So the battle against holiday treats has been a hard one, and I have taken some pretty good hits.

Since it is Christmas Eve, I am calling a truce — temporarily. I’m going to eat all the sweets, breads, puddings, calorie-laden dishes during Christmas….but come Monday, it is back to better choices.

Hope you guys understand this difficult strategic decision.

And I wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Ginger

So I met Meghan for a workout today. It has been awhile since I had been sick.

I was a little nervous because I figured all of the work I had done previously was lost since it has been at least two weeks since I exercised.

But I was surprised, I did OK. She had us do cardio video workout…it was not easy. But it was only at the end that I started to feel winded and worn out. Probably the place I was suppose to feel winded and worn out.

I will admit now there were some exercises that I stopped in the middle of — when a girl’s feet start to cramp, she needs to stop and address that.

I also proved that my coordination is not so great…I struggled with a boxing exercise that combined the jab, cross, uppercut and hook…for some reason I couldn’t get the order right, and fell behind.

I feel good right now, but I know tomorrow I’m going to hurt…I see more exercise in my future since I know that is the only way to get the sore to go away.

g

The cookies are just about gone, though I can successfully limit myself to one or two.

However, now there is a really big bowl of homemade Chex mix at my house. And it all started with a phone call to my mother.

“Blah, blah, blah.” the conversation went when it made this turn:

“Sorry, don’t mean to be munching in your ear, I am sampling the trash (my family calls Chex mix trash, I don’t know why or how it got started),” my mom says

“Trash sounds good, I don’t have any,” I said.

“Well, maybe we can figure out a way to send you some,” she said.

“Yeah,” I responded, not entirely sure I liked the idea of her mailing me some Chex mix (don’t ask why).

“I guess I could just make my own.”

“It really isn’t hard,” she said and then rattled the directions off…and we moved on to a new topic

After I went and got the vast amounts of required cereal, I went about making some Chex mix. In the end, the roasting pan was very fully of Chex mix.

It is a LOT of Chex mix. So I am asking myself, “Why did I do this? Now it is one more thing to put in my mouth.” Sigh

So, I decided the people at work are too skinny and need snacks. To them, I say eat up! The big trick will be limiting my access to said Chex mix.

My little cup is empty….

It has been cold and damp today and I wanted a hot lunch.  I didn’t have “walk in the rain” attitude today so they ruled out a bowl of soup from a local cafe (sometimes I think parking downtown near some of my favorite eateries is just too difficult) And I did the subway thing last week. So I decided to do something I haven’t done in a while, I ate fast food. 

McDonald’s and some chicken nuggets seemed like a reasonable idea. They were warm, tasted like chicken and the fries were crispy. Not the best choice I could make, but it made feel good — it was comfort food, and after the last couple of days, I needed a little comfort.

If it makes anyone feel better, it was the only meal I had today and dinner will certainly be a little better. Thinking grilled cheese and tomato soup!

I like to bake. But you know what the biggest problem with baking is?  I have to eat what I made.

This weekend, it was holiday cookies: Chocolate chip and sugar cookies. 

At first, it was just, “Oh I need to sample that to make sure it tastes OK.”

Later, “I made them, I should get to have a couple.”

The next day, “There are still cookies left, I can’t let those go to waste.”

Maybe I should stop baking.

Almond brittle may be the death of me yet!

I was feeling fairly proud of myself yesterday. I just had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich at lunch, rice cakes for a mid-morning snack and didn’t snack a lot when I got home. I was especially proud of myself at dinner when I didn’t try to eat all of the white rice that came with our Thai take-out. (I had a vegetable stir-fry with chicken)

However, I managed to destroy my own effort. As we waited for our dinner, we walked around town. It was still early so a local candy store was open. I thought we should pop in and see what they have since they do have a number of other items beside candy.

Yeah…I didn’t make it to that section.

I found the almond brittle and the peppermint crunch. For some unknown reason, I felt I needed these two items. Mr. X picked out a couple of things too… chocolate items. And we found pecan divinity. 

So after a fairly healthy dinner, we ate candy. And the brittle and crunch were wonderful. So yummy…but oh so bad. And I’m ashamed of myself my addiction to sugar got in the way of good efforts.

There is, surprisingly, a silver lining.

Generally, when I get almond brittle I sit and eat the entire 8-ounce bag. Seriously, I really like almond brittle. But last night, I found myself actually limiting how much brittle I ate. I only had a few small pieces and one piece of peppermint crunch.

For that, I am proud. Will Power sometimes has a backbone.

G

As many people know, I like ice cream. Lately, I have been obsessed with soft serve, particularly blizzards from a certain ice cream purveyor…

But they are really high in calories and I don’t need them. I want them, really want them. That desired is magnified this week as the cold weather and my cold leave me with very chapped lips.

Cold and creamy sounds really good.

So I decided, I’m not getting a blizzard…I just don’t need one. But, I have turned to an old favorite: Pudding that is sugar-free and only has 60 calories.

Last night it seemed to beat the craving back…we will see what it does tonight.

g

This weekend of malaise made me think about what I eat. I wanted foods that were going to upset my stomach or would make my throat hurt any more than it already did.

To be honest, it was mac-n-cheese, chicken noodle soup, crackers, and maybe a grilled cheese sandwich. There was a lot of ginger ale and a little bit of juice. By Sunday, I could handle most foods and was hungry…ended up eating pancakes and pizza Sunday, not at the same time.

But it made me think, what are we suppose to eat when we are sick? Do we turn to the very things we know will make us feel better or do we sick healthy choices? Are they same. 

Tell me what you eat when you are sick, please.