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| The lovely turkey from Thanksgiving 2013. |
But now I am facing Thanksgiving week. I know a lot of people who are trying to lose weight freak out at the idea of managing good eating habits but still having a good time and eating the food they love. Of course, we're heading into that long holiday season, period, where we'll all have to work our way around various parties, more sweets at the office, family gatherings, etc. etc.
Last year around this time I was right around six months into losing weight, which also happened to be a kind of "make or break" time for me. In past weight loss efforts, it was around six to nine months when I started giving up and gaining the weight back. So I was extra nervous! I was also extra determined to not get derailed again. Long story short, I made it past holiday season relatively unscathed and with losses for the months of November, December, and January.
This year I have some added incentive and some more deliberate goals, though. I know that I will get past the season just fine, but I want more than that this year. As I have mentioned before, I would like to get down under 260 by the end of this Ton of Fun session (December 5th is the last weigh-in for it), and under 250 for the new year. If I want to reach that first goal in particular, I'm going to have to be really diligent in the next two weeks.
Yet, I also want to fully enjoy my Thanksgiving meal!
My plan is:
• Eat less than usual today until Thursday – between 1200 and 1500 cals instead of the usual 1900.
• Map out my eating for those days, in advance. I've actually already done this in MyFitnessPal for the entire week, including Thanksgiving and the days following as well.
• Map out a plan for exercise. I've done this in my Workout Log online already!
Monday:
Tuesday:
Wednesday:
Thursday: My own personal Turkey Trot in the afternoon – run/walk 5K or 4 miles
Friday: PT appointment in the morning followed by a group fun run at Fleet Feet
Saturday: No Boundaries, same as Tuesday.
Sunday: Presumably rest. You gotta rest.
For this coming week, it is my hope to get down to 265 or below. I'd love to see 263 – may as well be as specific as I can, right? Then, the following week I want to see 259 or below.
As I have said before, I usually don't use time-based goals anymore. I think they can be discouraging in general, but for this period of time in my journey it seems like a good tool to use! The worst that can happen is that I miss the mark – but I know that I will make some sort of progress, and that is the important thing.
Perhaps most importantly, I plan to fully enjoy Thanksgiving dinner! I do all the preparation and really love the process of pulling everything together. But the eating is the best, no?
On the menu, a pretty traditional feast:
• Roasted turkey (from a local farm!)
• Sausage stuffing (Grandma's recipe)
• Maple-pecan sweet potatoes
• Homemade cranberry sauce with orange and ginger
• Southern-style green beans
• Homemade cheese bread (it's braided and gorgeous!)
• Apple pie and blueberry pie from a local bakery that is to die for
I'm not making any "healthy" substitutions, but I am going to eat reasonable portions – I don't want to overeat, especially knowing that I'll be doing my Turkey Trot later on.
So that's it! My plan is in place and I couldn't be more pleased with it.
What are your plans for the holidays coming up?
What is your favorite holiday recipe?
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