Although the Season of Eating has already started in earnest, it is now being combined with the Season of Making Merry. Put them both together and it spells....
December arrives on your doorstep tomorrow. And, with it comes the invisible EAT, DRINK and BE MERRY LICENSE. Followed by an avalanche of invitations to parties and eating and drinking events, trays of cookies at the office, bowls of candy on everyone's tables and fast food lunch breaks during hectic shopping days.
What's a girl to do if she wants to continue to fit into her favorite PARTY CLOTHES?
Just because I have my beloved Lap band it does not mean that I don't think myself silly about these things. Trust me, with everything on my Christmas list, I don't have a penny to spare to go out and buy myself an entirely new holiday party wardrobe. And, even though I love, love clothes shopping---I don't love, love it enough to say that I want to buy bigger sizes of clothes.
This holiday season marks my 6th Holiday Party Season with my Lapband. Given that, you would think that I have the whole thing figured out like clockwork. Not so fast. Let's remember that I also lived 47 holiday seasons without my Lapband. I had lots of time to solidify certain holiday party season behaviors and come to expect certain holiday party season foods and drinks and traditions. So, if truth be told--the holidays do not feel right for me if I don't have certain foods, enjoy specific traditions that revolve around food and spend oodles of time planning, cooking and serving special holiday food. Food is still a huge part of my holiday season. As are parties.....
Given that I am in my 6th Lapbanded Holiday Season, I was thinking that maybe my old strategies of dealing with the holidays might need a little sprucing up. Although in the past, I haven't had many issues with alarming weight gain, I have definitely been challenged. Plus, I find that the further I go with maintenance, the more I have to stop and take stock of where I am and what I am doing to stay on track. I have had my share of slip-ups! So, I've been taking a little time to think of a few new things that I might want to do that would allow me to still enjoy the holidays but also not have to deal with the aftermath of that enjoyment. Short of banishing peppermint bark and gin from my house and staying away from some of my favorite places, I have been struggling with figuring out the proper balance.
Any suggestions?
2 comments:
New Lapbanded gal here. I am your age and have grown children too. I found your blog through Lapband.com and have been going through your postings like I am reading a book. I am really enjoying your style of writing and feel inspired and hopeful from reading it. I am wondering what your strategies have been these past years during the holidays. I don't have any suggestions for new ones sorry. But I could use some of your successful ones since this is my first banded holidays.
Thank you,
Susan
I am trying something tonight for the first time - my friends have "the" holiday party every year (you know the one, the invites are highly coveted, the food is amazing, every year they come up with a new signature cocktail - *that* party, yep!)
I'm packing a bento box with an ounce (okay, maybe 2, this is my dinner afterall) of good TJ cheddar cheese, a few melba rounds, a tablespoon of cashews, some grapes, and 2 of my biscotti. And I'm bringing 2 bottles of red wine - I'm talking the little bottles that come in a 4-pack at the liquor store, NOT the 750ml ones!
I will enjoy my bento, drink my wine, and concentrate mostly on the people at the party who I only see once a year.
I'm finding out that I need to make myself public - if I know that someone (everyone) else knows that I'm watching what I consume, then I am so much more likely to stick with my plan. And most people compliment me on my determination, so that's another ego-booster.
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