The Holiday Gorge

Ever wonder why so many people make New Years resolutions to lose weight?  Think about what you ate for the last few weeks...Is your belt a little tighter? Your jeans a touch snugger than you remember?

A friend of mine asked me when I started this blog and overall health project, "why didn't you wait until New Years?".  Good question. The first part of the answer is I stepped on a scale, saw my weight and was stunned. The second part is I knew what would happen over the last few days of the year if I didn't start right away. If I had procrastinated I would have put myself in a deeper hole. I knew I had to start making better choices right away, or end up at an even higher starting weight, an even longer road ahead of me.

Look at what we eat in the 8 day food orgy of Dec 25 to Jan 1...turkey, gravy, ham, potatoes, candied yams, prime rib, we drink bottles of wine, champagne, egg nog, lots of alcohol. Even our snacking takes on new levels. How many chocolates over the last month? I lost count. My favourite are Turtles, the pecan, caramel and chocolate cluster synonymous with Christmas. One Turtle is 80 calories. That's actually reasonable for a special little snack...However, how often have you had ONE turtle...If you have that kind of self control you probably have little interest in the blog of someone trying to lose weight!  I don't eat one Turtle, I eat 3 or 4. Now we're talking almost 400 calories, or 20% of the total calories that is considered reasonable for one day.

I made  my choice on December 29th to change things. If I hadn't I know that on New Years eve that instead of a reasonable portion of the dinner my wife made, I would have eaten until I was stuffed. I would have had 2 helpings of desert (I had none). I drank champagne, I had some wine, but I tried to balance that with good choices around my portions, my snacking, my sweets...My goal for Dec 29th to Jan 2 was not to make my journey any worse...I started at 272.4lbs. Its the morning of Jan 2nd, and I have lost 2.6 lbs, and hopefully said goodbye for ever to the 270lb me.

Next up, the 260lb me....He's a little ways away, but the fit guy is coming for him, and his days are numbered.