So much to celebrate, part 2!

As I said on my last post, the end of this year has been chock full of lots of celebration!  In continuation...

December 24th:   Had a lovely brunch with Jen H.  We've been friends since Mrs. Carlin's 4th grade class and whether it's been a day or a year in between seeing each other, it always feels like just yesterday. 

Adrian and I ran a couple errands afterwards and got some last minute Christmas gifts.  I didn't do a dedicated workout because I felt like I really just needed to recover from the wedding, I was so exhausted.  We met up with Evan, Jen, and Alex for a little Christmas Eve dinner and gift exchange at Olive Garden in Newark.  It was great despite the fact that the service was atrocious.   Like...some of the worst service I've ever experienced.  The waitress messed up several different orders, kept blaming the kitchen for everything (I HATE it when servers do this, huge client experience pet peeve), and worst of all encouraged us to tip her well despite all the mistakes.  No bueno....  After dinner, we headed back to Jen and Evan's place for marshmallows by the fireplace and games- more good times! We stayed until I was literally almost falling asleep.  Good times!

Christmas:  Another BUSY day!  I started off the morning with Insanity Pure Cardio because I knew there was going to be some MAJOR food being eaten.  And there was for sure.... We started with some time at Adrian's parent's place and watched most of "A Christmas Story."  It just wouldn't be Christmas without seeing at least some of that hilarious movie!  We then headed over to the Hughes' place for lunch and a pink elephant style secret Santa gift exchange.  It was such a blast!  This was when Adrian wanted to exchange gifts- he likes an audience in his own words.  And frankly, he deserves one- he is awesome at making Christmas and my birthday special each year.  Somehow he truly makes each day it's own event, which is tough to do with them being only 4 days apart.

For Christmas this year- we are going to see Tom Hanks' (one of my favorite actors) Broadway debut in "Lucky Guy" in March!! I can't wait! And he also gave me one of the most beautiful rings I've ever seen....

Pretty butterflies!

I've been on the hunt for a beautiful, feminine, understated elegant butterfly ring to use as an anchor.  I've been struggling to find one that fit into all those categories and be wearable everyday and with any outfit.  Somehow he found a beautiful and perfect ring!  The butterfly is symbolic to me in many ways but primarily it symbolizes transformation.  Over the past 3 years or so I have transformed my body by losing over 255 lbs, but more than that, I have transformed the way I see myself from the inside out and that's even more important and critical to my health and happiness.

I gave Adrian an autographed Cal Ripken Jr. baseball from the 1983 World Series and some baseball cards to go along with it.  He loved it! :) We finished up the day with a nice turkey dinner at the farm and more desserts.  Lots of good family time all the way around and one of the most relaxed, happiest Christmas' I can remember in a long time. films.

Dec 26-28:  These days kinda blended together with lots of workouts, some errands and chores around the house, and 2 trips to the movies.   We saw Les Miserables in Newark with Jen C on Thursday.  It was an incredible movie and well worth seeing in the theaters!  Then in true vacation fashion, we saw Django: Unchained on Friday in White Marsh with Evan and Jen.  It was totally awesome in a different way.  I think I enjoyed it more because I'm not a big musical fan but they were both great.

December 29th- BIRTHDAY!  Totally awesome day of course!  Started off the day with Shaun T with Pure Cardio and Cardio Abs.  Over an hour of sweaty, hard fun with mr. hotness himself.   After cleaning up and brunch time- Adrian wanted to shower me with gifts, which I was all too happy to oblige him! ;)  Adrian went WAY above and beyond the normal call of duty this year! He started off with this awesome container symbolizing my weight loss journey- with one paper clip in it for every pound I've lost on my journey! So it was filled with 260 paperclips!! And he decorated the jar with puppy stickers and colorful markers. Rad!

"Triumphant Colleen"

"Weight Loss"

Then the big tamale of all gifts... An incredible day at the spa together!!  This actually took place the next day, on the 30th and was the most romantic and relaxing experience of my life.  We had a private suite with a big soaking Jacuzzi tub complete with serene music, candles, and rose pedals everywhere.  After the tub, we then had an hour long couples massage followed by a delicious light lunch and more soaking in the tub.  I finished the experience out with a lounge in their relaxation lounge, nice and comfy by the fire.  Then I sat in the steam room for a bit and sweated any remaining toxins from my body.  It was a life altering experience and we were very impressed by the beauty, luxury, and professionalism of the spa.  I highly recommend Robert Andrew Spa!

Saturday night we had a blast out at La Tolteca with friends to celebrate my birthday, and then headed to Roonies in Wilmington to chill for a bit and then some DANCING!   No birthday is complete without some dancing, in my humble opinion.  We got home pretty late, so it was good that the main thing on the list for the next day was the spa.  Mmmm spa....

December 30th-  The spa was the main focus.  Afterwards we were so beat that we ran some errands to keep awake because if we had headed home it would have been straight to bed for a nap.  Which was good that we didn't because that night the family got together with Kate and Imad at the farm to celebrate their anniversary (Dec 30th), my parents anniversary (Dec 28th), and my birthday.  I told you there is too many things to celebrate in my family at the end of the year! We had a nice dinner and played a fun game of "Apples to Apples" after cutting into this incredible cake that Kate and Imad created, it was train, complete with railroad tracks and little rocks! So creative, and very tasty!

It's a train cake made of fondant!

December 31st:  New Years Eve!  Party time! We had a good time at Thea and Nigel's party, played some games, and ate too much food.  Somebody had made muddy buddy... If you have never had this, I caution you from it because it is like CRACK.  It is probably one of my favorite foods on the planet and it's addicting and hard to just eat a small amount.  For that reason I haven't eaten it for years.  I hope I keep away from it for another couple years because I think I ate enough last night to tide me over that long.....so delicious and addicting and it makes me lose all senses completely except the desire to eat lots of it!

 Muddy Buddy

What an amazing 2 weeks of celebrating to end a great 2012!! Happy New Year and I hope you were able to thoroughly enjoy the holiday season!

Are you ready for THE DINNER?

Since we are in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle of weight loss, of course we talked about THE DINNER today at my weight watchers meeting.

THE DINNER? Yeah, Thanksgiving, duh! For a recovering food addict, it can either be a nightmare or a success story. Imagine an alcoholic having an entire day centered around drinking. "O just try a little rum, a sip of wine, a gulp of beer- no big deal, it's just one day" said by all your friends and family. You would never imagine doing that to somebody who has been sober for 6 days, 6 weeks, 6 months, or 6 years. But remember, you can't just quit food cold-turkey (go ahead, soak up the corny pun. ha ha).

That's what makes beating a food addiction so hard. Sure, I can cut some things out, which I have. I haven't eaten fast food of any kind in over 2 years. Yes, this includes fast food "healthy options," because fast food used to be such a problem for me that it's better to stay away completely. I've had quite a few people tell me that I'm still on a diet because of this fact. To those people who believe that- you can bite me! I have changed my eating habits and chose to live a healthy lifestyle and there is no place for crappy fast food in my life. Yes, I use weight watchers to help me track my food because it works for me, but I have changed the way I look at food.

I digressed...but you get the point. I have no doubt in my mind that quitting smoking, alcohol, or any other drug is very hard to do- some say near impossible. But to me beating this over-eating addiction has been nearly impossible at times.

During the meeting today Joni asked us to share our most memorable Thanksgiving. I shared my most memorable- it was the Thanksgiving of 2009, less than a month after joining weight watchers. For the first time in my life I made the RIGHT choices on the day of feasting. I did enjoy my favorites (I refuse to live without a little stuffing and a crescent roll on thanksgiving) but I had them in moderation. And when those all familiar food pushers started their tirade "O Colleen, you hardly have anything on your plate. Don't you want more? Here have another serving. Don't you want pie?" I said no thank you even though it was extremely difficult and I wanted to scream at them for being so thoughtless by encouraging me to eat. They didn't mean any harm- they couldn't have known how hard it was for me then to say no, especially to my favorite foods. That year though, I didn't feel so full it was uncomfortable- I felt satisfied and not stuffed. Who knew you could do that on Thanksgiving? I SMASHED my next weigh in and lost at least 3 lbs. I still remember Joni jumping up and giving me a hug to celebrate. 100% worth it!

Joni, my fearless weight watcher leader, once referred to the three dreaded food-related holidays of the fall/winter as the The Bermuda Triangle of weight loss. If you think about Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas/Hanukkah what are the first thoughts that come to your mind? Candy, turkey feast, and another feast. Family gatherings or parties all centered around the big F word- FOOD. See why so many "dieters" get lost to never be heard from again?

Don't get lost this year- take control of the day and PLAN ahead what you want to eat. Pick your favorites, chose reasonable portions (fyi- a reasonable portion of stuffing is 1/2 cup for you all you stuffing lovers out there), and stick to your plan. Don't let food pushers make you eat things you don't really want because it is YOUR body and you chose what you put into it for fuel. If you need to- tell a friend or family member what you want and ask for their help. Don't be afraid to ask for help to keep you accountable or make your day easier- your body will be thanking you at the end of the night!