Following the Body After Baby event hosted by MamaNotes, I was doing pretty well in regards to diet and (occasional) exerise. During the event, I lost the last of my baby weight (and I finally got into Jeans That Zip – ie, Not Maternity Pants). By Yule I was down another 3 pounds! Exciting, right? Well, we celebrate Yule at home (which is very low key) and then Christmas at my mother’s later in the week. I actually went up to her place, Baby H in tow, a couple of days in advance to have some Girl Time and build a gingerbread village.
My mom certainly doesn’t sabatoge anyone’s diet. She has food available. What you eat is up to you, and if she asks what you want for dinner before she goes to the grocer’s and you say, “Oh, I’d love a salad,” she’ll accomodate you. If you say, “Oh, I’d like something with lots of carbs and is smothered in cheese,” she’ll bite her tongue and let you do as you want.
Oh, and she has like fourteen pounds of chocolate and cookies laying around the house. In candy dishes and tins. Staring at you. Calling you. Beckoning.
What? You’ve never heard a Snickerdoodle call your name?
So I, ah, enjoyed the visit. And then I enjoyed some cookies and chocolates and other sweets at home afterwards. And then I enjoyed some sweets the Hubbles brought home when I wasn’t feeling well earlier in the week. And then I enjoyed brunch with some local friends and ohmygawdI’msostuffed.
I was thinking, last year we had similar influences but I did so much better during the holidays. I was even pregnant at the time! I didn’t pack on anything extra, and I didn’t overindulge. I think one of the differences may have been that I was still doing Weight Watchers at the time. I’ve been doing one of the free calorie counting logs recently, but it’s not quite as user-friendly as Weight Watchers. I really like the Weight Watchers online system. I stuck with it through most of my pregnancy because it kept me organized and helped me keep track of what I was eating (I wasn’t “dieting,” to be clear. I was tracking my “healthy checks” like vegetable servings per day, and I modified my target Points totals so that I was eating the requisite extra calories for pregnancy).
I seem to eat healthiest when I’m doing Weight Watchers and am actively committed to the program. Maybe it’s not the program that really matters. Maybe it’s just the commitment piece. So as I’ve been examining my personal goals for the new year, I think I need to renew my commitment to my health and fitness. Less of a “Meh, whatever,” approach (cookie in hand), and more of a directed, conscious approach.
Says the woman with a container of homemade cookies and a Screwdriver.
How are you doing post-holiday social eating?
Image courtesy Eric on Flickr, used under Creative Commons Licensing
