In Search of a New Year, not a Blue Year

Does anyone else feel that January slump after the holidays are over? I know plenty of people who embrace this time and welcome with open arms the dismantling of their Christmas decorations and purging of all things holiday related - especially those left over cookies and other fat-laden temptations. These acts of removing all holiday fanfare, whether it's festive food or festive decorations, signify a clean start to the new year. To many, this time is rejuvenating and motivation to begin the year with a bang is at an all time high.

This is not the case for me at all. Usually, I get a little blue after the holidays - especially when it's time to take down the tree and the plethora of decorations that turned my home into a warm and welcoming winter wonderland for the past month. I look ahead and all I see are a series of cold months in front of me, and I struggle to find motivation to do much more than curl up in my robe and settle down for a long winter's nap.

That's certainly not an option, of course. In a mere two weeks I'll be rising and (hopefully) shining like the rest of the working world (minus the paycheck), going to my student teaching position each day and then coming home at night to work on lesson plans. There will be little if any time to sit on my ass at all, which, seeing as that leads to being 235 lbs, is probably a good thing. Many of my fellow students have actually lost weight during the course of their student teaching semester. I know I will be on my feet much more than I am now, and will be moving around more, and certainly eating less. This is good because I purposely bought pants that were a bit snug in the waistline as further motivation to lose weight while going through the semester. Gaining is not an option. I am literally at the end of my fat rope.

The good news is, my home gym is getting back in order. Not sure if you remember the projects I talked about over the summer but the red room was a complete disaster area and is finally - FINALLY - ready to be used the way Richard Simmons intended. Actually,  that's not entirely true - as there is little space for Sweatin' the the Oldies, but the treadmill, elliptical and recumbent bike are all set up and accessible and there is a TV on the wall and I have a small space to use hand weights or do some stretching and maybe even yoga. In other words, I have all the tools, now I just need to utilize them.

I have been considering what my "solutions" should be to weight loss this year (versus resolutions) and I think it's high time to confront the Sugar Beast and try to part ways with It as swiftly as possible. I have realized over the past year or so that my sugar addiction has gotten so bad that I have found myself eating things that were sweet even if I didn't particularly enjoy them. I mean if you are going to blow your calorie load on some sugary crap, you should at the very least like what you are eating, right? Well, I found myself eating a rather dry and unsatisfying danish about 2 weeks ago and realized that although it tasted seriously sub-par to anything homemade, I was eating to tame a sugar craving - nothing more. I got zero enjoyment out of it, and frankly after it was all gone, I felt disgusting. After a while, I started getting feelings of resentment at my mother-in-law for even sending them to us (part of a Christmas gift from Wolferton's). She knows I struggle with my weight and her son is in the same unfortunate boat. I know this is her way to show love, but ironically this gift of love, is a real killer. Literally.

Little did I know that my birthday gift would include more diet saboteurs from her, such as a gigantic container of peppermint bark from Costco (aka Christmas Crack) and an equally large bag of chocolate truffles. Neither of those offenders have been touched but the packages of danishes didn't fare so well - never mind how my waistline fared as a result of eating them.Not to put the onus on my mother-in-law, mind you. She is great lady who is extremely generous. And she's not the only one sabotaging Josh and I with baked goods. I did that on my own, as well. Banana cake, cookies, homemade fudge....the list goes on. The holidays were a proverbial sugar plum fairy's wet dream.

But I knew my sugar cravings had reached their limit and I've had enough when this morning I happily tossed left over chocolate cupcakes and fudge into the trash and decided my 3 over ripe bananas were NOT going to be baked into yet another cake. Sometimes you just have to put your fat foot down.

So, I'm feeling good about rethinking my food choices and I am enjoying my new ritual of having green tea versus dessert at night. There's something cozy about it - and let's face it - I don't go to bed bloated or full. Stay tuned for more small victories as they occur. I've set a short term goal of losing 5 lbs by the time student teaching begins. One solution I have decided upon is the 5 lbs increment approach. It's so much less daunting than looking at the 100 plus pounds I need to drop.

Here's to baby steps.

Guess which woman is me....