Christmas again...Oh the pounds

Well it is Christmas again. Laurance and I were going to go to New Mexico for the holidays but I am still too sore from my accident in July, so we opted to stay home this year. Now, I am stressing to get our home together for the day. I used to love Christmas, but anymore I find it to be so frustrating. Every year I constantly find myself struggling to strike everyone off of my gift list; like so many others I always tend to put everything off to the last minute. Given the financial crisis I am doing a lot of baking this year, which makes me a pretty sorry example for weight management/loss, but I love to bake and cook; I do not know what is more fun creating it or eating it.

Stress can be very fattening around this time of year; therefore, I have developed a process for dealing with all of it.

Before I start the cooking process, I make sure that I have done at least 10-minutes of exercise, even if I am just doing some simple yoga stretches, it is very helpful in getting my focus in place and keeping it there. Secondly, I try to make sure that I eat something healthy to fill me up, so that I will not nibble; a smoothie is a great way to go when you are busy and trying to avoid making a mess. Third, I make sure that my cooking space is clear and clean, and the dishwasher is empty; this helps me to avoid a huge mess later on. Fourth, I gather together the necessary equipment for my baking process. Fifth, I measure all of my ingredients ahead of time; believe it or not this fifth step makes the process go much faster, and makes clean up a breeze. Not to mention, I have found that by gathering everything first, I nibble less. Organization really does make for a great appetite suppressant.

My process may not work for everyone. I follow to keep me from gaining weight over the holiday season; I have never found it very useful in helping me to lose weight, but it certainly helps me to keep from packing on pounds before the day of the feast. One thing I still enjoy about the holidays is the festivities. I love to eat; therefore, I am going to gain weight. Nonetheless, if I can manage to keep from gaining any up to the day, then I am more apt to be able to take it off within a few short weeks after.

Good luck to everyone this Christmas, and remember resolutions are just around the corner...



Stretch Kelly fat cat poster was designed by Lowell Hererro, and is available at All Posters.com

Pushing Daisies

I tried to leave this under the widget, but it wouldn't stick, so I am placing it here:

Pushing Daisies is one of the most original shows you will ever see. My son and I love it. However, ABC has announced plans to cancel it, and we the fans are rallying for its survival. If you have never seen it, please take the time to vist ABC.com and view an episode; you will be hooked immediately.

Blog Under Re-Construction

Well I'm working on coming back since my accident, and I am working on jazzing up the site a little more. I know that I have not given much to this site, but I still believe in it. I am reorganizing, and restructuring to make it livelier, more attractive and a lot more fun. I want to start including videos, as well as Skype and chat capabilities, but right now I am working on the recipe section, then exercise should follow. If you have visited this site, please do not give up on it yet, it will come alive. Of course, suggestions are always welcome.

Laura

Broken Ankle

I'm not ignoring my blog, I have a broken ankle. I went skating with my son. I thought that I would get some good cardio in, and I ended up breaking my ankle in several places. Now, I am in a cast and operating from crutches and a wheel chair, and it is driving me crazy. I want to get up and walk, and exercise, and clean house...I want to do the things that I do. Of course, I cannot, I must allow myself time to heal. So, I will be checking back as I can and I will be posting as I can.

When life gives you lemons...

...you can either suck on a sour lemon, or turn it into lemonade. You know I think the plain sour lemon gets a bad rap. Did you know that lemons cleanse the bloodstream and the liver? Additionally, they have been proven to be a helpful digestive aid, and they can help to prevent heart disease and cancer, while also lowering blood pressure. The health benefits of lemons are enormous, and I'm not just talking about the juice, the zest and the pith is where lemons get most of their healthful qualities. In fact, the pith has been proven to help prevent bleeding of the gums when rubbed on them. Not to mention, lemons have also been proven to keep blood vessels from hardening, and they may even help in dissolving gallstones (1). Yet, we want to dilute these qualities in an over abundance of sugar, call it lemonade, and say that this is good.

Don't get me wrong I like lemonade too, but I appreciate being healthy even more. If you must sweeten your lemons consider a healthier alternative such as maple syrup, or agave syrup, or even blackstrap molasses.

I guess the moral of this little quip is, when life gives you lemons, suck on them.

(1) Prescription for Dietary Wellness; Balch, Phyllis A.; pg. 65

I am so tired...

...and bored...and frustrated...and did I mention tired.

I have spent the last few months trying to get my house in order, getting my son, Laurance, ready for middle school, since he is autistic I have more hoops to jump through than average. You can find more information about Laurance at our blog Laurance's World .

On top of all of that my computer harddrive suffered a meltdown. I did not have all of my files backed up, and I found out it is going to cost me anywhere from $500.00 to $2,700.00 to retrieve my data. Good grief I could buy a good used car for that.

Nonetheless, we are talking 5-years worth of data. Obviously, I do not have that kind of money on hand right now, not since I have purchased a house. So, my old hard drive is sitting on a shelf, and that is where it will stay until I either get the money to do the data retrieval, or until I come to terms with my loss.

As far as loss goes, I have not lost any weight. In fact, in the last month I think I have gained 3 pounds, and I had lost 5 pounds right before the holidays.

I consider it interesting how in life we never want to lose anything until it comes to weight or wait. I can't stand extra pounds anymore than I can handle a long wait in line. Let's face it both forms of weight/wait have a tendency to put our lives on hold.

I try to regard the advice of such gurus as Wayne Dyer and Marianne Williamson, when they say "live your life now; haven't you put it on hold long enough?" Clearly, it makes no sense to put my life on hold, but that is what I have been doing, and thus, I find myself waiting! Here I am wallowing in a world of wait/weight!!

I am waiting until I get my house in order and get out from underneath all of this crud and this debt of mine, which is very reminiscent of the crud hanging onto my body.

Oh, the crap I put my body through too. Pushing it through yoga & pilates and whatever other kind of exercise I can push it through, and then I punish it with a bowl of ice cream. Of course, it does not feel like punishment when I am doing it. We all enjoy a treat now and then, but I must concede that I have overdone the treats as has been evident by the recent scale entries.

Well, I guess I will continue trying and waiting through the results.