean things you say to yourself when you look in the mirror, take a shower, or get dressed in the morning. Would you say these things to a friend? Recognize that negative self-talk can send you on a downward spiral from which it is hard to recover.

Hmm...number 4 sounds familiar. Okay, so maybe the wagon I need to get back on is the Pollyanna wagon. Apparently, the food wagon is already set to go (not at warp speed!), now I need to get myself back on the "Good job eating that green leafy substance that you didn't know the name of" wagon.

Sometimes it helps to hear it from someone else, and for that I am grateful to have such a wide support of friends. And no, chocolate is not that supportive friend...but a delicious enemy. If only...