It's the Most Wonderful, and Challenging, Time of the Year

Since we are now into December and the holiday season, I thought I'd share with you a blog I wrote in early December six years ago.  I was just over five months into my weight loss journey, and I approached the holidays with a lot of trepidation.  Here's what I wrote:

It's only December 4, but this is going to be one tough month!  December is always challenging, but in years past I always dealt with stress be eating more chocolate or Christmas cookies, and one stress I never dealt with was trying to AVOID all of the holiday goodies.  But this is definitely a different year for me - time to gird my (shrinking) loins!

There is food all around me, and almost NONE of it is on plan.  We hosted a Christmas party for our small group Bible study on Sunday night and I stuck with the shrimp cocktail (no cocktail sauce) and some raw veggies (both were part of my L&G for the day).  Then I walked into work on Monday morning to find a large box of Godiva chocolates sitting my my desk (that was quickly taken to the kitchen and OUT of my sight!).  Then a large package of gourmet popcorn was delivered to our office, and additional food gifts will continue to come for the next two weeks.  Our office is holding a holiday luncheon for physician office billers on Thursday and we're catering in a full Italian meal - two different kinds of pasta, homemade breads, and truffles and cannoli for dessert - certainly nothing for me to eat!  And the list just goes on and on, day in and day out for the next couple of weeks.  I have a lot of holiday events to attend and/or host, and it will be a literal minefield for me to walk through every single time.

But what's true for me is probably true for many of you, too.  I'm not complaining, just taking stock of all of the potential dangers and carefully planning my strategy to ensure that I don't end up thrown off plan.  Part of the planning is making sure that I eat my Medifast meals on time and don't allow myself to get overly hungry.  Part of the planning is making sure I have an emergency stash of Medifast food at my desk and in my purse so that I never have an excuse to stray.

Then there's the mental and emotional preparation!  Here's what I'm telling myself right now:

• That non-plan food will not get me where I want to go, and it may result in me getting seriously off-track
• Everything I need nutritionally is provided through my 5/1, so there is absolutely no need for me to go off plan (and "just because I feel like it" doesn't count!)
• I already know how all of this food will taste because I've had it before, so I don't need to taste it
• These types of food will be around next year, and next year I will be able to have a small (as in VERY small) taste of the things I'm most wanting
• By refusing to give in now, I am strengthening my "no thank you" muscles;  this will help me to maintain my weight loss later
• I don't want to spend one more day than necessary being overweight, and that piece of chocolate/cookie/etc. could cause me to spend another day overweight
• I haven't been out of the fat-burning state since I first got into it in late June and I do NOT want to go through that misery again just to have that chocolate/cookie/etc.
• If I get out of the fat-burning state, in addition to the misery that will accompany getting back in, it will take me approximately 3 days to get back in.  That's 15 meals and $30 (@ $2/MF meal).  Is that chocolate/cookie/etc. worth $30 to me?

Yes, I'm talking to myself a lot right now!  But I am committed to losing weight and don't want anything to get in my way.  It's not easy, but having made the decision to stay on plan, it really IS simple.  If the food isn't on plan, I don't eat it!  Who's with me?

Besides, the Reason for the Season isn't food, anyway, right?

That was my mindset six years ago, and with God's help, that's what helped me lose 18 pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year's.  Then, as now, it always comes down to a choice that we have to make.   I have no regrets for the choice I made six years ago :-).  If you want to get through the holidays without regrets, choose wisely!