Holiday Eating/New Years resolutions

The other day I told my trainer I miss food. I miss the textures, the taste, the blissful ignorance of not caring how many calories or what the nutritional factors were (such as carbs/protein/fat). I totally take that back. Right. So it's confession time. I have read all the articles I could get a hold of on holiday eating. Everyone had such helpful tips:
1. Eat a healthy snack before going to the holiday party you are attending so you don't over eat.
2. Make sure when you leave for the party you're not empty-handed. Keep your hands full with holding a purse, camera, cell phone . . . anything that will keep you from holding food or a drink—unless it's water.
3. When you do eat at the gathering, grab a small plate; think small portions; and once you have your plate of food, stay far away from the table of temptation.
4. Politely say no to taking home any of the left overs.
5. Stay hydrated with water - alcholic drinks and sodas make you more thirsty and dehydrate you at the same time.

And for the most part - I've done fairly good. Haven't been as strict as I was in November, but on the most part I've maintained my weight. So while I'm still trying to lose weight it's not the best thing, but at least I haven't gained weight.  I ate smarter breakfasts and snacks on the Monday I had my cheese enchiladas with queso sauce cause it was full of fat. I thought I'd had so many sweets last Saturday that I could go for at least a month without sweets. And then today hit. I got bored so I stopped at Taco Bell on the way home. I got the fresco bean burrito - won't do that again. They are 350 calories each. Apparently the 150 calorie meal is the chicken tacos.  And then, I checked the time yesterday and I really thought it said the Christmas Eve service started at 7 so I get to church at 6:50 and turns out that the service started at 6. I was so embarassed. And feeling sorry for myself....so I go home and eat and eat and eat. Now I'm sitting here watching Muppets Christmas Carol with a belly ache and feeling nauseous.  So I just have to get that self-control back and buckle down to get serious about eating healthy again.

I was reading my journal and came across some notes I took when I read Never Say Diet by Chantel Hobbs. She lost 200 pounds the hard way - diet and exercise. She knows exactly how I feel and my way of thinking - food and exercise wise.  Another admission - I am human. I like to hear how good I look. I like to hear how good I am doing. I'm sorry. I'm human. It's a good ego boost. But on the flip side I then feel all this pressure not to fail. Every day I'm afraid I'll fail my trainer, my friends, my family, and even myself.  So rather than sit here and beat myself up, I'm going to share my New Year's resolutions early.  I mentioned Chantel Hobbs book because she shares 10 things you have to understand before you can change and my goal is to remember them:
1. Overeating isn't just emotional - you have to understand the emotional baggage.
2. Some of us are rigged differently.
3. The snares of the fat trap are laid early.
4. Society is not going to help.
5. Lying to yourself doesn't help.
6. Understanding nutrition will help.
7. Don't look to others for praise.
8. Don't buy your old excuses.
9. Don't wait for a sign.
10. Recognize that this is a spiritual battle. Nobody is meant to live an unhealthy life. The disconnect between the life we're living and the person we know we were meant to be can keep us from feeling close to God.

So my 2011 resolutions:
1. I will not set myself up for failure. I'll take baby steps. One step at a time. One day at a time. One success at a time.
2. I will remember that great accomplishments require great sacrifice - nothing worthwile is easy.
3. I will be hungry.  My body doesn't need the calories but it thinks it does. I will keep eating small, more frequent, and healthy meals.  I will remember when the hunger signal gets strong and I learn to ignore it, I am developing the skill of self-control. I will embrace the will power challenges when they occur because they are helping me forge unbreakable habits.
4. I don't have to be Wonder Woman. I just need to be the me God made me to be.
5. I will remember that I am blessed to be alive, and not being active shows a lack of gratitude for the gift of life.  The pain of regret is far worse than the pain of discipline.
6. I will be less hard on myself. I will take time to celebrate my accomplishments without focusing on my stumbles or set-backs. Because they will happen.  God will be with me every step of the way. He never quits, and He never loses. If I ever feel like I don't have the strength to continue, I will always find strength in God. He holds all the power for me to succeed in my new life, and He will give it to me every time I ask.

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." James 1:2-3

One year results

So today was my one year anniversary for working with a trainer. The final results? 114.5 (yes, the .5 totally counts!) and a total of 69.25 (again, yes, the .25 totally counts!) inches are gone!!  So lately I've been worried about what my month results were going to be bad since I have a new trainer and new workout routines. So I didn't really think I had lost that much - turns out I lost 10.5 pounds and 10.5 inches this month. What are the odds of those being the same number? But anyway. All day I've been thinking of what I have learned this year and in no particular order here goes:

1.  You won't die from doing cardio, cycle class gets easier when you find the right seat height, and kickboxing class is my favorite class.

2.  Learning about nutrition and how it works within your body really does make it easier to eat healthy.

3. Treating yourself once in a while doesn't hurt.

4. There is no reason to beat yourself up for treating yourself once in a while.

5. Listening to music with a beat makes cardio sooooo much better.

6.  Make friends with a really good hair stylist! Not really weight loss related, but let's face it ladies, on a good hair day, who cares what you eat or if aren't a perfect size 2?

7.  It's ok for clothes to touch your skin! The big baggy clothes you think are hiding you from people judging you are really only making you look bigger than what you really are.

8.  Watch less tv. Or switch to dvds. Because you don't realize that every other commercial is a food commercial until you aren't eating fast food.

9.  Your tummy gets used to eating healthy. So while your brain may be screaming that it's craving fried food, your tummy will reject it.

10.  Being able to look at yourself in the mirror and like what you see is worth all the hours in the gym, the sore muscles, and eating plain boring healthy food.

So those are the top ten things I've learned. I've learned much more, but it's hard to put it all into one blog.

Who am I?

I am a daughter of the King of Kings. I am bought with a price: I belong to Him. I am a friend of Jesus Christ. I am justified in Him. I am united with the Lord; one with Him in spirit. I am united with the Lord. I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child. I am a member of Christ's body. I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins. I am complete in Christ. I am free from condemnation. I know that God works for my good in all circumstances.  I cannot be separated from the love of God. I have been established, sealed, and anointed by God. I am hidden with Christ in God. I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.  I am an alien: a citizen of Heaven. I have not been given a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. I am born of God and satan cannot touch me. I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the True Vine, and a channel of His life. I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. I am God's temple. I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realms. I am God's workmanship. I may approach God with freedom and confidence.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Sometimes it's easy to lose sight, to lose touch, and to just plain forget because who we are because of today's fast paced world. Or maybe there is a life changing experience we are going through. Or maybe we set our eyes on a goal instead of the One who gave us the goal and enabled us to reach it.  I just wanted to remind myself and everyone else that we should be who God made us to be, not who the world wants us to be.

For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. ~ Ephesians 2:10