No Resolutions

I'm not making any resolutions, health or otherwise, for the new year. One year I made a list of goals but I'm not going to do that this year, either. I'm just going to continue my life the best way I can and with lots of prayers.

So during Christmas break I didn't do too badly. I mean, I could have done better, but I didn't suck too terribly bad. Helps that I wasn't around as much temptation (weird, right?) as I normally am. Being at home was really good for me. I cooked a hearty and enjoyable breakfast every morning. Usually something like whole wheat French toast with strawberries and maybe a strip or two of bacon. A couple of days I had a sausage and cheese omelet. One day I had a jalapeno cheddar biscuit with a sausage patty. And I found that eating a hearty breakfast later in the morning kept me from eating too much the rest of the day. Lunches were small affairs and suppers were practically nonexistent, all because I ate a nice breakfast. And I actually lost a couple pounds over Christmas break. Totes weird.

I did eat out a couple of times. Three, I think. Well, five if count my regularly scheduled Saturday Sonic run.

For Christmas Eve, my dad took my grandmother and me out for breakfast as the Huddle House (sorta like Waffle House but better) and I ate a ginormous stuffed hashbrown concoction that completely blew my mind. Picture a bed of hashbrowns cooked to crispy brown perfection and then layered with scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage and cheese then smothered in a thick rich white gravy and folded to sandwich all that yummy breakfast goodness inside. YUM. I ate every last bite, too, and then didn't eat anything else until supper which Mama cooked. Chicken tenders, corn and something I don't remember.

The next eat out was the Friday after Christmas. Mama and I took my oldest niece, Emmy, to town and we stopped at the chicken place for lunch. I face planted into a basket of sweet and spicy chicken wings and fries. Then the following Monday I had a jr. burger and a half at Sonic with my sister and the kids before we went to see a movie. So yeah. I didn't do too badly with the eating out.

Christmas day I came home feeling miserably stuffed but I didn't really eat all that much. Mostly  ham. Had two kinds of potatoes and there was, of course, some dressing. Yum. But I only ate one dessert (out of, like, twelve offered).

My biggest downfall while I was at home was that I drank a lot less water than normal and a lot more coffee and coke. Mostly coffee. Being at home and able to make coffee whenever I wanted? Faaaaaarrr too tempting.

Anyway, yeah. So I survived the holidays without any major fails and lived to tell the tale.

That being said, I am striving to eat better and be more active. Instead of the new year motivating me, it's my impending doctor visit this month that's taking care of that. Not that I can lose a boat load of weight between now and then but I can at least get myself back on track. More veggies, less animal product (sob), fewer overall calories in and smarter choices.

I saw a tiny bit of an interview on the news this morning with a man who recently made a documentary about losing weight (yes I said LOSING) by eating only fast food. And he did lose weight. He said something that we should all know by now as fact but often forget. He said, "It isn't McDonald's making us fat, it's our choices. We can choose healthier options but we often don't."

So true!

So that's me. I've got to change my mindset from "If I'm going to eat out I'm going to get what I want" to, "If I'm eating out, I need to make smarter choices."  My only resistance is my love for Panda Express's orange chicken. Why else would I go to Panda if that's the one thing I really truly love? So, yeah. I'm going to just have to limit how often I go there. Maybe once a month instead of once a week. Or every couple of months? Might be pushing it. haha

I need to go cold turkey from it for a while. Not sure how successful I will be with that since my friends are excellent enablers/pushers but I did learn something before we left for break. It is possible to enjoy going with them and not getting the same food they're getting. My friend E walked over with us on the last day before break and because she knew she'd be having a huge supper later that evening, she took her sandwich over to the union and at that while we stuffed our faces with Chinese food. I had never really considered that an option. I want to eat what my friends are eating. But one of these times I will hafta try that and see how it makes me feel.

It's all in the mindset. I know that much. Any change to your life no matter what it is--weight, smoking, drinking, etc--are all in the mindset. Yes, there are excellent programs to help you with each of those problems but you must first make up your mind that you are going to do this. Without the proper mindset, no program on earth is going to save you from yourself.

So that's what I've got to work on. My mindset. Instead of focusing on what I CAN'T have (Orange chicken) I must focus on all the things I CAN have (a healthy heart).

I'm also hoping that the check-up with the doctor will reveal that my meds need tweaking again. The change in synthroid dosage should have helped with SOME sort of weightloss if it was working properly. But if he says it's working fine then I'll at least know its ME that's the problem and not just my thyroid.

Anyway, that's where I'm at. And I will try to get back to my food tracking, as well. I think that helped some. We'll see how it goes!