Lessons Learned After A Holiday Weight Gain
In the name of transparency I want to share about a recent uptick on the scale.
I thought it would be useful for you to share of my takeaways from this past Holiday Season.
Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas.
This was the second Christmas after my sister Maggie passed away, so there were definitely times of sadness and tears in the midst of the joy.
My son and his good friend were visiting. My niece flew in from Texas, and my sister and her two adorable doggies. And of course my sweet hubby had some time off too.
We played games, ate great food, had a joyful time celebrating on Christmas day until… my family left on the Wednesday after Christmas….
My wins are:
I was able to take a pause, self-regulate., and stay out of judgement If I got over excited or over stimulated.
This helped me to have greater capacity for working through food urges and mindless eating.
I planned to make a quiche for Christmas, but just wasn't up to it, so chose to put it off for the following day. Which worked out GREAT
In the past I would have felt the need to create a “perfect” day, and “perfect” Christmas brunch.
Instead we ate cereal, or leftover Chinese food, or whatever else we could scrounge up.
I’m proud of my ability to bake without overeating. I loved having my family recipes to share with our family and friends.
During the holidays I planned my treats and ate them with intention.
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Misses
1I forgot to anticipate how I would feel after the holidays are over. I noticed that my food urges got much more intense once all my family left.
I get so excited and just LOVE all the specialness that the holidays provide, so I hadn't prepared myself for the BIG let down once the house was once again quiet.
It makes me cry just thinking about it now.
I was really sad. and didn’t want to process those emotions.
So, when they all left on the same day, it surprised me I was blindsided by how sad I felt.
I dove into a Harry Potter marathon complete with all the cookies, candy and snacks that were left in the house!
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I noticed that I had a Lot of “shoulding” going on in my mind.
I “should” be creating a perfect plan for the new year,
I “should” be creating a vision for my business,
I “should “ be reaching out to friends and planning something spectacular for New Year’s eve.
I “should” be writing inspiring emails or posts to help others who may be experiencing similar feelings.
I “should” be talking to my potential clients about how they can set themselves up for success in the new year, and achieve their weight loss goals
- but I didn’t
Instead, on new years eve I went to bed at 9 and spent the rest of the week avoiding people.
I gave in to my strong desire to hide from friends and others, and even hide from myself.
All of which was accompanied by a plate full of judgement and guilt about it all.
Guess what was readily available??? Yep - ALL the cookies, candy and treats that were left in the house!
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What I learned for next time.
Next time I plan to remind myself before the holiday what’s likely to occur after the guests leave. Visualize how I might be feeling and create several ideas and plans ahead of time.
Decide ahead of time who I want to be and how I want to show up.
Designate what treats I want to share with friends and pack them up ahead of time (if you didn’t get my cookies this year there’s a reason :/ sorry.)
Plan something fun that I can look forward to after Christmas. or Set aside time for a personal retreat, candle-lit bath, journaling, and rest. Process emotions and recover from all of the activity and extra stimulation.
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Biggest takeaway
I like to think about an “uptick” on the scale as an opportunity for a recalibration.
Once I notice the scale creeping up I know just what to do.
I love to call it a “recalibration” instead of thinking about it as buckling down, or getting back to where I was before …. or some sort of thought like, I’m broken, and now I need to fix it.
I also don’t force my self to restrict or “get back to a number quickly”
I take all that pressure off right away, and set my goal from this starting point, and get to work asking myself, from LOVE:
What will it take to lose a half pound this week?
What sensations am I noticing in my body that I don’t like carrying the extra few pounds, and
I ask, how do I WANT to feel instead?
What is ONE thing I can focus on this week that will feel great?
I will keep tracking, keep evaluating, without judgement, and remind myself, daily, why I want to be in my ideal weight range.
This is what a 59 year old woman who has lost 80 pounds and kept it off for 3 years looks like.
As I was losing my weight, I remember putting my habits into practice each day thinking “this is just who I am now, and I love it”
What is one thing you want to do a little better this week?
You’ve got this!
Amy
