Working out Vs. Holidays

With the holidays here I thought that I'd sign up for a Fit Body Boot Camp class.  When I'm active with exercise I tend to eat better and have focus. I took way to much time off and I decided that I would hit it hard. I packed my bag the night before so I had no excuses, I was ready! Apparently my first day back was the Monday Murder. 45 minutes of squats, push ups and burpees.

The place was packed, clearly others had the same thing in mind but I found a piece of floor to do my thing. I put all the classes in my calender, wrote down my starting weight in my journal, and found all my socks. We'll see how the next three weeks go but, I'm on a mission and feeling pretty positive about it. My goal is lose 5 lbs but if I don't gain any with all the holiday goodies I'll be just as happy. I learned a long time ago to set small goals to succeed then end up with one BIG failure.

Speaking of Goals

Speaking of short term goals. Do you set short terms goals or do you just go for the gusto? Say you want to lose 50 lbs? Do you do it 10 lbs at a time or the whole thing? Personally, I found that it's easier to set a short term goal with a beginning, middle and end rather than to go for the grand daddy prizes because inevitably I set myself up for failure. It's too hard to follow something for a long tern. I don't know about you but the older I get my attention span seems to gets shorter. Who has the time to fail? No one has the time to NOT get results.

Great (Cheap) Shopping Moments.

Don't you just love it when you walk into a place not expecting to find anything and  they you see that perfect whatever that gives you a moment of "kewl" until you look at the tag and it's kinda your size, but not really, because it looks small. Well, I experienced that moment at Goodwill the other day. I found the most adorable one button dark denim jacket. I promised that never again would I wear things that made me look like a box.
I had a few things already to try on so I grabbed it thinking what did I have to lose. I was pleasantly surprised that it fit quite nicely. I was accessorizing before I was out the door with my prize jacket that cost me $3.50.

Holiday trouble?

The holiday's are around the corner and you're expected to dress up, drink cocktails, and eat. How are you suppose to avoid the enviable whirlwind of food and drink over load.

When I started hCG activator over 3 years ago it was in March. I carefully mapped my spring and summer with no real big holidays, no parties and a good season for fresh veggies. I lost over 60lbs in about 6 months and that took me into September. School starts, schedules get crazy, gets cold and holiday parties.

This is the real test. My new body and how would I handle it? Will I stay at my current weight or will I fall into old habits?. I was done with my program and I was on my own. I learned what I needed to learn and now I had to put my knowledge forth and perform.

I had Thanksgiving dinner to prepare, cookies to bake, office parties, school parties, news years eve parties and champagne to drink .No wonder gyms memberships ramp up and healthy eating books fly off the shelves. We all go nutz, we binge and we suffer the consequences later.

The trick............Start early. Map out your holiday parties as best you can and know that you are going to indulge. You only live once, make the most of it but be smart about it. Don't eat like tomorrow will never come, because you will sober up and feel like jumping off a building.

Feel free to sample goodies and enjoy a glass of wine from time to time. It's called Balance.

I planned my holiday stretch to the point of ridiculous. I plotted,I planned, and I prepared. I wrote down my starting weight as I always do. I kept my journal next to my bed for daily entries about everything and anything.

Here are some strategies that might help you.

• Eat before you go to a food party. (that way you can be polite and still eat and not be piggy)
• Drink water along with your wine or cocktail. (Yes, at the same time)
• Chew gum. Probably not double bubble but something to keep your mouth busy.
• Look at least 3 days out. Plan your meals before and after the party. Good choices so you feel good emotionally and you feel good going into the party.
• Wear a sexy outfit when you strut your stuff.. If you already feel sexy, your self confidence will win and you won't want to feel pudgy in your outfit.
• Develop a routine of eating. Your body will thank you and it will control cravings.
• Don't starve your self. We all know that doesn't end well. 
• I would say exercise, but we all know that this time of year is tough, so do the best you can with that. Just survive the holiday.
• Don't be the new gal/guy in a matching jogging suit and headband fighting for the treadmill. 

GOOD LUCK!

Shopping

I just love the fact that I can shop with my new body and go right to my size off the rack.

When I was rounder I would have to find 3 sizes of the same thing to see what would fit best to hide the bumps and bulges. Things are made so differently it's a pot shot in the clothing world.

It can be pretty discouraging trying on clothes when you can only take in 4 or 5 items into the fitting room at once. That's only one fit. I would never ask the attendant to get me something because I was embarrassed to say "size 20 please." Don't even get me started on shopping for bras. Pure AGONY!

Forget thrift stores. Apparently only small people get rid of cool clothes. Don't get me wrong I could find some bigger clothes but very few and not exactly stylish. I refused to wear elastic band jeans!!