It’s all about balance

 

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween.

There I said it.

Please don’t criminalize me, I did my part. I carved that pumpkin up there, for one thing. I put on my red devil horns and tramped around town in the pouring rain. Now that that’s finally over with, I’d like to shift your focus on to the quickly approaching Thanksgiving, which ultimately is a sign that it’s CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!!!!!!

Excuse my enthusiasm, but I just can’t understand how anyone can find mediocrity in days like these: waking up to the smell of sausages sizzling in a skillet, delivering diverse cookie plates to my closest friends’ doorsteps, circling around the table in pursuit of our prey–a seafood feast made complete by Mom’s all-bran roles. You might notice that all of these events involve stuffing my face.

My whole year revolves around Christmas, or rather Christmas Eve (I like the anticipation). If every day were Christmas Eve, I would be the happiest of campers.

In my small family of three, Christmas is a big effing deal. We don’t waste time getting a tree, although we do spend an awful lot of time picking one out. Last year, we spent about 4 hours, went to three different farms, and criticized more Christmas trees than is probably healthy–for us or the trees.  Too tall, too small, too fat, too lop-sided, and too perfect are all serious issues that we mow over each year until we find the right one. And even after all that trouble, the poor tree will inevitably end up getting a haircut in the middle of our living room. Then it’s time to do the lights and the ornaments, and that’s just a whole new ballgame.

So as you can see, we take a lot of pride in the details of our Christmas, and making sure that we are consistent in our traditions. My priorities are mainly that we get the perfect tree, rearrange the presents on a weekly basis, make lots of Christmas cookies, and have our seafood feast on Christmas Eve.

Here’s the conflict: I want to lose a sizable amount of weight in time for my mom’s wedding in Maui on January 22nd. However, I refuse to deprive myself completely of the joys of Christmas…namely, eating treats. So my plan for my next goal, which I will announce in a mere moment, will begin today on November 1st. In this plan I will not swear off any foods (besides the obvious) until after December 25th. (I know that this sounds like it goes against my title of No Moore Muffins, but bear with me.)

My goal is three fold: 1) To not gain one pound of holiday weight. 2) To lose at least 15 pounds before January 16th. (I would just like to note that I initially put 12 pounds, but changed my mind. Losing 15 would mean I was the smallest size of my life). 3) To feel comfortable — not just fine–being photographed in a bikini.

And there you have it. I am going to be losing weight while simultaneously eating Christmas cookies. I know it sounds insane, but I have a pretty specific tactic of how I’m going to manage my holiday needs while still getting results. I figure if I allow myself just a couple holiday treats a week and balance that with extra cardio and strength, I can indulge while still getting beach-ready.

It’s all about balance.

• I will workout every day, 6 days a week, alternating and combining strength, cardio and yoga. I want to be toned.
• I will be on a low-carb diet in general, and eating mostly fruits, veggies, and protein.
• For every day that I have a Holiday treat I will workout extra hard. (The only exception to this rule is Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.)
• On days that I have more than one Holiday treat, I must workout twice, no exceptions.
• After Christmas, I will have a little less than a month to be freed of cookie season. The dates between December 26th and January 22nd will be treat-free.
• I will weigh myself at the beginning of each month. If my results are not where they should be at the beginning of December, I will need to adjust in one way or another.
• The key to this is to enjoy small amounts of Christmas goodies. Small portions, diligent and diverse workouts, and controlled decision making. I will be calmly tasting the cake, if you will, for the next two months. There’s no need to eat 7 cookies, when I can just have one or two in a calm fashion and enjoy them just the same.

I’m now double excited for the Holiday season, can’t wait to get on that scale tomorrow, and into a bikini in January. The journey starts today, and I will be posting my healthy solutions along the way.

Wish me luck!