Lesson Learned At Christmas
 

Hope everyone is having a nice holiday season. Weighing a little less and being able to join in the fun was the best present I could have every gotten. Family means everything to me and to be able to get in the middle of the fray was pure joy.

The biggest lesson I learned about food this season was....when you go somewhere and spend all day make sure you prepare something that you are actually allowed to have. I roasted a pork shoulder in my BBQ pit, shredded it and put BBQ sauce on it. Forgot to leave some plain pork out for me so that I could use the low sugar BBQ sauce, so couldn't eat that. Person who brought the veggie tray brought mostly carrots and celery and high fat dip so that was pretty much out. So what did I eat for the day. The meat off the pizza burger, a bite of cheese ball with a garden veggie cracker and a piece of broccoli. I was starved by the time I got home and ready to clean out the kitchen. Lesson learned. I helped my family bake the cookies and ice them and didn't have a problem with wanting to eat them, except the smell of the nice fresh baked goods drove me crazy. How weird is that! Oh, and I wanted corn bugles out of the snack mix!! We got home late and I ate half of a South Beach frozen dinner. I finally got to eat a half of a real apple, not apple sauce and it was divine! Couldn't even drink the punch because of so much sugar! But, I could actually walk up the stairs to the loft to play the Wii with the grandkids! Yahoo!!!!

New Years day, I'm fixing chicken sandwich, my kind of veggies with hummus, cheesy vegetable bake, and a SF low fat pumpkin mousse. Snacks: Soy Chips, Vanilla Almonds and a cheese tray. DH is requesting chicken enchiladas and my mission this week is to figure out how to make them with out using high carb tortillas, full fat sour cream and cheese and still have the enchiladas have some flavor.

The other weird thing about Christmas was, most of my family has not seen me since I've had surgery in October. My family is very obese and not one of them said anything about my weight loss. They commented on my short hair. I've always worn it to my shoulder and one length. I really didn't think too much about it until we got in the car and my DH said, "Nancy you really looked nice today and you are no longer the fattest sister!" LOL! I'm the oldest and could just cry about how obese my family is and all the health problems that my younger siblings are and going to run into. Isn't it strange how last year I was pigging out with the rest of them and this year I really noticed how much food people really ate. I'm not being judgemental, cause been there and done that, just worried about my families health.

One final rambling: My dad is 76 y/o and my sister got him a Wii. It took him about 5 minutes to learn how to bowl and bowl us all under the table. My dad has taken up whittling and carved everyone of us a chicken or heron out trees we took out of the fence row last fall. Mom got me a 400 page cookbook that her church family produced and man are there some recipes in there. One is Holy Moley Cake and I gained five pounds just reading the recipe! LOL!!! Mom submitted quite a few recipes and it is nice to have them down on paper. Happy Holidays to all.

WOW!!!! all that from just one day???? soooo many lessons! so much STUFF!!! and the emotion - from being with your family, not having your weight loss be acknowledged.

here's a strategy for the barbecue - take a couple of paper towels and blot off the excess barbecue sauce. you can always have a LITTLE bit, so taking off most of it works quite well.

what time does your New Year's day party start? think i can get from joisy to there and back in a day???? sounds WONDERFUL!!!

suggestions for flavor for those enchiladas: my vote is more salsa, and more spice! we can get low-carb, low-fat tortillas around here, and, although they have a different texture than the regular ones, i like the FLAVORS better.

Nan you're amazing!! speaking as someone who dumped in the middle of Christmas Brunch (Literally Everything had bread and sugar) I'm with you on bringing your own friendly food. Next year I'll just bring stuff with me from my mom's to the inlaws!
I want a WII thats so great for your dad! he'll be doing something active too.
in re to your fam. . .I found my fellow voluptuous ladies and gents didn't necessarily want to see the differences in me. not a bad thing
you just don't reflect their bad habits anymore!
I love the low carb tortillas. Low fat sour cream and cheese taste pretty darn good and with enough spice (and some subterfuge ) no one will know could you make yourself a lettuce burrito?
ok I have to head downstairs! the laptop has some nasty spyware so I only have puer access upstairs GRRRRR
Kierie
PS Jiff I call shotgun for the trip to Nans!

Great Advice
 

OMG I can just see your dad playing that. We played Wii at my brothers and it did not take mom long to do the same as your dad. As for the birds, I love my crane he gave me!!!!!

What a good idea to make sure you take your own food! I know what you mean about being more aware of what others are eating around you. It's like now that I stopped smoking I notice how much the other smokers light up!

You are doing great!! I know I have heard how amazing you look! Keep up the great work.

Love Jen