This post is Sponsored By The Cheesecake Factory. It’s Skinny. It’s Delicious. It’s Skinny. It’s Delicious. It’s SkinnyLicious?.
One of the most common New Year’s resolutions is to eat better. Why? Because in December we all eat like crazy people, that’s why. Gingerbread, candy canes, limited time only seasonal pumpkin lattes, a thousand varieties of cookies, jumbo-sized boxes of chocolates, even the highly caloric yet unappealing fruitcake. The list goes on and on. And the craziest thing about these temptations? You don’t even have to go out and find them like you do the rest of the year. In December people just give them to you wherever you go. We even had people come to our door and hand them to us! (Thanks, neighbors.) Full disclosure: I might have also gone a little over the top trying out yummy cookie recipe after cookie recipe.
As easy as it is for folks to pack on the pounds in December, it is even easier for Mike and me. That’s because, in addition to Christmas and New Year’s Eve, we also celebrate our nephew’s birthday, Mike’s birthday, and our wedding anniversary.
A couple days into 2012 Mike was looking at himself in the mirror when he said, “It is too bad that no one needs anyone to dress up as Santa in January because if they did I would make an awesome one.” Mike was kind enough not to say what I could dress up as (a young, hip Mrs. Claus maybe?), but he did suggest we get our cookie/chocolate/pumpkin latte/everything else habit under control. I agreed.
Ten days later we are eating a lot better, even if at first Mike complained about how hard it is to get used to not eating cookies every day. The key for us is that we are NOT on a diet. Diets, for both of us, too often fail. Instead, we are just eating healthier and better as often as possible. That means lots of fruits and vegetables, less starches, and, of course, a whole lot less cookies. But because we aren’t on a diet we still have a cookie here and there, and we still go out to dinner. The only difference now is we find something on the menu that is a little healthier than our usual choices.
I haven’t told Mike this yet, but he is looking a lot less like Santa, which hopefully means I am looking a bit less like a young and hip Mrs. Claus. How do you all get back on track after eating your way through the holidays?
Shan says:
I started back in August when the kids went back to school. I changed my whole way of living….lol not a diet. I work out on the treadmill..nothing fancy…5 to 6 days a week before they even get up. And have lowered my caloric intake. I cut out sodas..and try not to eat sugar..but a girl must have chocolate sometimes..so I do indulge on occasion…well..today..I am 57 pounds down. Just got down doing my 5k quick walk..and feel great. I did indulge over the holidays..but didn’t over indulge!
Vickie says:
Full disclosure, I am a Weight Watchers’employee. You have hit the nail on the head. Better choices overall, more activity, more MINDFUL living equal healthier, trimmer people. This is what we teach members–no diet, just a better way of living. Yay you (and Mr. Claus)!
Mel says:
I am with you! I have been anti-diet for all of my adult life – I get so sick of hearing about this diet or that my friends and family go on. Great results at first, but then the pounds creep back on. I thought if I just worked out like a crazy person, I could eat whatever and still fit into my clothes. That worked for a while (when I was in my 20s) and then stopped. After doing some research and learning that keeping to your weight goals is 80% diet I started eating clean. In a nutshell, it involves not eating processed foods, sticking to whole grains, and cooking from scratch. So, similar to what you are doing. There is more to it than that, but it’s great – you can eat a lot but you are really nourishing your body rather than consuming empty calories. There is a magazine called Clean Eating that I love, has great recipes. Lots of clean eating blogs out there too (one of my favorites is cleananddelicious.com) Check out Tosca Reno’s books as well, I believe she just came out with one that is “Just the Rules’ of clean eating. Her story is inspirational. The thing with CE is that it’s a lifestyle, not a quick fix diet – though believe me, you see results quickly. I’m of Turkish descent and rather curvy, and my two pregnancies have rendered my abs rather unattractive, but clean eating for just two months allowed me to wear a bikini last summer! Seriously. Over the holidays, we had guests and traveled, etc. so I did fall off the wagon a bit and succumb to my crap for you food cravings and my body got upset with me – I became bloated, gained a few lbs, and my digestive system went haywire. I’m clean eating again now and it’s great! Bonus: losing the unnecessary bulges and I have soooo much energy to keep up with my two young boys and work out – currently I’m into Dance Trance, which is an amazing workout – kind of like a hard core Zumba. I’ll be in a bikini again soon – and while I will still be curvy, I will be lean and fit. I highly recommend this way of eating – works great for men as well, our whole family eats clean as much as possible. Keep up the great work – you are a beautiful person no matter what you do, but kudos for wanting to be healthier.
Emily says:
I had the stomach flu over the weekend. That seemed to work well for me. :p
Glam-O-Mommy says:
I hear you, Heather, I hate being on a diet, although I once lost all 25 lbs of post-baby weight by following Weight Watchers. I spent the last two years regaining it, pound by pound, so I’ve decided not to diet either but do three things in the New Year.
1. Drink more water and less soda. At work, I like to walk to our cafe and get a soda for a break. Now I just walk to the cafe and get water for a break. Only allowing myself one soda a day. Two occasionally if I’m really tired LOL.
2. Try to make better choices at each meal. This doesn’t mean I’m perfect. I made hamburgers for dinner last night! But I’m trying to resist my normal choice of fatty, breaded stuff at every meal.
3. Do Just Dance 3 on the Wii for 20-30 minutes with Sophie every day. I’ve really had a hard time working exercise into my day, but now that we have the Wii, I’m having a lot of fun trying to do the dances and getting some cardio in too! And Sophie tries to dance along and laughs at me-family fun and exercise for her too! Win-win-win!
So far, doing this the last two weeks has resulted in dropping the four pounds I put on in the month of December. If I can lose another 15 before my cousin’s wedding in April, I’ll be happy!
Megan says:
I love how this is sponsored by the Cheesecake Factory! Not the restaurant I think of when I want to eat healthy
My pants definitely feel a bit tighter this month. I went way overboard with eating junk last month (including a party where I happened to be standing next to a cheese ball for about 3 hours) and my usual workout schedule got disrupted by all my traveling.
Now that the abundance of alcohol, fudge, cookies and ice cream is gone from my house, I’ve really been making an effort to not buy any more. It helps that my budget is really tight after Christmas, so I’m trying to really only buy necessities at the store and not eat out. Not having the food in the house is, for me, a giant help in not eating it. If I don’t have junk food in the house, I usually don’t even think about it. And even if I do, I’m probably not going to want to run out at 10 p.m. on a cold, rainy night to satisfy an ice cream craving.
I’ve also been trying to include playing active Wii games in my workout. Last night, it was really nasty out and I just wanted to be warm and at home (I normally swim for a workout) but I played a swordfighting game on my Wii for a half hour instead.
Margaret says:
I have diabeetus (type 2) and broke a six month streak of really awesome eating habits with abandon over the holidays. For me, my eating choices have serious consequences for my health, both short and long term. It’s not just weight, it’s energy level and mood, and it’s scary consequences in the long term. I do really need to be pretty restrictive with my diet, just because my personality type does best with abstinence rather than moderation, and I fare the best on a fairly low carb diet.
But I have been working really hard to make sure I am eating the tastiest, most delightful version of a low carb diet. So I eat a lot of dishes with strong flavors, especially Thai lately, lots of vegetables, and of course all the rich, gooey foods I do truly love (since dietary fat is not a problem for me).
Daddy Dan says:
I joined Weight Watchers. It seems like a reasonable option, plus it gives you extra weekly points to eat things like cookies.
Lauren says:
I’m trying to start with little switches. More water instead of pop, snacking on fruit or celery with peanut butter instead of candy, etc. I’m also trying to eat out less, but that’s almost more a budget choice. I think a lot of people fail with diets/lifestyle changes because most people (myself included) don’t have the willpower to change everything about how they eat and exercise all at once. Since I know making huge changes isn’t going to work for me, I have a three month plan to phase myself into eating better and reaching new fitness goals.
Kristen says:
Though I don’t have a weight problem, we are going to hawaii in April (my first time), and knowing that I will be in my bathing suit is huge incentive to me to drop the holiday weight. To do this I am doing a few things -1) no candy between now and when we leave for Hawaii. When I get hungry during the day, candy has been my go to snack. 2) No drinking any calories M-F. I will have a glass or two of wine over the weekend, but M-F, my husband isn’t home for dinner anyway, so why bother? 3) tracking what I eat/ exercise with an app…
Exercise has never been my problem, so I just plan to keep that up. Hopefully I will be rocking my tankini in April.
Meyli says:
Ohhhh its so hard to get out of old eating habits! Like you, I try to just eat a lot more fruits and veggies, no ‘diet’ food! I also plan to bike more often (that will begin once we don’t have snow…) so I can bike all the way to work by May!
Goals are good.
Karen says:
Weight Watchers, although I did it independently. Although the points system has changed, going by the older points system in a book a friend gave to me works well for me.
The start-up is a little bit time consuming, but instead of using WW foods I tally up the points for all of my whole grain, non-processed, fruit and veggie foods using the points book and then tally up commonly eating combinations and meal ideas in the same notebook. It is mostly about portion control for me since I am not a fried food/sauces/processed foods eater, anyway.
Works great! (with upping my exercise of course since usually getting lazy has also contributed!)
I usually stay within a 5 lb radius in both directions. It is when I put on that extra 5 lbs that my portion control alarm bells go off and its back to WW!
Mary Ann says:
A year ago I went for a physical and had a huge wake up call, it gave me the push I needed to get healthy. I knew I had to do things my way diets don’t work for me. I began by cutting out sweets – it’s not like they’re going to stop making ice cream I told myself. So I decided that if I stayed on track for a month I could eat whatever I wanted as a treat and a funny thing happened I did so good I didn’t really want the ice cream. I started making better food choices, eating more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods. I didn’t drink my calories and if I ate something it was something I really enjoyed eating – no cottage cheese for me thank you. I also forced myself to take a walk every day – I almost died the first time I walked around my block – now if I don’t do 3-5 miles a day I miss it. I”m lucky to have found a friend and few neighbors who like walking too they keep me going. I eat three meals and if I need a snack I will have a piece of fruit, a handful of almonds or a greek yogurt. I still eat out, but it’s more like once or twice a month instead of 4-5 times a week. I always get a dessert to share, that way I still get to have what I am craving and have no leftovers in the house to tempt me. It wasn’t easy and I fell off the wagon over the holiday’s gaining 7 back but I am back on track and losing it – I have 4 more to go but I know I can do it. I have learned not to beat myself up if I have a cookie or candy bar – the world won’t come to an end. I use think oh well I screwed up I might as well be bad and eat everything in sight – but now I’ll have a cookie or two or 437 over the holidays and get back on track. I got rid of all my “fat” clothes so regaining isn’t an option I feel too good.
The Sparkpeople website was very helpful to me – Good Luck!
Heather says:
I just start eating better like y’all are and the holiday weight gain melts away. Oatmeal with strawberries for breakfast instead of eggs and bacon, sandwiches with lots of lettuce and tomatoes at home for lunch, salmon or chicken for dinner with maybe a weekly dose of red meat. I went crazy in the produce section during my first trip to the store this year and have been forcing myself to eat it all before it goes bad. It really does help. Nuts are a great grabby snack and pita chips in hummus (not sure how healthy THAT is) and dried cranberries are a new favorite. Eating well makes all the difference, imho! Keep it up, y’all!
pgoodness says:
It’s all about the small changes and not beating myself up. I’m drinking A LOT more water and much less soda; exercising more often (I knew that bike in my bedroom would be more than a clothes rack one day!). I’m eating little to no fast food and limiting crappy snacks.
All little things. Has it made much of a difference yet? Don’t know. The scale and I don’t speak. Some days I feel a little lighter, others not so much. Meh. It took me 8 years to put all of this weight on…it’s going to take more than a month to take it off, right?
Expat Mom says:
I actually didn’t eat much during the holidays, mostly because just about everything makes me sick right now. Kinda handy. But kudos on the whole eliminating cookies, that takes serious guts!
Me says:
I did in fact make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight. Blegh. Thankfully, I’m finding some motivation to stick with it in fashion blogs. Currently, I’m obsessed with them because I would really like to get my style back. I lost it about 6 years ago and interestingly, my little guy will be 6 this Tuesday. Coincidence. Umm… no.
Me says:
PS I’m totally with you about the slippers.