The Game Plan

I am lucky enough to be able to spend a nice long holiday with my parents this year, and I am so excited to go home for Christmas! And to see my awesome big brother, who I haven't seen for something like TWO YEARS. That is entirely too long! The kids are super excited, of course, and going nuts over the possibility that they might actually get to see snow this winter. (We've promised them that we'll make a trip to the mountains or something if the snow doesn't show up at Grandma's house.) So we're all looking forward to a pretty good time. The only thing I haven't been looking forward to is the fact that traveling and staying in someone else's house, especially when combined with the inevitable holiday goodies, doesn't exactly bode well for the old weight loss efforts. So I took to heart the words "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail" and came up with a game plan for my Christmas vacation. I'm really hoping to keep the weight loss going all the way through so I don't set myself back another month like I did with R&R. So here's the plan:

• Log food and exercise every day. Yes, every day. Even if there are really bad days. I've mentioned before that I use Lose It! to track my calories, but I haven't really conveyed what a crucial part of my weight loss it has been. Keeping track of how much I take in and how much I burn takes the mystery out of weight loss and makes it logical and straightforward and doable. Logging keeps me focused and keeps me disciplined, and even on days when I overeat my budget, knowing that I have to remember and record what I eat makes such a big difference. 
• Get at least 30 min of exercise, 5 days per week. This shouldn't be too much of a problem, since I will have someone to help with the kids (yay!). Although running outside in the cold will probably be a huge shock to my system! I'm also hoping to get in some fun workouts on my little bro's punching bag. 
• Always eat sitting down, with my food on a plate. This is something I'm working on lately anyway, but I think if I can stick to it over the vacation it will really help cut down on the random unnecessary snacking. Even if it's just moving something from the box to a plate and then sitting down to eat it, when you make food something that has to be prepared it makes you think about how much you really want to eat it. Do you really want it or are you just eating it because it's there and it's easy? Also, not eating out of a package forces you to choose (and see) your portion size and gives you a natural stopping point, so you are more likely to feel satisfied when you are finished.
• Don't do anything else while eating. No watching TV, surfing the web, or even reading. Talking is allowed, though. :) Focusing on really tasting and enjoying the food leads to a much greater sense of satisfaction. This is something I have totally learned from experience lately! I enjoy food so much more now than I did when I was constantly eating. It really seems to taste better! 
• As soon as possible, go shopping for my go-to foods. It will be important to keep on hand the foods that keep me on track.
• Plan for indulgences. I am not foolish enough to think I can get through Christmas without enjoying some treats, nor would I even want to try! That's part of the fun and joy of the season. But as much as I am able, I want to plan ahead for the indulgences and store up a "calorie buffer" to make room for them. I'm sure there will be a few days where I go a little over my calorie budget, buffer or not, but I want those times to be times when I made a decision instead of just got lazy.
• Keep my hands (and mind) busy. I'm planning on jumping into some knitting and/or sewing projects when I get there. When I have something to do I really don't think too much about eating.
• Offer to cook. I plan on helping out a lot with the cooking. My dad and I have already decided that we'll sit down together and plan some good healthy dinners. I've already come up with some ideas that everybody should be able to live with.
• Prepare healthy sides for Christmas dinner. I really want to enjoy all the usual stuff, but I'd also like to find some awesome healthy side dishes to fill up on too. So I don't have to feel guilty about the blackberry pie for dessert! (There will be blackberry pie, won't there Mom??)
• Keep the goodies out of sight! The saying "out of sight, out of mind" applies to nothing more than food! I generally don't walk around the house feeling like I really need to have cookies or fudge or whatever, but if there's a plate of them sitting on the counter, you betcha I'm going to feel like I can't live without some! So whatever delicious goodies show up at the house, I'll be stashing them in the cupboard every chance I get.
• 'Tis the season for forgiveness. I refuse to feel guilty and beat myself up if I don't do everything just like I've planned. I will just move on and do better the next day.

I've already talked about some of this stuff with my parents and I am happy to say that they are nothing but supportive. I know a lot of people really have to struggle with their families when they try to change their lifestyle and I can't imagine how much harder that would make things. I'm so grateful to have a family that is totally in my corner!

So what do you think? Am I crazy? Is my plan missing anything? I may not be blogging much (if at all) until the new year, so if I don't get another chance to say it... Merry Christmas, everybody!