I Confess..

So we are what 2 weeks away from Christmas? Tis the Season to Be Jolly, should be Tis the Season to Gain the Pounds..with all the baked goodies, high fat foods, comfort foods, and even cocktails, out there right now how can we not.  I admit, I am huge sugar junkie, a closet snacker (candy is my drug of choice) or it was up until October  (steeling the candy from the kid's trick treat bags then was like having to go on a Black Ops undercover mission) ridden with guilt. 
I made a commitment back then to make a "lifestyle" change, eating healthy, eating "real food" not buying so much from boxes, making and preparing fresh. It is so easy to get caught up in the "grab and go" meal to make at home (no not drive through fast food) never that bad, but the packaged.  Society has made us think that since we are all so busy, whether working from  home or away from home and raising families that we "need" the quick-easy fix foods.   We can buy and eat fresh, it is just a matter of being one step ahead at all times, so that means organization and commitment ....sound daunting?  So worth it.

Since October both my husband and I have seen huge changes in our bodies, sure I have always watched what I ate and exercised (mostly just running) but really making the change and being honest about what I was eating was an eye opener.  Cutting out the sugar and eating lean, and having enough protein is the key.  Running is fantastic, just getting up and moving is awesome, but adding other exercise to that just made more sense, my body is no longer at the "stand still" it is burning and shaking (literally, I watch the fat shake) right off.  It is adding the weights, doing the sculpting, and those damn abs...the squats, the lunges...All the stuff we already know about, I just had to make a decision for me and new it was time to stop the complaining and bitching about my body and do something....Now I am on a journey that I don't want to quit, I want to be that 40 something mom who isn't hiding behind layers of clothes in the winter or hiding behind the smock at the beach in summer. 

This is the same gal who at one time really hit "rock bottom"...Christmas a few years back, for whatever reason, just dealing with life and going through the motions, I had wanted to stick with the holiday spirit, the Season of Giving, so one of my great ideas was to head to the local See's store and purchase the pretty pre-wrapped box of that oh so good mixed chocolate...you know, the Nuts and Chews, the Caramels, the Dark, etc..and  how perfect, so pretty and easy already wrapped in that  famous See's red paper...(you know, like the Blue Tiffany box) which would have been a safer purchase in my case.  Any way, just about a week until Christmas, those boxes just sitting in the kitchen looking at me every day, speaking to me in soft low candy voices...All 5 of them (1 lb boxes)...okay "I deserve a treat, and heck I can always run out and just replace it"....as difficult as this is to actually share and admit  I am doing it to let you in to the real me, I am just like everyone else (not always all perfect health and fitness).  Yes, yes I did, I not only opened ALL 5 boxes, I  went through and picked and diceted each and every piece, only gracing the one's that I just hated enough to leave in the box with a small bite out of each of them, the rest, GONE...into my body!  Yep, did this in two days, not my proudest moment, but real.  All the time thinking (and here is where we get into trouble)...."I am okay", I am not that big, I don't have a weight problem", "these little pieces of chocolate won't even make a difference", " I can totally work this off"....

The point is, we are all human, we have our vices, we live in a society that seems to be overweight, un-healthy, eating wrong....It is sad, we need to take care of ourselves, we need to teach our children.  I am hoping my stories and journey will inspire others to "be real" with themselves, like I was.  To decide truly to make that lifestyle change and commit to it.  Our health is so important and with all the things out there in the world that are out of our control, or easily taken from us...our health and lifestyle choice is one of the things that WE are in control of and no-one can take it away...So with that, enjoy the next week, have fun and do indulge, just be smart, be aware and be healthy...