The strength of a tree lies in its ability to bend

I have a goal, that goal is to make it through Christmas day without too many extra calories going into me and if I approach it that way, you know, as a game then I believe that I will come out without going too far over my calorie range. I hear people tout that "its a lifestyle change dammit so that means no matter what you need to eat salads and small portions of lean meats otherwise you are not treating it as a lifestyle change! you are just dieting again" I have to use something that my grandfather use to say to that God rest his soul, "Awww Horse pucky!" . Yes indeed it is a lifestyle change but that does not mean on special occasions I or anyone else cannot have a piece of Aunt Jackie's peanut butter fudge or a slice or 2 of honey baked ham because that is just a silly notion to me to be so strict that not a single indulgence can be had. It is a lifestyle change and when normal life use to be eating 4 cheese burgers or 3 plates of food on top of at least one serving of every dessert at a holiday meal eating a normal sized holiday meal along with a dessert and a piece of fudge is doing the right thing for our health.

Sure I could eat 2 pounds of raw broccoli an apple and a glass of water then beat my chest and in my best "The Tick" impression state loudly that I have changed my life! and smile down on all of the fattys eating the Christmas good eats but I know that The tree that does not bend with the wind will be broken by the storm. I have done this from the beginning, I have not counted Holidaze meals when calories come into play which does not mean that its a free for all it just means that I have normal sized portions and something else amazing that's happened along the way down my path to better health? I have learned to STOP eating when I am full! I have this new magical power to let something stay put on my plate instead of forcing it down the chute. With all of that said I do usually try and count the calories in my head but its more for me to have a general idea of what I ate extra because at this point counting calories is so second nature to me that it just happens in my head almost instantly. In short, I am going to enjoy my Christmas brunch and dinner without guilt because one meal will not destroy any habit or lifestyle change that has been made.

I did get a chance to go to the gym yesterday even if it was later than I would have liked it to be, My kids are home from school until after the New Year so I will have to adjust the time that I go until they return to school. I went around 8:00 pm last night and came home all amped up from the workout and stayed up until about midnight because of it and that's the reason that I don't like going in the evenings. I weighed my options which were Go to they gym and get a good workout in but be up late because of all of the energy or don't go and get a great nights rest but no workout and no energy, obviously I chose to go and I am glad that it was the choice that I made. I did 20 minutes on a bike followed by the treadmill routine that I came up with a few days ago where I progressively add incline for 10 minutes and then come back down in 2% intervals, I really like that workout as I feel like I have done some work afterward. No weight lifting last night but My mother in law agreed to watch the kiddos so that I can go this afternoon and I am planning on doing my bike plus that treadmill routine and maybe some shoulder movements with some weights, I am looking forward to going today for whatever reason.


My intake yesterday came in at 1730 total calories, I drank 1 gallon of green tea and more than a gallon of straight H2O, obviously I made it to the gym so all in all it was a great day for my health. I don't think that I will post tomorrow as its Christmas and well I don't think I will have time to nor want to take time away from any of that for a post but I am sure that I will get on the scale either way. I mentioned this already but I will try my best to get a weigh in post up on Saturday and I will include what the scale said Friday morning as well as Saturday morning I think it will be fun to see the damage difference from after Christmas.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and whether you choose to eat that 2 pounds of raw broccoli or a few pieces of Aunt Jackie's peanut butter fudge enjoy it! I don't consider anything that I do on this trip a failure or a victory, it is what it is and thats a guy that has relearned how to do things in moderation when it is food related and has learned that he loves the gym more than he ever thought he could.

That is all...

As Ever
Me