'Tis the season

Oh holiday parties, how you kill me this time of year.

I have my first weigh in tomorrow for the droppin 4$$ competition that I started last Wednesday, and I also entered another competition online through dietbet.com (Super cool website that does all the work for you!) This competition is MUCH bigger…as in the pot is over $4000!! It’s different, however, in that you’re only competing against yourself; you “bet” $20 that you can lose 4% of your starting weight in 4 weeks, and as long as you hit that number, you win! Easy peasy, right? So as long as I can lose 8 pounds by Jan 2, I’m golden (and I’m sure plenty of the other 200+ people in the competition will be too, so I’ll probably only get like $22 for my prize, but it’s still motivating nonetheless!) 

So now enter the complications.  I’m not worried about tomorrow, but after that, it’s going to be rough.  Thursday I have the hub’s work Christmas party, Saturday night I have my annual ornament swap/holiday party at my BFFs house, and then next Wednesday I leave for a full week to lay on a beach in Punta Cana!! I’m so excited for my vacation, but I’m a little nervous about what it will do for my weight…I’ve never taken a vacation before and LOST weight, so this will be a challenge for sure!  When I get back on the 19^th, I’ll have my work Christmas party, another friend party, Christmas Eve family party, and Christmas day family party, then there’s New Year’s eve the following week! Phew!  I’m exhausted just thinking about all that!

I know you’ve heard this a million times before, but “If you don’t plan, you plan to fail”. 

So here’s my plan: take it easy.  This is not the last time you’ll ever see a glass of wine, or a chocolate chip cookie, or a slice of pizza.  Eat in moderation.  Don’t deprive yourself, but don’t ever overindulge.  The last thing you want is to look like a bloated uncomfortable mess in that pretty party dress! If there’s something there that you’ll only see once a year, have some; enjoy it, and don’t stress about it.  Keep tracking calories, as bad as they may be, keep on moving every day to keep your calories in check by exercising as much as possible.  Don’t give up.  Don’t savatoge yourself by saying “Whelp, I already screwed up today, might as well just give up until tomorrow (or Monday, or Wednesday, or whatever the case may be)”.  Just. Keep. Going.

And I will.  I will conquer this holiday season, and I hope you all will too.  We can help each other, but no matter what, don’t stop.  Don’t give up; we’ve come so far and we’re so close to the top.  Keep your head down, and just keep putting one foot in front of the other.  We'll all get through this, one step at a time!