Friday, October 14, 2011

Sabotage!

 
You love being with your friends.  Parties.  Dinner at someone's house. It's a powerful social force.  It takes a lot of energy to resist the "dig in" mentality.

And sometimes, you get worn down.  You know you shouldn't, but you want to.  You want to be like everybody else.  You want the pizza and beer.  You want the sugar-and-fat-laden dessert.  You get tired of saying, "No, thank you," especially when your stomach is growling.  You wish your friends wouldn't put you in that situation.  You think, "If they really loved me, they wouldn't tempt me like this."

You might even get angry.  You might resent the fact that they don't seem to appreciate how hard this is for you.  They invite you over for dinner, and serve something off-the-charts fattening.  And you eat just a little of it, even though you're still hungry, because you're trying to stay on your plan.  And then you realize, the holidays are coming.  It's going to get worse.  And you're scared.  You don't know if you're strong enough.  You want to hide out for the next three months and rejoin the world after all the food-festing is over.

Because you know what's coming.  Your favorites.  Pumpkin pie.  Mashed potatoes and turkey gravy.  Homemade rolls.  Christmas cookies.  An unending variety of yummy treats served at every social occasion between now and the end of the year.  And you'll say, "No, thank you," and they'll say, "But it's the holidays!" or,  "It's a party!" or, "I made this just for you!"

And you'll have to choose between taking care of yourself or what seems to be taking care of your friendship by eating the food you know you shouldn't eat but that you want to eat because you know it's going to taste like heaven AND save your friendship.  At least that's how you'll feel at that moment.  Because you love your friends.

But the holidays are scary.

So you steel yourself.  You vow to enjoy the holidays in a healthy way.  You stand in front of the mirror, smile, and practice saying, "No, thank you."  and "I've had enough!"  and "That looks delicious!"  You don't put the responsibility for staying on your plan on THEM.  You remember that even though you've already lost almost 30 pounds, you still have a long way to go.  You don't want to lose your momentum.  You take a deep breath.  You pray.  You forgive your friends for trying to make you eat foods you know you shouldn't eat, or to eat more than you know you should have.  You love your friends. 

You eat breakfast.  You get out your food tracker and write down what you ate.  You take your vitamins, then go outside for a morning walk.  You thank God that you have friends to love.

1 comment:

  1. Ugh...Blogger ate my post. Basically...remember that WW allows us to eat anything we want...in moderation. That's why they give us those "extra" weekly points. I plan on eating a LITTLE of everything at Thanksgiving. Yes, we're making changes that are for a lifetime, but I don't think that includes not enjoying the holidays with family and friends. Instead of being afraid of the holidays, look for a way to make some of the old favorites in a new way and take those to a get-together. Choose white meat over dark and have a taste of anything that you really "HAVE" to have. Also, remember, when that second piece of pumpkin pie is calling your name, you can always call me. Oh and http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Low-Calorie-Pumpkin-Pie It's only 3 points!!

    ReplyDelete

(If you have trouble commenting, try using the "Anonymous" setting and sign your name on your post. I have set all the permissions to include everyone, but some people are still having troubles. Sorry!)