It's that time of year, time to bake. I am not a person who just loves to be in the kitchen baking all day, but at the holidays I do like to spend some time baking. My kids like it and I like to have cookies and treats for people who stop by. I think this is the first holiday season that I've ever been trying to lose weight (at least as actively as I am now), so trying to have a "regular" Christmas and not tempt myself with a bunch of cookies that I shouldn't be eating is new. I feel like two different people with very different outlooks on this topic, the mom who bakes all kinds of things during the holidays and the dieter who does not have a house full of desserts. I've been having a little debate with myself about it, but I haven't come to a decision yet. It sounds something like this-
The "Mom" me - Of course we're going to bake cookies. What's wrong with you? Your family wants to have cookies, so we're going to make them.
The "Dieting" me - Yeah, that's a good idea, NOT! Why don't we make 10 or 20 dozen cookies so we can just undo everything we've done in a matter of days?
Mom - So what, you want to be the skinny scrooge? You just want to ruin Christmas for your family so you won't gain a pound? That doesn't sounds very motherly!
Dieting - Tough. I don't need the cookies and neither do they. They'll be perfectly happy with something else.
Mom - Like what? A tofu cake? Maybe instead of a plate of cookies, you could put out a plate of carrots. That would be a hit - YEAH RIGHT!
So basically, this is what has been going on in my head for the past few days. Fun, right? :) I think I've decided that I am going to bake the cookies, but I'm going to avoid my favorites. My kids don't really care, any cookies will do and my husband's favorite holiday cookies are not ones I really love. When I decided to try and lose weight I told myself that I wasn't going to do anything that I couldn't do for the rest of my life. Honestly, I can't see going the rest of my life without eating a cookie. I am just going to have to learn how to eat one (not 3 or 4) and walk away. I'm doing very well with walking and exercising every day, so if I have one too many cookies, I'll just have to add a little extra exercise that day. That's what I'm telling myself at least. We'll see how it goes! :)
Stella Virgin
1 year ago
What may happen for you...is that you are in the groove of and have the momemtum of just losing 16 pounds. What you haven't counted on with the conversation in your head is that your attitude about restricting your eating has changed. You're more motivated to limit your cookie intake versus eating as many as you wanted in the previous years.
ReplyDeleteBecause of that, you are more likely to eat less than the other years. And, like you said, if you overeat...you will try to compensate with excercise.
Good luck!