Prepare Mentally

November 24, 2009 By

Yesterday I gave you a couple of lower fat/calorie recipes for the upcoming holiday. Whether or not you make and eat lower fat desserts for Thanksgiving, I want to encourage you to mentally prepare yourself for the upcoming holiday and beyond.  Mental preparation is so important in this journey towards better health and fitness, and now is not the time to slack off!

Speaking from personal experience, the holidays aren’t always completely full of gladness and joy. For many of us, there are events from our past that cause us to have some sad and painful memories during the holidays. I think it’s important to mentally prepare yourself for all the aspects of the upcoming events, from the food to the emotions. I failed to do this for many years, and instead, found myself feeling blue and on edge sometimes. (Not that I don’t get that way other times of the year as well!) But during the holiday season, I expected myself to be happy, be full of frivolity, and be upbeat! But sometimes I wasn’t and it made me mad. Then I’d turn to food for comfort.

Emotional issues were a part of my becoming obese, and learning how to handle some of those emotions that came my way during the holidays was an important part of my journey. I had to realize that I didn’t have to be Miss Merry Sunshine every minute, and that feeling some sadness over past hurts was okay, and even healthy! Furthermore I discovered that sharing those feelings with other people was healing, not hurtful.

I never blame my obesity on anything other than my own choices, but I know there were circumstances from my life that I allowed to affect my food choices. For some reason, the holidays bring back a lot of those memories, and I had to make a conscious effort to feel the memory, but not allow the memory to push me into eating out of control. It took some conscious efforts of telling myself, “No, I do not NEED chocolate chips right now. What I need is some time with John.” Each time I made a good choice and didn’t fall apart was a victory.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, for some people, the holidays are so full of joy and wonderful memories of  being surrounded by family and friends that they overeat from happiness! A dear lady in my recent weight loss class talked about this. She shared how her memories of the holidays were so positive that she ate too much because of the good feelings surrounding food and family. Several other ladies in my class seconded her observation, and I saw where those kinds of positive memories would be as important to prepare for as sad emotions.

We talk a lot in weight loss land about preparation of meals, scheduling our exercise, and planning ahead for social situations. I think it’s just as important to mentally prepare yourself for the emotions that may surface during the holiday season. After all, many of us who have fought the battle with weight have some emotional attachments to food that could be improved upon. How well prepared are you emotionally for the holiday season? Or do you not feel that this is a valid point? Either way, I’d love to hear your thoughts.  Diane

Filed Under: emotions, Holidays, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

Thanksgiving Desserts Reworked

November 23, 2009 By

Well, it’s here! Thanksgiving week has arrived and believe me I know it. I made the mistake of going to Sam’s Club on Saturday afternoon with five of the kids. I knew it would be busy but I had no idea how busy. Yikes! At one point I got stuck in the bread area for five minutes. I often get “line anxiety” if I have to stand in line more than two minutes, so you can imagine how frustrated I was standing in line trying to get to the bagels!

Guess what’s by the bagels? The cupcakes, muffins, cakes, pies, and cookies. That aisle was completely packed. It was as if everyone in town was trying to buy a sweet confection all at one time! I noticed that at least 80% of the people buying those huge confections were overweight. Perhaps I shouldn’t have paid attention, but I couldn’t help it! I realized that for a lot of people, the thought of making food that is more low-fat and healthier for Thanksgiving is a foreign concept. It’s a day to eat whatever you want in a quantity they normally wouldn’t. I know I used to be a charter member of that club.

Sure, I still make the occasional cookies and cakes for birthdays, but when we have something sweet at home, nine times out of ten it’s something that is healthier and lower in fat. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I’d share two of my lower fat alternative desserts.  Apple pie is replaced by Apple Crisp, and Pumpkin Pie is replaced by Pumpkin Bread. I know some of you are already complaining in your minds about the substitutions! You don’t have to make them, but if you want to eat more stuffing then saving some calories elsewhere can be a good strategy!

Here are the recipes:

Pumpkin Bread (I don’t remember which well-meaning friend gave this one to me!) To see detailed pictures and hear the family reactions click on the picture!

Low Fat Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 can pumpkin
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 1/4 cup egg substitute (or 1 egg)
  • 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
  • 1 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice
  • 1 cup chopped nuts or raisins, optional (I don’t use these)

Directions

  • In a bowl, combine the sugar, pumpkin, applesauce and egg substitute; mix well.
  • Combine the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
  • Stir in nuts or raisins if desired.
  • Put into 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pan coated with cooking spray.
  • Bake at 350° for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
  • Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to wire racks. 

Makes 1 loaf , according to my calculations calories come in at about 125 – 130 per slice. Not bad!

And now for the Apple Crisp:

Low Fat Apple Crisp (I don’t know where I got this one either, but my family likes it a lot!) To see detailed pictures and family reactions click on the picture!

Low Fat Apple Crisp

Ingredients: 

  • 3 – 4 granny smith apples
  • 3/4 c all purpose flour
  • 1/2 c white sugar
  • 1/4 c oatmeal (not cooked)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1 T baking powder
  • 1 egg
  • 2 t cinnamon
  • 1 T butter

Directions

  • Mix together: 3/4 c. flour, 1/2 c. white sugar, 1 egg, 1 T baking powder. If it’s a little dry, add some water.
  • Slice apples thinly. You can peel if you like. (I do.)
  • Mix sliced apples with 1 t. cinnamon and a bit of water. Place apples in 8 x 8 pan, spread evenly. Top with wet mixture from above.
  • Finally, mix together 1/2 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. oatmeal, 1 t. cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of apples & first wet mixture. Drizzle the melted butter over crisp. Pat down with fork.
  • Bake at 300 degrees for one hour.
  • Serves 8 – About 180 calories a good sized serving.

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As I was writing down these recipes I was thinking about what other people do during this time of year, and Thanksgiving Day in particular. Do you have any family favorite recipes you have modified? Or do you just eat whatever you want in moderation? Or is this a day to just eat, eat, eat?  Diane

Filed Under: cooking, Holidays, Meal Time, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,

Operation Christmas Child

November 21, 2009 By

Looking for a worthy cause to contribute to this weekend? This is the final weekend to donate to Operation Christmas Child, put on by Samaritan’s Purse.  This is something we do every year. You can select whether or not you want to send a shoebox (or plastic bin) to a boy or girl and what age. We usually pick boys since we have so many! This year I took all the children shopping to pick out presents to fill our boxes with. You’d be surprised how much you can fit into a shoe box. Some of the things we put in were: T-shirt, hat, toothpaste, toothbrush, pencils, crayons, post-its, notepads, legos, matchbox cars, soap, washcloths, and hard candy. See? A lot will fit into a shoe box!

Here’s the kids before they filled the boxes! Notice the littlest one who really wanted all the stuff!

Operation Christmas Child

 Here’s some of the stuff we put in there!

Operation Christmas Child Ideas

 If you are interested, I think there is still time to fill up a box for a child of your choice.  I hope that all of us who are blessed with so much will find a few different ways to share with others. Do you have something special you do each Christmas season?  If you’d like to share, I’ll compile a list so others can have ideas. Diane

For information on Samaritan’s Purse click on the picture below!

Operation Christmas Child Brochure

Filed Under: Holidays Tagged With:

50 Days Left!

November 11, 2009 By

Time Is Ticking

I know it seems impossible but there are only 50 days until January 1st. Fifty days people!! I was talking to my kids the other day about the fact that there were so few days until 2010 and I thought it would be fun to share with you one tip a day starting today. After today you will find the Tip of the Day in the sidebar over there somewhere!  <—–

The stores have been decorated for weeks now and like it or not holiday season is officially here.  Regardless of how you celebrate, I’d wager a guess that most of our celebrations have something to do with food. I know ours does.

So what’s my first tip of the season?

Tip Number One:  Have one basic health and wellness goal.

I know it seems simple and redundant, but it bears repeating. If you have a goal in mind throughout these next six weeks you can be successful. And to be successful you will need a plan. We all need to plan how we will handle the holiday season on all fronts, from shopping to eating. From handling the relatives to finances. For many of you, and myself included, staying healthy and fit over the holiday season is important to me. If you are on a weight loss journey then perhaps losing a pound or two or simply maintaining your current weight is your goal. Or maybe your goal is just to get through the holiday season without losing your mind! But whatever the goal, it’s necessary to plan how to reach it.

The thing about this time of year is that it’s not just one day. Valentine’s Day tends to be just one special day – a special meal and maybe some chocolate. But Valentine’s Day isn’t typically celebrated for six weeks straight like we tend to do around November and December. So if you splurge on Valentine’s Day there’s really no harm done. If you splurge every day between now and December 25th you could possibly do some harm to the progress you’ve already made.

When I was on my way to morbid obesity I used the calendar as an excuse to bake, eat, and eat some more. I not only volunteered to bring sweets to every event we attended, but I made double sweets. One batch for the family (mostly for me) and one batch for the event. Even while I was cooking the cake(s) I’d eat junk. Chocolate cake in the oven, M&M’s in my hand. Cookies in the oven, chips/cheese in my mouth. It was crazy. Was I sometimes embarrassed by how much I ate? Oh yes. But I NEVER ate much in front of my friends because I didn’t want them to think I was a pig. (Convoluted logic if I’ve ever heard it!)

During my weight loss year I did plan on losing weight during the holidays. I didn’t lose a lot, but I did lose a few pounds and kept up my exercise program. I was happy with that.

So if I asked you, “What’s your basic goal from now to the end of the year?” What would it be?

And the second even more important question is: “Is there anything you need to change to make that goal a reality?”  Diane

Filed Under: Holidays, Weight Loss Tagged With: ,

Candy Candy Everywhere

October 27, 2009 By

Do you remember that line from the poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, “Water, water, everywhere and not a drop to drink?” Well, even if you missed that day in English Lit class it’s okay! This time of year with Halloween just around the corner  I always think of the line from that poem. Only I change it a bit to say, “Candy, candy, everywhere how not to eat too much?!”

I’ve always loved Christmas. Both for the holiday and its abundance of candy. Other times of the year I might have felt a bit conspicuous buying bags of M&M’s and Hershey Miniatures, but not in November and December. All throughout the months preceding Christmas I’d “stock up” on candy every time I went to the grocery store.  I’d think, “The cashier’s won’t even suspect that I’m going to eat 90% of this candy myself because all the candy bags are in Christmas colors!!” I’d pay for the candy and even before I turned the key to start the engine of my car, I’d be ripping open a candy bag and tasting the forbidden fruit. Because that’s how I thought of candy – forbidden fruit.

But is it really?

I know that none of us needs candy to survive. I’ve heard candy and other such treats as “non-food.”  Candy is not really a food to sustain life but rather a “just for fun food!” But should it be off limits this time of year?

The truth of the matter is that I still like eating candy. I wish I didn’t, but I do. When I was 300 pounds, candy and I were the best of friends. Back then, I’d much rather have eaten candy than spend time feeling uncomfortable at a social outing.

So what did I do about candy when I finally started to turn things around? Did I just say no to candy for the entire 14 months it took me to lose weight? Did I avoid grocery shopping so I wouldn’t be tempted by the brightly colored packages which seemed to call my name? No to both. I didn’t say no to candy altogether and I did still shop in the grocery store.

The way I handled Christmas candy temptations was much the way I handled other temptations. I decided whether or not eating the Christmas candy was worth the inevitable weight-gain. Not due to the fact that one piece of candy causes weight gain, but due to the fact that one piece of interestingly shaped chocolate candy often led to two, then three, then twenty.

When I was losing weight and the Christmas candy started appearing, I struggled internally with myself. Buy a bag or not. I wish I could tell you that a red and green colored bag never made its way into my grocery cart, but that wouldn’t be true. But I can tell you that I never bought a whole bag. That’s right – I’d put it in my cart and before I got up to the cashier, I’d take it out. No big huge bags of candy were allowed at my house. Not right then. Lest you feel sorry for me, I had plenty of little opportunities to practice portion control that and subsequent winters. There were the inevitable bowls of candy on people’s desks, in the doctor’s office, and even John occasionally brought some home. But I never ate too much. And I didn’t feel guilty for the occasional piece of chocolate.

Instead, I just planned for my little indulgence and moved on. I didn’t feel guilty. I didn’t hide what I was eating. And I got through those last days of the year with a decent weight loss.

I can’t tell you how good it made me feel to lose weight throughout a holiday that I normally would have picked up 4 – 6 pounds. Instead I handled candy and didn’t let candy handle me.

So what’s your plan for these coming weeks? Are you a candy lover? If so, what will you do when those bowls of candy begin appearing on co-workers desks and when the clearance candy after Christmas seems to be calling your name? I’d encourage you to have a plan ahead of time, and follow through on learning to handle the abundance of candy. You’ll be glad you did.  Diane

Filed Under: Choices, goal setting Tagged With: ,

The Not Happy Picnic

September 4, 2009 By

I always had a hard time controlling myself around holiday food. It didn’t really matter whether the holiday was Christmas or Labor Day, food was a huge problem for me.  I would start every holiday weekend with the best of intentions. And I needed good intentions because I was always on some kind of diet or another.  I’d try and remind myself of all the reasons I wanted to lose weight, and how if I didn’t learn to handle holidays while I was losing weight, I’d never be able to handle holidays after I lost weight. (If I ever lost weight.)

I remember one Labor Day in particular. It was probably 1995, and we were members of a class at our church. We all decided to get together and have a big picnic. And with the big picnic came big food! I was alternately dreading it and looking forward to it. How would I be able to control myself around brownies, cakes, pies, barbecue, potato salad, and rolls?

I still remember John and I loading up the girls and making certain my cupcakes and brownies didn’t get smushed on the way to the park. When we arrived, the girls went running off to play with their friends, John stood around the grill, and I busied myself  helping get the food setup. Oh, it all looked so delectable. The ladies had outdone themselves on this particular afternoon, and the food really was fabulous.

I kept hovering around the food table, wishing it was time to eat, and when the time finally came, I was so ready to dig into the bounty that I could almost feel my mouth watering. But as I was standing in line, a friend of mine said to me, “So, Diane – how’s Weight Watchers going?”  I remember looking at her wishing she hadn’t come to the picnic. She had just ruined my afternoon. Now, I couldn’t eat like I had been planning to. Now, I had to be ‘good.’

“Oh, fine I guess,” is what I replied to her, as I started to scoop some potato salad onto my plate. I quickly pulled the serving spoon back and only put a tiny taste on my plate rather than the heaping goodness I had planned. And so down the line I went, no longer happy about the picnic food, but mad that my friend had brought up my diet. No dessert for me, no chips either, and certainly none of my favorite Hash Brown Casserole. No, I settled on a small piece of barbecue chicken, my minuscule serving of potato salad, some watermelon, and a bit of baked beans. I was so upset that John noticed something was wrong. “What’s the matter,” he whispered to me. “Nothing,” I said angrily.

I still remember watching all the other people pig out on the food while I pick, pick, picked at my baby sized portions. When the picnic was finally over we drove home. As we neared our house I caught sight of Chick-Fil-A, one of my favorite fast food restaurants. “Let’s stop and get something,” I told John. “I’m hungry.” So, shrugging his shoulders, he pulled through the drive-thru. I made him order me 2 chicken sandwiches, a large fry, a coke, and a dessert. The girls and John got nothing because they were full. Even as I was eating the food I felt like a complete and utter failure. I felt like a pig. But I couldn’t seem to stop.

I realize now, after all these years of maintenance, and the hundreds of holidays I’ve maintained my weight through, that I was looking at holiday food backwards. Instead of celebrating the day, I just wanted to celebrate the food. And instead of realizing that it was okay to have some of what I really wanted, I deprived myself and ended up pigging out on food that probably had more calories and fat than I would have eaten at the picnic.

What are some of your holiday memories when it comes to food? Are there certain foods you associate with Labor Day, and if so, will you be having that food over the weekend? I’d encourage you to remember that even while watching your food intake, it’s important to watch it realistically. Holidays happen, all year long!!   Diane

Filed Under: cooking, Meal Time, Weight Loss Tagged With: , ,
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