Holidays: The End of your Healthy Lifestyle?

I’m winging my way across the ocean today (plane and weather gods willing) while you read this. Hopefully on Friday, I will be writing from sunny Texas.

Weightloss Wednesday, right before Christmas. What shall we talk about?

Should we discuss all the cakes, cookies and pies everywhere we turn? How about fat-laden mashed potatoes, all the bread you can eat, and the alcohol that flows freely at holiday parties?

What’s a poor girl trying to make healthy choices to do?

Give it all up until after the first of the year? We could do that. But that’s 2 weeks and if you’re anything like me, you’ll take license to eat whatever you want and to damn the rest. When it’s time to start back up again, you’ve gained back that 20 pounds you lost before Christmas.

Deprive yourself? You watch everyone around you shoving all those calories down their throats without abandon. You start feeling left out. Then is desperation, or possibly even spite, you indulge. And indulge and indulge and indulge.

Neither of these options sound all that appealing, do they? With a plan in place, you can weather the holidays, indulging in the traditions that make up your family holiday and keeping on a healthy track. After all, balance is what it’s all about, right?

If you have a holiday gathering, eat a little less during the day beforehand and get in your exercise. You’ll feel more in control and by conserving some calories and burning more with the exercise, the food you eat at the party won’t make a dent in your plan.

If you’re hanging with the family, incorporate some healthy snacks along with the baked goodies. If you eat a bunch of low-cal veggies, you don’t have as much room to hold the high-cal foods. You may even find that you don’t crave them as much as you thought you would.

There’s always lots of alcohol at holiday parties, right? You can still indulge. In moderation. Alternate glasses of wine with sparkling water. Or do like the Germans do and mix half wine and half sparkling wine. That’s a popular drink over here and it cuts your alcohol intake in half.

One important thing to remember is that the holidays are separate events. If you stick to your healthy lifestyle most days and indulge at those special parties or family gatherings only, you’ll still be on track in January.

What are some of the ways you balance your healthy lifestyle with the holidays?

New Look, New Attitude

As you can see, I've got a new look. Isn't it great? Rae Monet did an awesome job for me, designing my website and matching my blog to it. Over to the right is the link to my site. Head over and take a look. Let me know what you think. Personally, I'm thrilled with it.

I spent the past 2 ½ weeks in the States, returning home yesterday. While I was there, I got to see my parents, my brother and sister, their spouses and kids, including meeting the twins for the first time (they're 7 months old). I also got to see my grandparents, one of my aunts and her husband as well as both of her daughters and 2 kids of the oldest. I reconnected with my best friend from high school and her mom, who was like a second mom to me growing up. This really refreshed my spirit. I like it over here in Germany, but I miss being able to see my family and friends more than once a year.

In addition to the lovefest, I attended RWA National conference in Orlando, where I got to spend the week with my friend, Autumn Shelley, as well as soak up new information. I met a ton of other great writers there and even some that didn't write but loved to read. Autumn brought her friend, Rachel, who roomed with us and I'm adding another friend to my list. I've got some stories, and pictures (oh no) and I'm going to post about conference the rest of the week.

Along with my new look, I've got a new attitude. My spirit refreshed, I'm ready to get back to work. I've got 3 chapters to comb through again and polish. I've got a new project that I'm starting while I polish Out of the Shadows. I've got other ideas spiraling through my head and lucky you, you'll probably hear about them at some point. LOL

So, keep checking in. Let me know what you think of my new look. Tell me what you've been up to for the past 3 weeks.

Birthdays

Today is hubby's birthday. It's the big 4-0. It's funny how we react when we reach a certain age.

I remember when hubby turned 30. He had such a hard time adjusting to it. Me, it's a number. I still think I look pretty good for my age. Some people have mentioned I look younger. Okay, I'll take it. But I'm not particularly upset by getting older.

I wonder if it's because people start thinking of things they want to do and see their time ticking away, faster and faster. Perhaps that's why getting older doesn't bother me so much. I'm doing the things that I love to do. I'm married to a wonderful and supportive husband that I love, I have my puppy, I have an awesome family that has always supported and loved me, I'm pursuing a writing career and I'm working on my college degree (finally). Of course, there are other, smaller things I'd like to accomplish but I have time and if I run out of that commodity, the big picture is pretty rosy that I'm not going to shed any tears.

Last week was my puppy's birthday, as far as we know. She just turned 4. We got her from the humane society in Brownwood, TX and were told that the litter of pups was left with a note saying the mother had died the previous day giving birth.

I found her picture on Petfinder.com and convinced my husband to go "look" at her. As soon as I saw her, I had this feeling deep inside that she was meant to be a part of our family. Hubby knew that if we went to "look" at her, we were bringing her home with us. Oh, yeah, did I mention that Brownwood was about 100 miles from where we lived? Yeah, she was coming home with us.

She was 7 weeks old when we got her. 3 pounds of wiggly puppy that fit in my hand, she grabbed onto my heart and though she's 20 pounds now and quite the mouthy little thing, I love her as if she were my child.

So today I wish my husband a very happy birthday with many more to come and my puppy, Peanut, a belated happy birthday (although she did get her Frosty Paws last week). Thank you both for filling my life with love.