By George...I think she's got it this time!

Hey friends, family and people who are bored! Time for another blog. This one will be not nearly as whiny (or at least that's my plan).

This past weekend I faced the first major battle on my road to fabulously fit...a holiday weekend with family and lots of yummy FOOD! In my opinion, you haven't mastered a "lifestyle change" until you've figured out how to perpetuate the change in all facets of your life. If your family is like mine, get togethers include the tastiest, richest, most wonderful food items, a lot of laughs and love, and very little cardio. This weekend was my first attempt to master the change and fun, food and family. So the results are in and...I DIDN'T GAIN A POUND! WAHOOO! Though I didn't lose any weight, this is the first time in a looooong time that I didn't put on some extra weight. This is a BIG DEAL folks. It may not seem like it, but for me, the day after a holiday weekend has always been full of regrets about what I ate and the work out I didn't get in. Here's what I learned (which will be common sense I'm sure).

1. You can't live your life in a restricted manner. Eating is a part of life. Though some people have mastered the whole "eat to live, not live to eat" concept, many of us haven't and that's okay. Food is not life, but it can be an expression of life. The more you tell yourself "I can't eat this, I can't eat this" the more you begin to feel miserable, and miserable feelings lead to binge eating. So, I say eat what you like but manage your portions!

2. No one cares about what or how much you eat more than you do. This weekend, there was beer infused bread, yummy sausage queso dip, lasagna, fried chicken, pork chops...the list goes on. Everyone around me was eating all of it. I did too...but I thought about what I ate. No one told me to cut back on the bread/pasta, pass on dessert and eat more greens and salad, but that's what I did and it kept me from gaining weight. No one can want it for you more than you want it for yourself.

3. Even if you don't work out, you can squeeze in physical activity. I didn't hit the treadmill or do my 45 mins of Zumba, but I managed to get in a lot of walking throughout the weekend. I KNOW this made a difference. If you're going to eat, you need to move. Period.

So today I returned to writing in my food journal, getting my cardio in and closely monitoring my portions. I'm confident I will be back to business in a couple of days. This is a pretty good feeling.  I think I've got it this time folks.

One of my wonderful Sorority Sisters wrote something on her Facebook page that was so amazingly simple and profound that I can't help but repeat it: "If you want to stop starting over, stop giving up". That makes too much sense. Thanks Inga.

Feels like the first time,
~Tash