Unbutton Your Pants and Keep Eating!

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Tomorrow begins the dreaded holiday season -- though if you’ve been in any department store since mid-October, you know the retail holiday season is well under way. I say ‘dreaded’ not to be a humbug (trust me, I have a Clark Griswold side) but because this particular holiday season poses many challenges.

The holiday season in our culture is all about indulgence. Eat, shop, drink and be merry! Forget the limits of your jeans and your budget and ENJOY! Stuff your face, maul the crowds to shop at bizarre hours, and go to as many parties as you can.

Being in weight-loss competition and on a budget during the holidays is going to be a challenge. Like most Americans, every November and December I pack on the pounds. Usually at least three, and often more along the lines of seven or eight. Then come January, I spend two or three months regretting it. This year there will be no regret! I’ve changed my lifestyle all year, and I can’t revert now.

I’m hosting Thanksgiving, and since I know clearly what is on the menu, I have already decided what I will and will not eat. I’m going in with a plan. Turkey -- yes! In excess! Squash, green bean casserole, and cranberries, yes! Mashed potatoes, corn casserole and dressing? -- only a tiny portion and NO leftovers. Pumpkin pie and pumpkin cheesecake? -– only a small serving and none in the fridge!

You see, I don’t mind indulging once in a single celebratory meal with my family. What really gets me is eating those same indulgent foods for the following week out of the plastic carry-out boxes in the fridge! While a temporary deviation from low-carb may work for one meal, it certainly won’t be to my benefit to indulge for a week. So -- Thanksgiving at my house is BYOB (Bring Your Own Box). Everyone will be taking leftovers!

My goal this holiday is to be thankful instead of extravagant. I love to cook, eat, shop, and go overboard with the best of them, but none of those things bring real contentment. I am very lucky to be in the midst of what everyone tells me will be one of the most exciting times of my life. I’m marrying an amazingly tolerant and kind man next year, planning a big wedding where all my family will be able to come together, and feeling good about myself. We're financially stable, have news jobs we both enjoy, and are both healthy and well. We’re celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family around us in our beautiful home, and after a family member’s battle with cancer last year, we can’t be thankful enough to have our family present.

This year I won’t be camping out in front of Best Buy or lining up at Walmart. I won’t be sleeping off my food coma or feeling sick with overeating. I plan on spending my Thanksgiving appreciating those around me and savoring this great moment in my life.

Put the stretchy pants back in the bottom drawer and practice thankfulness instead of extravagance with me this holiday!

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